Our Missing Hearts

1. General Impressions 

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

• Ng’s other two novels—Everything I Never Told You and Little Fires Everywhere—also feature Asian American families. Taken together, what common themes do they address? How do they present the Asian American experience? 
• Compare and contrast Ng’s approach to the dystopian novel to other books in the genre. Options might include George Orwell’s 1984, Susan Collins’s The Hunger Games, Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, or  Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven.
• How does Ng use real-life events as inspiration for the novel’s plot and conflict? What does she change or modify? What are the advantages—and what are the dangers or risks—of basing a story on true events?

2. Personal Reflection and Connection 

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

• How did you feel about the novel’s portrayal of (a dystopian vision of) America? Did you find it realistic? Why or why not?
• How was your reaction to the novel shaped by having experienced the COVID-19 pandemic?
• Consider your own ethnic or cultural heritage.