Basketball Jones

Reading Group Guide

Questions for Discussion

1. In the Prologue, AJ claims that even though he has to keep his relationship secret, he is happy with his choice to do so and he “wouldn’t have it any other way.” Did you believe AJ’s claim at first? Do you think he believed what he told himself? Did his attitude change through the book?

2. In Chapter Six, AJ laments, “Sometimes I don’t know if I chose the life I lead of if it chose me.” How would you answer that question for AJ?

3. Do you know anyone on the “down low?” Why have they not yet come out? How would you react if someone close to you surprised you by admitting he or she was gay?

4. Why do you think the world of athletics is unaccepting of homosexuality? Do think Dray was more concerned about being “outed” to his wife, to his father and family, or to his fans and teammates?

5. Do any of the main characters—AJ, Dray, Jade, Maurice—remind you of people you know in your own life?

6. For whom did you feel more empathy, AJ or Dray? Do you think one of the men had an easier time in his life than the other?

7. Consider the idea of “friendship” in terms of AJ’s friend Maurice. Why was AJ friends with Maurice? Why do some people choose to remain close to someone who isn’t a good friend, or worse, causes them upsetment or harm?

8. “I longed for the days when I had the upper hand and Dray needed me more than I needed him.” Discuss this statement of AJ’s in Chapter Six. Do you think it’s good for a relationship if one member has the “upper hand?”

9. When AJ gets the first of several menacing phone calls that threaten to reveal his secret relationship, he refuses to tell Dray what’s happening. Why do you think he didn’t want Dray to know?

10. Which character did you suspect might be responsible for blackmailing Dray and AJ? When the perpetrator’s identity was revealed, were you surprised?

11. Discuss the book’s ending. Were you wishing that AJ and Dray got back together?

12. “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” Think about AJ’s grandmother’s wise words from the end of Chapter Twenty-Three. Does AJ take them to heart?

Questions for the author

1. This is your 11th novel—how do you come up with new ideas? Do you write books in the same way you’ve done so since you wrote Invisible Life, or has your process changed?

I get my ideals from just living life and listening carefully to everyone I meet.

2. How much of yourself did you put into the character of AJ? Do you inject some of your own personality into characters?

This is probably the first novel where I didn't infuse my own personality. But I have realized that 15 years after Invisible Life was published there is a new generation of Raymond's and Basil and Kyle's!

3. What inspired you to make Dray’s character an NBA star?

I love basketball and realize I'd never made one a major character. I also was approach to counsel an NBA player thinking about coming out but later decided against it.

4. Talk about New Orleans—what made you decide to center so much of the book’s plot there?

I love New Orleans and when I visited there I was struck by how much they'd lost and what great people that still live there and are rebuilding it. I want to pay tribute to those people. I look forward to returning with my son to stay for a while and do what we can do to help the rebuilding.
 

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