Metropolis

The New York Times bestselling author of The Art Forger delivers a spellbinding and moving novel about what we hang on to, what we might need to let go, and how unexpected events can lead us to deeper truths.

Six people, six secrets, six different backgrounds. They would never have met if not for their connection to the Metropolis Storage Warehouse in Cambridge, Massachusetts. When someone falls down an elevator shaft at the facility, each becomes caught up in an intensifying chain of events.

We meet Serge, an unstable but brilliant street photographer who lives in his storage unit, which overflows with thousands of undeveloped pictures; Marta, an undocumented immigrant finishing her dissertation and hiding from ICE; Liddy, an abused wife and mother, who recreates her children’s bedroom in her unit; Jason, a former corporate lawyer now practicing in the facility; Rose, the office manager, who takes illegal kickbacks to let renters live in the building; and Zach, the building’s owner and an ex-drug dealer, who scans Serge’s photos as he searches for clues to the accident.

But was it an accident? A murder attempt? Suicide? As her characters dip in and out of one another’s lives trying to find answers and battling societal forces beyond their control, B. A. Shapiro both questions the myth of the American dream and builds tension to an exhilarating climax. Taut and emotional, Metropolis is impossible to put down and impossible to forget.

This discussion guide was shared and sponsored in partnership with Algonquin Books.

Book club questions for Metropolis by Elizabeth Gaffney

Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.

Each of the six main characters in Metropolis has a secret. How do these secrets affect who they are and their actions throughout the novel?

Metropolis has an ensemble cast. Why do you think the author tells the story in so many voices? How much knowledge did you gain about Zach, Rose, Liddy, Marta, Serge, and Jason through another’s viewpoint? Do you think this is an effective way of exploring character?

The author is a longtime resident of Boston, which plays a large part in this book. How are her feelings for her city expressed throughout the book?

The epigraph in Metropolis reads, “An imbalance between the rich and the poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics.” Why do you suppose the author chose this particular quote? Do you believe it’s true? How did the author weave this concept into the story?

Were you familiar with “The Race of Life,” the experiment Marta cites in her dissertation? Do you believe that their parents’ socioeconomic level places children at uneven starting lines? Can you think of people you know for whom this is true? People for whom it isn’t? What are your thoughts on inequality and opportunity in this country?

Given their different backgrounds and life experiences, did Liddy and Marta’s love story seem plausible to you? Do you think they will end up together?

Was Liddy right to disappear? Do you think she had other options? Why do you think it took her so long to realize she was mistreated?

Do you think Marta’s decision to go to court was the correct one? Were her deportation orders fair?

How about Rose’s decision to collude with Garrett? Do you blame her for her choices?

In the end, what do you think these characters learned about themselves from one another? To what extent do you feel they were the actors in their own dramas, and how much were the circumstances beyond their control?

Metropolis Book Club Questions PDF

Click here for a printable PDF of the Metropolis discussion questions