The Fifth Season

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. In this novel, many characters who seem like allies reveal problematic or toxic attributes, while others who seem prickly demonstrate great relatability and kindness. Which character did your opinion of change the most?

2. A plot twist reveals that the three point-of-view characters are the same woman at three points in her life. In what way do past versions of you feel like different people (or not)?

3. This novel contemplates the meaning of the word “survival.” What does this word mean to you? How does this compare with the depiction and critique of survival in the novel?

4. How does your sympathy for the main character evolve over the course of the novel? Did you find one of her personas easier to sympathize with? Why do you think Jemisin made this character easier to sympathize with in some moments than in others?

5. This novel is full of small details that have horrifying larger implications—for instance, the fate of people at the nodes. Which small but important details like this stuck out to you the most, and why?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. This novel has a racial caste system that is different but parallel to real-world racist hierarchies. How is “race” constructed in this universe? Why is race figured via geographical location in this fantasy world? How is this similar to or different from how it is constructed in the real world?

2. What types of social commentary can Jemisin accomplish by setting her novel in a fantasy universe? Are there any drawbacks to filtering social commentary through this fantastical lens?

3. How does this novel portray gender and sexuality? How do systems of power manipulate gender and sexuality to uphold the rigid hierarchies that structure this world? How do people push back against these systems? What parallels can you find to these issues in your own society?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. Jemisin has written in her blog about her desire to transcend typical genre categorizations as a form of resistance. How does this novel combine elements of both science fiction and fantasy? How does this combination relate to key themes?

2. How is foreshadowing used in this novel? What hints are there about the major plot twist at the end, and why are they deployed?

3. Jemisin has criticized the tendency in fantasy to use magical abilities as a metaphor for racism in narratives that have mainly white characters. How does this novel subvert that?

4. How are locations portrayed as characters within this novel? For instance, how are different settings, like Castrima, the Fulcrum, and Meov, characterized? How do these locations influence the characters who live in them in material and immaterial ways?

5. Why is the novel’s central landmass called the Stillness? In what ways, both literal and figurative, is this ironic, and why?

6. As a symbol, the obelisks are purposefully mysterious. What do you think the obelisks symbolize? How does the way characters interact with the obelisks parallel the way they interact with larger themes?