Sign up for our newsletters to receive our Best of 2024 ezine!

Book Club Discussion Questions and Guide for In Universes by Emet North

In Universes by Emet North

In Universes

A Novel

by Emet North

  • Critics' Consensus (14):
  • Published:
  • Apr 2024, 240 pages
  • Rate this book

About this book

Book Club Discussion Questions

Print PDF

Want to participate in our book club? Join BookBrowse and get free books to discuss!

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

  1. In the opening chapter, Raffi's professor says that there are certain things in the universe you can only find by looking away from them. What elements of Raffi's life are they unwilling to look at early in the novel? How does this change by the end?
  2. How does Raffi's worldview shift as they move from being a scientist to an artist? How do the worlds of art and science intersect?
  3. Which universe did you most relate to? Which one stuck with you the most?
  4. How does the novel transition from one universe to the next? How do these shifts relate to the theme of identity exploration and growth? (Bonus question: Can you notice any differences between the way the universes transition in Part I versus in Part II?)
  5. What role do mental health issues play in the novel?
  6. How does the novel engage with the concept of family? What about chosen family?
  7. How does the book tackle themes of intergenerational trauma? Can you think of ways that your own family history affects your experience of the world?
  8. Over the course of the novel, we see Raffi in romantic relationships with Graham, Kay, Alice, and finally Miko. How does Raffi show up differently in these relationships? Do different people in your life bring out different aspects of your personality?
  9. A key theme of the novel is that our experience of the world is not necessarily reflective of reality. What would change if you believed that time didn't flow? Or that there were infinite parallel versions of yourself?
  10. In the final chapter, Raffi has the chance to leave the City of Refuge for another universe. What factors convince them to stay?
  11. What surprised you about the ending? In what ways did it encourage you to rethink the nature of grief and guilt?
  12. If you could travel to an alternate version of your life, would you go? What would it take for the universe you're currently in to be the one you'd choose above all others?
  13. If you could ask the author, Emet North, one question about the book, what would it be?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Harper. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Author Information

More Recommendations

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket
    Prophet Song
    by Paul Lynch
    Paul Lynch's 2023 Booker Prize–winning Prophet Song is a speedboat of a novel that hurtles...
  • Book Jacket: The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern
    The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern
    by Lynda Cohen Loigman
    Lynda Cohen Loigman's delightful novel The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern opens in 1987. The titular ...
  • Book Jacket: Small Rain
    Small Rain
    by Garth Greenwell
    At the beginning of Garth Greenwell's novel Small Rain, the protagonist, an unnamed poet in his ...
  • Book Jacket: Daughters of Shandong
    Daughters of Shandong
    by Eve J. Chung
    Daughters of Shandong is the debut novel of Eve J. Chung, a human rights lawyer living in New York. ...

BookBrowse Book Club

Book Jacket
The Rose Arbor
by Rhys Bowen
An investigation into a girl's disappearance uncovers a mystery dating back to World War II in a haunting novel of suspense.
Book Jacket
The Story Collector
by Evie Woods
From the international bestselling author of The Lost Bookshop!
Who Said...

What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading, you wish the author that wrote it was a ...

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Big Holiday Wordplay 2024

Enter Now

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.