Literary fiction · Book club
As I Lay Dying book club questions
Here are 12 book club questions for As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. Copy them, print them, or bring them up one at a time.
As I Lay Dying is the story of the Bundren family's journey across Mississippi to bury Addie Bundren, wife and mother, in her hometown of Jefferson.
William Faulkner · 1930 · 4h 0m
Full summary and key takeaways →The 12 questions
- 1.
Addie's posthumous chapter says that words like 'love' and 'motherhood' are violations of the reality they name. Does the novel agree with her, or is it showing us the limits of her perspective?
- 2.
The journey to Jefferson is undertaken for Addie's sake, but every family member has a private motive. At what point does legitimate private grief shade into self-interest?
- 3.
Anse is deeply unpleasant and never seems to suffer for it. Does the novel condemn him, tolerate him, or use him for something beyond characterization?
- 4.
Darl is the most literary narrator and the one who gets committed to an asylum. Is the novel suggesting that heightened perception is dangerous, or that his family simply needs a scapegoat?
- 5.
The dark comedy and the genuine grief coexist throughout. Did the comedy undermine the novel's emotional impact for you, or deepen it?
- 6.
Cash builds the coffin while Addie is dying, in her sight. Is this portrayed as love, obsession, obtuseness, or something that doesn't reduce to any of those?
- 7.
Dewey Dell never gets an abortion and is exploited by the pharmacist who pretends to help her. Does Faulkner treat this with the weight it deserves, or is it just another strand in the novel's tapestry of suffering?
- 8.
Vardaman says 'My mother is a fish.' This is the most famous line in the novel. What is Faulkner doing with it — a child's genuine confusion, a formal joke, or an argument about how we process the unprocessable?
- 9.
Compare this to The Sound and the Fury as Faulkner's experiments in multiple perspectives. Which do you find more successful, and which is harder to read?
- 10.
The ending — Anse with new teeth and a new wife — has been called one of literature's great deflations. Does it feel like the right ending, or does it trivialize what came before?
- 11.
The novel is set in the same Yoknapatawpha County as most of Faulkner's work. Does knowing this changes anything about how the Bundrens feel — are they part of a world or a world unto themselves?
- 12.
Addie says she punished her students physically to establish that she existed. What does the novel make of this — is she a sympathetic figure, a damaged one, or both?
How to run the discussion
- Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
- Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
- Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
- Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.
Themes worth steering toward
If the conversation stalls, these are the threads that usually restart it.
Common questions
What are good book club questions for As I Lay Dying?
Here are 12 book club questions for As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. The strongest openers ask what each reader noticed rather than what they concluded, and the discussion usually turns on death and grief, family obligation, selfishness and sacrifice.
How long should a book club discussion of As I Lay Dying last?
Most groups run 60 to 90 minutes of actual discussion. That is roughly six to eight questions, not all of them, so pick the ones that suit your group rather than working down the list in order.
What are the main themes in As I Lay Dying?
Death and grief, Family obligation, Selfishness and sacrifice, Identity and consciousness, The body. Those are the threads most likely to divide a room, which makes them the useful places to steer a discussion that has gone quiet.
Picking the next one? See books like As I Lay Dying or questions for other book club picks.
