Book Discussion: Stories From the Tenants Downstairs by Sidik Fofana

Flip back to the "Intro." The final lines of the opening poem are "Everybody got a story, everybody got a tale/ Question is: is it despair or prevail?" As described in "Rent Manual," Banneker Terrace is under new ownership and a rent hike is looming. When you reached the end of the collection, did you feel optimistic about the future of Banneker Terrace and its residents? Why or why not?

In "Rent Manual," Mimi keeps a running tally of her finances as she goes from gig to gig to make rent. Why might the author have chosen to begin the collection with Mimi's story? What are some themes that are introduced here, that will recur throughout the book?

Gentrification is a central theme in this collection; it is also a central economic pressure in nearly every American city. What is gentrification? How have you observed its effects for yourself?
"lite feet" is the only epistolary story (a story written in the form of a letter) in the collection. Why might the author have chosen to write this story in this way? How does the story's epistolary form affect your reading experience?

In "Camaraderie," we encounter Darius for the first time since "Rent Manual." How have Mimi's decisions from "Rent Manual" impacted Darius?

At the beginning of "The Young Entrepreneurs of Miss Bristol's Front Porch," Kandese Bristol is confident that the news station will report on their candy store. All the young entrepreneurs need to do to make it happen, she says, is write them a letter. A response from the news station arrives at the end of the story, and the story's narrator assumes the worst, even before she's read it. In your opinion, what purpose do these details serve in the story? What might the hope for news coverage represent, and what can we make of the narrator's pessimism at the end?

In the following passage, Ms. Dallas describes teachers like Mr. Broderick: "They fresh out of college with a magic wand. They done read all the articles. Believed every news show that said public schools and teachers in the ghetto is falling apart like pie crust. Watched every feel-good movie, thinkin about twenty-two they can come in here and set the world right in minutes. All the while, they bidin they time til law school." Later, she says "I also believe that people who don't learn lessons should still get taught." In your opinion, what is the "lesson" she wants Mr. Broderick to learn?

In the final story Mr. Murrary says he deosn't know why anyone didn't ask his opinion before taking up arms for his cause of being allowed to play chess across the street from the restaurant. What ways have you seen people in society take up another persons cause without consulting? Is it helpful or harmful?