Reading Group Guide
Discussion Questions
1. This novel is about several clashes, starting with those between Pakistani and U.S. culture. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each culture that this book reveals? If you were Daanish, where would you prefer to live and why?
2. Another clash in the book is universal: the one between generations. In Trespassing, even as the young characters discover great differences in ways of thought between themselves and their elders, they also discover significant similarities in their personal histories and emotions. Do you think that the divide between the young and the old is getting greater or smaller in your culture? How do the characters in the book handle this divide?
3. The novel also becomes an exploration of class differences when Salamaat begins his story. How does his version of the events change your understanding of Daanish, Dia, and their families? What similarities and differences are there among the lives led by Salamaat, Daanish, and Dia?
4. The Pakistani characters in Trespassing have a number of preconceptions about "Amreeka," while we see that Daanish's actual experiences in the U.S. do not bear them out. What differences do you see between the American Dream as seen by Pakistanis like Salamaat and the actual life Daanish leads at school?
5. This book is set in the early 1990s, when the author was a student at an American university, during the time of Operation Desert Storm. Since then, the American public has seen and heard more about Pakistan than it ever has before. How did this book change your impression of either country and its society? Do you think that the East is more or less similar to the West than you did before? Why?
6. Religion and society play large roles in Pakistani life, from Daanish's taxi drivers to his own family. How do these factors affect his decisions, particularly at the end of the novel?
7. Dia is not just a Pakistani with a strong will but is also a woman. This conflicts with enduring stereotypes about women and Pakistani culture. How do you think her culture, not to mention her unusual upbringing, have made Dia the woman she is? Had she been born in America, or had her father not died when he did, do you think that she would have turned out to be a different person? How?
8. While the America that Daanish lives in is at war, Pakistan is enduring a police state. How is the role of the military and its might seen in each country?
9. A pivotal moment in the book occurs when Dia tells Daanish the fable of two young lovers, named Raeesa and Faraz, which explains how the mulberry fruit got its red color. How does the story change the relationship between Daanish and Dia? What role does Dia play in Daanish's life and why is he disturbed by it as much as he is pleased?
10. The story above is only one of the ways that mulberries are significant in the book. What are others?
11. Toward the end of the book, a character in Trespassing complains, "Can't we have a moment to ourselves in this country? Doesn't anyone do anything besides snoop around?" What role do secrets seem to play in Pakistani society? Why do you think Salamaat spies on everyone so readily? Do you think that Daanish's and Dia's passion is fueled because their romance is forbidden?
12. How do the Prologue, entitled "Death," and the Epilogue, entitled "Birth," tie the book together?
