City of God

How is the structure of the book uniquely suited to the thematic and narrative content? Why is metafiction the chosen mode for telling this story?

Compare Thomas Pemberton’s narrative arc with Everett’s own. How do their journeys coincide? In what ways is Everett choosing Pemberton as his subject a matter of his own character?

What argument is the novel making about film versus literary fiction, and how is that complicated by the novel’s aspirations and E. L. Doctorow’s own experiences in film adaptation?

How does the archive of the Jewish ghetto relate to each character’s quest to understand God?

The book frequently asserts that war is a natural endpoint of the human experience. How does this theme play out by the end of the book? Is there a way forward besides annihilation?

How do the figures of Einstein, Wittgenstein, and Frank Sinatra fit into the narrative of the text? What is the purpose of their sections?

The line between historical accuracy and narrative truth is deliberately muddled throughout the book, as when the book begins with Everett’s version of Thomas Pemberton before revealing the character, or when Everett writes a nested, self-referential version of a movie about a man realizing he’s in a movie. How do these blurred lines contribute to our understanding of the novel’s intent?

For Thomas, his conversion to Judaism and his love for Sarah are inextricable, but Everett sees the two as possibly cheapening each other. How is each viewpoint reflective of the main ideas of the novel?