Introduction

As a major hurricane threatens the northeast, math professor Gandalf Cohen is abducted by federal agents and flown to a secret interrogation center off the coast of Maine. Austin Coombs, a young local resident, is a newly hired civilian guard assigned to the detention center. Henry Ames, a man of personal secrets, is the FBI special agent in charge of Gandalf’s case and doubts the professor’s terrorist involvement; Tobias, his second-in-command, disagrees, preferring violent interrogation. As the hurricane slams the shore, conflict detonates and each character must choose a side if they’re to survive the storm.   Told over the five days approaching the anniversary of 9/11, by varying voices on both extremes of the political divide, On Hurricane Island is both a fast-paced political thriller and a literary examination of the sociopolitical storm facing our society. How far should government go in the name of protecting our national security? What happens when governmental powers of surveillance and extra-legal interrogation are expanded?  How free are we?  

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Excerpt

THURSDAY, September 8

1. GANDALF, 8:06 a.m.
Her name is ridiculous. All because her pregnant mother clung to sanity during six weeks of forced bed rest by reading The Hobbit and eating lime jello. Gandalf despises jello and rarely uses her given name. She is Professor Cohen at work and Gee to acquaintances, but there is no way to avoid the absurdity of her given name when confronted with bureaucracy. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1. Gandalf Cohen is kidnapped and taken to a civilian detention center, because of her past friendship with a person who might be related to a terrorist. Do you think this kind of treatment of citizens is justified to protect our national security? Do you believe it’s possible that such centers exist in the United States?

2. On Hurricane Island is told from multiple points of view, including a lesbian math professor, a young working class woman, and a rogue FBI agent. Why do you think the author chose these voices and how do they affect the telling of the story?

3. There are scenes in this book that may be difficult to read. How do you feel about the use of graphic violence in fiction? Does it add to authenticity or turn your stomach, or both?

4. Henry is a career FBI agent who has begun to have doubts about his work. Why do you think these questions are growing, after years of commitment to the agency and its methods? He is also a man with a personal secret; does his cross-dressing affect his decision-making?

5. Austin has a lot to lose by helping Gandalf and Norah escape. Why do you think she makes this decision? Does she regret it? How does the experience change her life?

6. The island setting is both a real place and an imagined one. There is a real Hurricane Island, with a deserted quarry, a history of labor unrest, and an old Outward Bound facility. There is no civilian detention center there, and it’s a much smaller place. How much leeway do you think writers should have in re-imagining real places?

7. The subplot about Margaret and her Italian lover is woven through On Hurricane Island, primarily through the device of her letters. What does this back-story, which occurred a century before the main events of the novel, add? Or does it?

8. Tobias is a dedicated FBI agent, motivated by strong feelings of patriotism, but he does some awful things. What do you feel about him as a character? Do you believe him?

9. Austin’s grandparents, Ray and Nettie, are worried about her working at the detention center. How does their concern, and Austin’s mixed feelings about her family history on the island, add to the conflict of this novel?

10. The fury of the hurricane is an important element of this novel. How does the weather contribute to the plot and the emotion of the book?

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