Flashbacks
Suggested Bookclub Questions

1.  Do you think our upbringing shapes the way we become?

2.  Ali, Adam and Kaylah are the central characters. What has shaped them to be the way they are?

3.  Extremism is a key theme in this novel. Do you think an author has to be close to extremism to write authentically about it?

4.  Around the central characters other characters play significant roles, e.g. the churches of Ruth Churchill and Sam Kone.                   How did you experience their worlds?

5.  Clive and Winston’s world of drugs and gangs brings other themes into play. What do you think they are?

6.  The police, anti-extremism and security services have a difficult task. How should they go about their task?

7.  Is the PM a character you like or dislike? Why?

8.  Adam’s experience begins with the excitement of a Gap Year. How would you describe his relationship with his parents,                   Sue and Jim?

9.  Are both Ali and Kaylah ‘groomed’? What does ‘grooming ’mean?

10. Two world religions emerge in the story, Islam and Christianity. What do you think these religions can do to address the                    problem of extremism?

11. Which character touched you most and why?

12. How did the ending make you feel?