Free live free.

by Gene Wolfe

A group of four down-on-their-luck strangers respond to a classified ad offering a strange bargain: live free of charge in an old man's house, and help him to prevent the city from having the building demolished. This is a strange, often comic, sometimes frightening novel that sticks so closely to depicting only what the characters themselves notice that, if you're not paying close attention, it's possible to miss that you're reading a science fiction story until the very last chapter.

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?