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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 does the Colonel ask Tomas in Chapter Nine that alarms him?

2. Where does Isabel remember experiencing great freedom on a visit to America?

3. What is a signature dish in Argentina?

4. In what year does Tomas return to Argentina?

5. Why is Tomas upset with his wife Claire?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter Nine, what does Tomas do while sleeping at the Colonel's house that he later feels guilty about?

2. What does the Colonel tell Tomas about regret?

3. What does Tomas do when he leaves Argentina in 1976 that damages his future relationships?

4. In Chapter Eight, why does Isabel say she thinks she and Tomas are such good friends?

5. How does Tomas's mother feel about him moving from La Plata to Buenos Aires?

6. What does the Colonel tell Tomas when he says he does not recognize some of the scenery on their journey?

7. How does Tomas feel after having sex with Isabel in Chapter Three?

8. How does Pichuca's family respond when Tomas asks about Isabel in Chapter Four?

9. Where does Isabel take Tomas in Chapter Seven, on one of their first outings in Buenos Aires?

10. What does Isabel ask Tomas in Chapter Three when he asks her if she knows what it would have meant to him to know she survived?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Tomas end up feeling about the Priest, and why does he eventually go so far as asking Isabel and the Montoneros to kill the Priest? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

How does Loedel's own family history, as he describes it in the afterword, inform his writing of this novel? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 3

How does Tomas's journey through the underworld change him, and his perspective about his own past? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

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