2. Discuss the way that journalists are portrayed in Going to See the Elephant. What about politicians? How accurate did you find these depictions?

3. Early in the book, Slater reveals that he believes that a person who is destined to do something great will do so by age twenty-nine. Is there an age by which you believe great work, or great talent, should be demonstrated?

4. Consider the title, as well as the author’s note on the title, of this novel. What significance do you think the title has in the context of the story and characters of Going to See the Elephant?

5. What similarities do you see between Slater and Milo? What differences in their motivations?

6. Going to See the Elephant is set in a semi-realistic world. Why do you think the author made this choice? What did you feel the setting added to the reading experience?

7. Consider the question of fate versus action in this novel. Which characters seem to be driven by fate, and which take their destinies into their own hands? How much of our lives is controlled by outside forces and to what extent do actions determine fate?

8. Why do you think that weather becomes Milo’s obsession? What it is about controlling the weather that he finds so compelling?

9. On page 117, Slater says “Well you know what they say about stories. They find the people best suited to tell them.” Where do you see this being true in the world of this novel? Who tells what story, and why?

10. What is it that Slater sees in Callio upon their initial meeting? To what is he attracted? How does this change over time?

11. Discuss Havram’s relationship with his daughter. Is his anger toward Slater justified?

12. From what you are shown in the novel, do you think Slater is a good writer? Why or why not? Do you think his talents lie elsewhere? Will his newfound maturity help him accomplish his ambitious dream?

13. What is it that compels Slater to confide his secret to Callio? Did her reaction surprise you?

14. Throughout the novel, Slater is preoccupied with his legacy–doing something or creating something that will last. Do you think this is a common concern? What do you think this says about Slater as a character?

15. Consider Slater’s letter to Callio on page 259. How would you have reacted, were it written to you?

16. Did you like the ending of the novel? Why or why not?

top of the page

"Rodes Fishburne is onto something here. If you’ve ever been young you’ll recognize the wide-eyed innocence he serves up, if you’ve ever lived in a city you’ll recognize the fun house he mirrors, and the madcap ambition, the roll of the brave and shaky dice, the lightning-chord changes that leave everyone gleaming, and the luminous sucker punch of first love and first loss—all that’s our own. The closer you get to Going to See the Elephant the more we all see ourselves."

—Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snickett

"Going to See the Elephant will delight anybody who has ever written a first novel, wanted to write a first novel, and especially those who cherish reading unforgettable first novels. It is both funny and wise."

— James Patterson

"Rodes Fishburne is a marksman hunting down first-novel fame, and he never misses."

—Tom Wolfe

"Slater Brown, the wide-eyed young hero of Rodes Fishburne's delightful debut novel, is just the man I'd want to lead me through the streets of San Francisco and regale me with its stories Going to See the Elephant is a rollicking good tale with an old-fashioned sense of fun; one can't help falling in love."

—Michelle Richmond, author of The Year of Fog