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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. According to Besso, what does Einstein live without?

2. In the "15 June 1905" dream, what is the young woman staring at?

3. In the third Interlude, where are Einstein and Besso?

4. Where does Besso invite Einstein to come to at the close of the second Interlude?

5. What are gaps described as in this world's time, the "17 June 1905" dream?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do sunset and sunrise babies become frightened when the light changes?

2. Describe the cafe that stands on the corner of Kramgasse and Theaterplatz.

3. Describe the two different views people of the 15 June 1905 world can have.

4. For the world described in the 29 May 1905 dream, why are the inhabitants constantly in motion?

5. What options do people have when it comes to reading their Book of Life?

6. Why have some inhabitants of the 29 May 1905 world become frustrated and despondent?

7. According to the 3 June 1905 dream, describe how a person born in December exists.

8. Describe the life of a peach in the world where time travels in reverse.

9. How does the narrator describe a world without a future?

10. What has the young woman at no. 27 Viktoriastrasse missed in her life because of the sudden thrust into the future?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

On the back of the novel, James Gleick is quoted for the novel saying, "No novelist, physicist, or philosopher has offered such a wonderful vision of what time has been or might be." What implication does this set up for the understanding of Einstein himself? What problems may this quote have for the author's intent of writing the novel? Why might Gleick's statement be misunderstood as negative towards Einstein and, therefore, the author himself? Cite specific examples from the text to support your responses.

Essay Topic 2

Choose a dream that would be the best and worst match for your life. Write a compare and contrast essay regarding why one best suits you and why the other does not. Cite specific examples from the text to support your responses.

Essay Topic 3

Salman Rushdie states that the novel is "intellectually provocative and touching and comical and so very beautifully written." (Dust cover quote-1993 edition by Pantheon Books, New York) What, from this quote, do you agree with? What do you disagree with? Based on your stand as a reader, support your belief with textual evidence. Cite specific examples from the text to support your responses.

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