Hell of a Book contains two parallel yet related narratives presented in alternating chapters. Why do you think Jason Mott  chose to write the novel using this this structure? How would the book have been different if it were written in a single narrative?

Soot/The Kid and the narrator share a lot in common, to the point that the novel teases the possibility that they are the same person but refuses to confirm this definitively. Identify the different qualities and experiences that they share. Why do you think Mott still leaves the connection between the two characters ambiguous?

Hell of a Book provides a commentary on anti-Black police violence against Black men. However, it leaves Black women largely on the sidelines. How might the novel’s socio-political commentary have been different if it highlighted the roles of Black women?