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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What time does Fenno get up in Chapter 2?

2. Which of Fenno's friends yanked the mediport out of his chest when he was dying of complications of AIDS?

3. What color hair did Paul's wife have?

4. By the time Paul has spent ten days in Greece, how many Greek words can he say?

5. After the tour group explores ruins in Chapter 2, where do they plan to go next?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Fenno say about his mother's death in Chapter 4?

2. What is Dennis's family like?

3. What was a major expenditure in furnishing the bookstore, and why was it a wise investment?

4. What is inside the envelope that Fenno finds addressed to him in his father's desk?

5. What are some sketches that Fern shows Paul?

6. How long were Paul and Maureen married before they had children, and why did it take so long?

7. How did Ralph and Fenno happen to find Armand dead at one of his bistro tables?

8. How was the bookstore doing a year and a half after Ralph and Fenno opened the shop?

9. Who was Tony Best?

10. What is found in an old vase in Chapter 6?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Fern and Fenno reach New York at the end of the novel. How does Fern think that a trip through the Midtown Tunnel makes it difficult to know where you will emerge? How does that relate to Fern’s view of life? In what way do the twists and turns of life, like the tunnel, always take people where they intended to be?

Essay Topic 2

The author said that love depends “upon an ecosystem, a context.” What is meant by that phrase? In what ways is the delicacy of love revealed in the novel? Is love still attainable in spite of its fragility?

Essay Topic 3

Mal ends his life. How important is control in Mal’s life? When does he feel that he is losing control? How does that factor into his decision to end his life?

(see the answer keys)

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