I Am the Messenger - Discussion Questions

 

1.    What happened at the bank? What did Ed do to save the day?
 
2.    The bank robber threatened Ed Kennedy saying “You’re a dead man.” What did he mean?
3.    What is the first card Ed got? How did Ed know the card has messages on it?
 
4.    What did you think of the assignment on Edgar Street? Why didn’t Ed kill the rapist when the messenger delivered the gun?  Are you happy with the final outcome? Was there a better resolution?
 
5.    Did Mila know Ed was not Jim? Why or why not?
 
6.    Why did Sophie have to run with her barefoot? What does Ed give Sophie? Is he a “saint” or “just another stupid human?”
 
7.    Ed complained to Audrey (page 119) about being “chosen.” Why? Do you think that’s a common feeling among those who view themselves as chosen to serve?
 
8.    Discuss Ed and Audrey’s relationship. Audrey says that she likes Ed too much to have sex with him, and he says that he wants more than sex from her. Why does Audrey think that sex would ruin their relationship? What does Ed want from Audrey?
 
9.    What was the meaning of the second card, the Ace of Clubs and the “stones of home?”  Why were the recipients of the Ace of Club’s activity chosen; that is, Father O’Reilly, Angie Carusso (page 171) and Gavin Rose? Any relationship to the name of the card that led Ed to them?
 
10. Father O’Reilly says to Ed (when Ed isn’t sure why he’s been led to the Father) “Don’t worry….What you need to do will certainly arrive in you.” Has that ever happened to you?
 
11. Father O’Reilly said “countless saints who have nothing to do with church and almost no knowledge of God”. What did he mean by saying that?
 
12. What about Gavin Rose and Ed’s violent solution to that assignment? Would you have written that episode differently as the author?
 
13. Describe Ed’s family. Explain what his mother means when she says, “Believe it or not—it takes a lot of love to hate you like this.” (p. 245)
 
14. How are the dream Ed has after receiving the Ace of Spades and the “Barren Woman” poem related? What clue does it give to his next assignment?
 
15. After picking up all the books from the library (page 212), Ed commented, “I didn’t know words could be so heavy.” What did Ed mean and what did the author mean?
 
16. After Lua learns that Ed never lived in the Tatupu home, he prefers not to “ruin things with any more questions.” Can you do that or does curiosity get the best of you? Page 228.
 
17. Most of the acts by Ed were small acts of kindness (ice cream for Angie Carusso, Christmas lights for the Tatupu family, spending time with Milla). Ed thinks after the Christmas lights event that “It’s about…small things that are big” (page 221). Is there a message in the mundaneness of his good deeds?
 
18. Ed eventually learns that Audrey is in love with him. Why is she reluctant to reveal her love for him? What might Ed offer her at the end of the novel that he was incapable of offering in the beginning?
 
19. What did Ed do to help his two best friends Richie and Marv?
 
20. Of all Ed’s assignments through the book, what would be your favorite one?
 
21. How would you describe Ed Kennedy at the beginning of the book? How would you describe him at the end after his journey through the “cards?”
 
22. What do you think of the ending? Did you guess, even for a moment from whom the messages (playing cards) were coming? Was it a surprise or not? If you were the author how would you end the story?