Katzenjammer - Reader's Guide
- How many references to the past can you find in the book? How do many of the references tie in with movies mentioned in the novel?
- The original Max Perkins was fond of saying “The book belongs to the author.” Why is this ironic given the experience of Max Perkins in Katzenjammer and his experience with publishing?
- The original Max Perkins was of a New England temperament and possessed many dichotomies. How is he similar to the Max Perkins in Katzenjammer?
- The original Max Perkins once said, “When a man does you a favor, he owns a little piece of you.” How does this compare to the favors that Robert does for Katzenjammer’s Max Perkins?
- How do music, art, dance, and film figure into this novel?
- Compare how Katzenjammer gets published and whose name gets attached to it, with the story of Robert and his attempted entry into a piano competition (chapter one).
- What part do the epigrams play at the beginning of the different sections in the novel?
- Discuss the “What you hate, you become” theme.
- For all the discussion and themes of sex, there is no actual traditional sex act in the novel. Why do you think this is?
- What do you notice about the number of chapters in this novel (excluding the prologue and epilogue)? How is the number significant? What sexual connotation does it have?
- What do you notice about the climactic chapter in the novel? Why is its chapter number significant?
- Discuss the different writing styles used in the novel. Contrast the “Scene” sections with the rest of the writing. Also, discuss the author’s style when describing music (New York Philharmonic concert and the jazz in the night club). How are the styles related to the music the characters are listening to?
- Discuss the style of writing whenever movies are mentioned.
- Even though Max is aware that people are using him at times, he nevertheless continues associating with them (Reeda Rot, Robert, certain bosses). How does this figure in with the epigram(s) at the beginning of the epilogue?
- Discuss how the author ties together the idea of movies with fantasy, the story editor, and the general theme of the book.
- What is the significance of the quote from the The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam? How does it fit in with the novel and the movie The Picture of Dorian Gray?
- What is the significance of mentioning the “pothos vine” in the book? What is the common name for this vine?
- How many references to movies can you find in the novel?
- Discuss the idea of “What you say about other people is usually a reflection of yourself” and how it figures into the text.
- How many references to the devil can you find in the text?
- Compare this story to that of Faust. What are the similarities—the differences?
- At one point in the relationship between Thomas Wolfe and the original Max Perkins, Wolfe—who was known for using his life and those around him in his writings—decided to write about Scribners, Max, and things that Mr. Perkins had said to him in confidence. Contrast this with Katzenjammer’s “Max” and how he writes about the publishing world. In this particular article that Wolfe wrote—“No More Rivers”—he eventually changes the main character’s profession to be a concert pianist. How is this similar to what happens to Max in Katzenjammer?
- Discuss the idea of paranoia. How does this relate to the book and movie Rosemary’s Baby?
- Discuss the similarities between the magazine focus groups that Max attends and a group therapy session.
- At the beginning of the novel, and then later on, the movie Midnight Cowboy is mentioned. Compare what happens in that movie to what happens in Katzenjammer. How many similarities can you find?
- Where does the title of the book come from?
- Discuss the connections between the prologue/epilogue and the main portion of the book. How many connections can you find? Example: Max is forced to sleep in a bathtub each night and in the mental institution he’s constantly being put in a large tub and sealed in for the purpose of hydrotherapy. There is also a connection regarding drugs, neurotic behavior, etc. Discuss these as well.
- What purpose does the New York Philharmonic’s musical program serve? What are the pieces and how are they connected to the story?
- Discuss the use of the anagrams and how they relate to the book and movie Rosemary’s Baby.
- Do you think the story really happened, or is the narrator really insane even before the book begins?
- How does the Oscar Wilde quote that Robert speaks during a modern dance performance fit in with novel? Where does the quote come from? Why is this significant?
- How is Robert Hickenlooper similar to Dorian in the book The Picture of Dorian Gray?
- How is the German language used in the book? What is the tie-in between German, Dory, Mrs. Squigglemire, and Our Lady of Perpetual Insanity?
- How is the writing style and period setting of the brief section of Mrs. Squigglemire’s Bustle similar to that of the Oscar Wilde story The Picture of Dorian Gray?
- In the movie Midnight Cowboy, the male prostitute and his sidekick live in an abandoned building. How is this similar to where Max and Spong live? How is Spong like the character Ratso Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy? How is Robert similar to the character of the male prostitute in that movie?
- Why do you suppose the author had the “Scene” sections of the book set in a different type? What do you know about screenwriting and why he may have done this?
- The writing in Katzenjammer has a more commercial tone than the author’s first novel. Why do you suppose this is? How does this tie into the idea of being successful and getting published?
- Do you think the writing style and subject material fit together in this book? Do you believe the author achieves what he set out to do as far as style and tone?
- How does the subtitle of the book, “Soon to be a major motion picture” fit in with the theme of advertising and promotion in the book? How does it fit in with the theme of movies that appears in the book?
- What characteristic do all of the names of Max’s places of employment have in common?
- How does the author tie in the original Max Perkins’s “Piss, shit, and fuck” reference to the content of the book? How are these bodily functions used as themes? How do they tie in with publishing and prostitution?
- Discuss the symbolism of the closet that Spong sleeps in. Despite his bragging about the opposite sex, do you think he is homosexual or heterosexual?
- How is the idea of changing names used in the book? Discuss Olga Samaroff, why she changed her name, and how it connects with the idea of self-transformation.
- How does the author tie in the book Jokes for the John to one of the themes in the book?
- Discuss the names Dory and Gray and how they are linked to the movie The Picture of Dorian Gray and the Oscar Wilde work that the movie is based on. What themes in the movie do you see in the book?
- How does the fact that Dory is an artist tie in with the movie The Picture of Dorian Gray? How does the theme of corruption in Katzenjammer tie in with the movie?
- Discuss the similarities of theme and journey in the movie Midnight Cowboy, with those in Katzenjammer.
- What do you know about the original Max Perkins? Do you know what his favorite type of punctuation was? How does the author use this type or types of punctuation in Katzenjammer?
