Small Mercies

1. General Impressions 

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

• How much did you know about Boston’s busing crisis before reading Small Mercies? Do you think a person can appreciate the novel without understanding this context?
• How did the novel’s title shape your expectations? How did your understanding of the title’s meaning change as the novel unfolded?
• Several of author Dennis Lehane’s novels have been adapted into movies, including Shutter Island and Mystic River. Have you seen any of these films (or read the novels that inspired them)? How does Small Mercies compare?

2. Personal Reflection and Connection

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

• Mary Pat takes several extreme steps—including kidnapping, torture, and murder—in her quest first to learn what happened to her daughter and then to secure justice for her. Is she justified in taking those measures? How does her community’s relationship with law enforcement influence your opinion? What about Jules’s own complicity in crime and racism?
• Have you ever lived in a particularly tight-knit community? Did you find that there were drawbacks? If so, did they outweigh the advantages?
• There is a strong element of legacy in Southie’s governing character and codes. How important is tradition to you? Do you feel that traditions have value in and of themselves? Why or why not?
• The novel takes place against the backdrop of the Boston busing crisis, which would become an infamous episode in the city’s history. Do you think people are generally aware of the significance of historical events as they experience them, or does that awareness only come in hindsight? Can you think of examples from your own life?

3. Societal and Cultural Context

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

• One aspect of the busing program that has drawn considerable commentary is its focus on working-class neighbors—the implication being that Boston’s wealthier white enclaves might have voiced support for desegregation but were unwilling to volunteer their own schools for the project. How does Small Mercies extend or critique the idea that white working-class neighborhoods were in some sense “scapegoats” for the broader problem of societal racism? 
• Drug use is widespread in the novel. What does Small Mercies suggest about the root causes of addiction? 

4. Literary Analysis 

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

• How would you describe the work’s narrative voice? How does it support the novel’s setting, characterization, themes, etc.?
• Consider the depiction of Marty Butler as a relatively one-dimensional villain. What does this imply about the nature of bigotry? Of evil in general?
• Jules proves to be both a victim and a perpetrator of violence. Consider this in light of the novel’s broader depiction of victimization. Does the novel suggest that the experience of suffering tends to breed empathy or further violence?
• How do you interpret the imagery the novel ends with—the fresh flowers and classical music that brighten Jules’s mausoleum? Do these images represent hope? If so, of what?

5. Creative Engagement 

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

• Suppose Auggie, Jules, and Mary Pat were real people and you were making a documentary about them. Whom would you interview? Would you adhere to the novel’s chronology—e.g., by withholding Jules’s role in Auggie’s death for much of the narrative? How would you contextualize their stories in terms of broader history? 
• Imagine the story unfolded from Calliope’s perspective. How would her account of events differ? If she went on a crusade to avenge her son, what might it look like?

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