WellRead’s January 2024 selection was Politica by Yumna Kassab. The author says that she is “tired of politics being about numbers and dates, and I believe that the true impact should be how it plays out for individuals”. Stories are where this impact can be communicated, and it is in Politica that Kassab does this with the grace and honesty that she is revered for. 

Use these discussion questions to engage with the book further, whether in a book club with friends, or just on your own as you digest the story. 

Reading questions for Politica by Yumna Kassab:

• How did the structure of Politica influence your reading experience?
  
  
• Which of the glimpses into the lives of the characters impacted you the most? Did any of the stories influence the way you think about global affairs?
  
  
• In ‘The Bully: Part 1’, did the story make you think of any bullies or sidekicks in your own personal life or in the global landscape that aligned with this part of the text? 
  
  
• How does ‘The Bully: Part 2’ pair with Part 1? Why do you think they were placed so far apart in the novel?
  
  
• The book is broken into five parts, each with their own defining features: Jamal, Politica, The Well, 1973, Historia. Why do you think the book was structured in this way? 

• How important do you think place and linear narrative is? If Politica was structured differently, how would it have changed the story?
  
  
• In ‘Propaganda’ Kassab writes that the “ultimate activity of a government is to justify itself”. Do you agree?
  

Please note, these questions were written and distributed in January, 2024.