READERS GUIDE

Questions and Topics for Discussion

1. All Them Dogs is the story of Tony Ward and his struggles to find his place in a West Dublin gang. What aspect of Tony’s character struck you most when you encountered him in the first pages of the novel? What impressions of him did you form?

2. The novel uses language and slang that are specific to the area in which it is set. As a reader who might not be familiar with the dialects of Dublin, did you find that the language helped draw you into Tony’s world? Or did you find it a hindrance?

3. What do you think was Tony’s biggest surprise when he returned from England?

4. All Them Dogs explores relationships between parents and their grown children and how those relationships can fray, even break. Which parent in the novel did you feel was most honest with his or her children? Which child understood his/her parent best?

5. What did you think of the young children in this novel, who are growing up in a world where violence is a part of life? Did you find the author’s depiction of them believable?

6. The relationship between Tony and Darren “Flute” Walsh is the crux of All Them Dogs. Do you think Tony understands Flute? Do you think Flute understands Tony?

7. Fanny Lavelle seems to be the one woman in the novel Tony can appreciate. Why do you think that is? What is it about her that Tony trusts? Is her relationship with Flute an asset or an obstacle?

8. As the novel moves toward its denouement, is there a moment that you could point to and say that if Tony had behaved differently, what happened to him would not have happened? If so, what is it?

9. What surprised you most about All Them Dogs?

10. What do you think happens to the characters beyond the novel? What do they end up doing next?