How does There Will Be No Miracles Here interact with the well-known rags-to-riches storyline? How does your background knowledge of “rags to riches” as a common trope affect your understanding of the book, both in terms of the story it tells and in terms of the author’s choices and skill in creating it? Ultimately, what distinguishes this book from a stock rags-to-riches narrative?

Discuss the role that religion plays in Gerald’s worldview and behavior as reflected in the text. In doing so, consider how the answer may evolve as Gerald matures and gains experience. To what extent does Gerald’s perspective on such matters in the final chapter connect with, reinforce, or repudiate his childhood views as expressed in the Prologue?

Gerald’s sexual partners and apparently all his friends in the book are male. However, there are several very important women in the narrative. These include Gerald’s mother, both of his grandmothers, and his sister. Brenda Cox and Doris Archer also play pivotal roles later in the book. Does the book present a fair and appropriately nuanced view of such women? How do they compare, in terms of complexity of portrayal, with the male characters presented in the book?