Nuclear Family Discussion Questions
1. Could Nuclear Family be read as an allegory of how generational trauma haunts us? Why or why not? 2. How does the author use food to bring you into the story? How does food tradition affect your family dynamics? 3. Many of the book’s readers have commented on how funny it can be at times, in spite of its often serious subject matter. Can you think of some examples? Do you think Han used humor well, and if so how? 4. Nuclear Family asks us to empathize with characters often working at cross-purposes, even within a family—to preserve, to blame, to escape, to be seen. Was there a character you identified most closely with, and why? 5. Some chapters of the book are narrated in second person or plural third person—you think, they decide. When does Han use this device and to what effect? 6. Nuclear Family juxtaposes political and spiritual elements. How would the book differ without either one of those? Would the stakes feel heightened or lessened?