A Minor Chorus

Billy-Ray Belcourt talks about language throughout the novel. Early on, he says “my own anxieties about the novel had to do with my hunch that English is much too compromised a language to engender a portrait of Indigenous life that isn’t subsumed by colonial fantasies of our disrepair.” Have you found this to be true of the book? Has it been true of other books you’ve read about Indigenous people?

All (or maybe most) of the protagonists’ interviewees talk about people they’ve lost as a way of talking about themselves. Who are we if not in relation to others? How does this theme come up throughout the book?

This is a self-reflective, self-referencing novel that often feels like a memoir. How did these blurred lines between genres work for you? Did you enjoy the experience of reading it?

On page 105, the protagonist talks about a “queerer notion of motherhood” - he says of his friend River “Who I am is tied to who they are – that to me is the mark of the maternal function.” Did this redefinition of mothering resonate with you? Why or why not?

Did you consider the meaning of the title, A Minor Chorus? Why do you think BillyRay Belcourt chose this title?

On page 126, he says “I’m not certain I know what I’m doing here, but I believe there’s a story here, about how people are made to participate in the production of their own misery” - do you feel like this captures something about the novel? Do you think there IS a story here? If so, what is it?

When we make ourselves visible for who we truly are, it can endanger us. (p. 22-23) Why is it important to make ourselves visible? What are some ways we can make ourselves visible? How can we support and protect those who make themselves visible?

How can we free ourselves from the toxic masculinity and radicalization that we see happening more and more? (p. 134-135)

Why do so many feel the need to label others, to call notice to a person's "nonnormativity," especially youth, when they are simply trying to just be? How can we help youth to feel supported in their "queerness," whether that be their sexuality or gender? (p. 145)

Do you think the narrator, at the end of the story, is happy?

This book places focus on the intersectional identity of the protagonist -- as queer, indigenous, academic scholar, etc. Why is the focus on intersectional identity a central element of character building in this book?

The author takes pride in his sex writing. Did this writing stand out to you? (vs. other ways that authors write about sex?)

Belcourt is an award willing poet. Did you find that his writing style pushes the capacity of a sentence for a novel?