Shift

Reading Group Questions on Shift

• Thurman truly believes that he is doing what is right for his country by building the silos and forcing people inside them. Do you agree with him based on the information of the possible threat to his country? Or is acting on anything but a certainty of a threat too much of a risk to take?

• Mick is obviously aware of the last-minute switch between himself and Donald when they go down into the silo just before the rally. Of their two roles, Donald’s is the more powerful, with much more responsibility, leading to him living for hundreds of years, but he is envious of Mick’s relatively normal life in a silo with Helen. Whose position would you rather be in?

• The members of silo one are given medication that causes them to forget traumatic events. If you were offered this medication freely, would you take it? Or would you want to remember the truth about your past?

• Donald discovers that Anna is the reason he is in silo one, and not with Helen in a different silo, and is furious. Do you think she put him there for purely selfish reasons? Or do you think she thought he would be the best man for the job? In either case, do you believe she had the right to make that decision for him?

• The Crow is seen as a threat to the stability of the silo for generating a feeling of dissatisfaction among her pupils. Do you agree she is a threat? Would this feeling of there being something more out there be realised without her help? Consider the other silos. Does there always have to be a ‘Crow’ figure for an uprising?

• Mission is willing to go to any lengths to help Rodny as soon as he believes he is in danger. Would you agree that ultimately it is his own bravery at trying to save his friend that causes his reset? Are you happy that Mission can now start a new life, forgetting the troubles of his past? Or do you feel angry that such a decision was made for him without his knowledge?

• How did you feel when Thurman ‘shepherds’ Donald back in from the outside? Were you happy that he saved his life? Or were you behind Donald, wanting him to die a free man?

• Donald realises that it was Anna who swapped him and Thurman for the start of his third shift. Did you always suspect it was her? Was there anyone else who thought that Donald would be better than Thurman in that role? Do you agree that Donald is the best man for the job?

• Jimmy’s father leaves safety behind to go in search of his wife, resulting in both of their deaths, and Jimmy being alone. Do you think he should have stayed to be with Jimmy? Could he have ever lived with the knowledge that he didn’t try to save his wife?

• Donald wakes up his sister, Charlotte, because he needs her help, and as soon as she is with him, he feels happier. Would you wake your loved ones if you were in Donald’s position? Or would you want to protect them from the horrors of their new existence?

• Jimmy ceases to be Solo and reclaims his identity when he meets another living thing in his silo — a cat. What gives you your identity? Is it something deep within yourself or is it about the people surrounding you? Consider yourself at Jimmy’s age. Does this change how you would feel?

• When Juliette comes into contact with Donald at the end of Shift, she threatens him, as she sees him as a keeper of lies and secrets, and the reason for the state of her world. Was this how you felt towards those in authority as you read Wool? Has your opinion changed since hearing Donald’s side of the story? Why?