Questions for Discussion
- Gunmetal Black may be described as many things, including urban literature, crime fiction, commercial thriller, pulp, noir, and Latino fiction.
How would you describe it and why? What are the distinctions between these categories?
- Is Eddie just a good guy caught in a bad situation? Is he a victim? A product of his environment? How did witnessing his father’s
murder change him? And why did he go into a life of crime?
- How did setting and imagery affect the story?
- Eddie was incarcerated for a decade immediately preceding the start of the novel. Do you have a sense of how he feels about
that? What impact did incarceration have on him? He claims his debt to society is paid. Is it? Could Eddie be considered reformed?
- One of the themes of the novel is that of missing or emotionally distant parents, especially fathers. What impact does this
alienated affection and guidance have on the lives of the characters?
- It is clear for most of the novel that Little Tony is on a downward spiral. Why does Eddie feel responsible for Tony? Was
Eddie’s loyalty misplaced?
- What did you think of the use of music throughout the novel? What does Eddie’s commitment to drumming and studying with Chiva
tell you about him?
- Eddie expresses antagonism toward Pelón throughout the story. What did you think of Pelón? How did his account of childhood
poverty and the death of his little brother affect your opinion? How did you feel when Pelón smashed the disabled man’s skull
with an elephant tusk?
- How do issues of race, gender, and culture manifest themselves in the lives of these characters? What about issues of class?
- Eddie indicates a growing desire not just for sex, but for intimacy with a woman. Why has this need not been there before?
What is different now? How does what Eddie learns about the love lives of Tony, Pelón, Blutarski, and Xochitl affect him?
- What did you think of Xochitl? Why did she get involved with Eddie? At one point, Eddie says that Xochitl made the right choice
in ending it. Why does he believe that? What was the value of their relationship? Could Eddie and Xochitl have had a future
together?
- What does money mean to these characters and why? Why did Eddie choose to work at the ink mill while he angled against Coltrane
and Johnson to recover the forty thousand dollars? Should Eddie have accepted the loss and left for Miami after that first
disastrous day out of prison? Why did he leave the casino’s money with the bodies in the woods?
- What did you think of the use of Spanish and slang throughout the novel? What does it add? How would the novel be different
without these?
- C, the Italian gangbanger, ordered Eddie and Tony to shoot the black kids in retaliation for a gang-related attack. When Eddie
recalled that C viewed Puerto Ricans as derisively as he did blacks, he wondered why he and Tony ever sided with C about anything
in life. Eddie claims to not know the answer. Do you?
- Why did Eddie shoot those black kids? What choice did he have? How would you have handled the pressure that teenaged Eddie was under
to take such violent action?
- How is this novel’s depiction of gangs unique? Did you see anything to relate to? What distinguishes gangs from fraternities,
the military, or a tribe? What is the appeal for people who commit their lives to their gang? What alternatives might they
be offered that would derail their involvement?
- What is the role of spirituality, morality, or religion for these characters and throughout the novel? Each major character
either explicitly or implicitly expresses belief in a higher power, yet they all make choices that may be described as “immoral.” Why is that?
- How is Gunmetal Black similar to other works, books, and movies that you are familiar with? How does it relate to the Great Books? Is it in conversation
with any of them? What makes Gunmetal Black a novel?
- Pelón tells Eddie and Tony that if they hunger for the American Dream they better seize it. He says, “These people’ve been
running things in this part of the world for five hundred years. You think they gonna stop now?” What does he mean? Do you agree? What are the arguments for and against Pelón’s point of view?
- How did you feel when Eddie avenged his father’s and Tony’s murder by crushing Cabezón’s head with a rock? Was he justified?
Wasn’t he taking the law into his own hands? When, if ever, is that acceptable? Does it matter that Eddie’s experience of
law enforcement is that of corruption?
- Eddie tells us that after he heard the shot marking Pelón’s suicide he was surprised to experience grief. If Pelón was Eddie’s
nemesis, why did Eddie cry over his death? And why did he hand Pelón the gun?
- Were you surprised that Xochitl was at the motel after the casino heist? Did you expect her to ride off with Eddie? Were you
disappointed when she didn’t? What would you have thought of her if she did?
- The final scene finds Eddie in a state of peace and contrition. He is in Florida somewhere with a new identity and a new mission, doing something he loves. How does the rest of his story go? Do you think Eddie will be able to
live out his days in relative quiet? Or is Eddie, as Little Tony puts it, “a straight-up magnet for trouble”? What do you expect to see in the sequel to Gunmetal Black?