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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 narrator decide to do with Adriaan's keys?

2. Which friends of Anton's does he tell a demeaning story about at dinner?

3. Who goes on maternity leave in Chapter 13?

4. What does one member of the defense team tell the group in Chapter 9 about the supporters in the gallery?

5. What is one thing the accused in the trial the narrator is about to start translating for has been accused of?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 10, what does Kees say about Adriaan that unsettles the narrator?

2. What is one global issue Eline tells the narrator she is particularly worried about?

3. What surprises the narrator about the way the former president behaves in Chapter 9?

4. In Chapter 11, how does the narrator begin to view the book she bought for Adriaan earlier?

5. What is one area of Eline's life that the narrator finds herself envying?

6. What is the narrator's impression of Anton when she first meets him?

7. What does Eline tell the narrator is her relationship with Anton and his wife Miriam?

8. What do the former president's supporters do in the courtroom in Chapter 8?

9. What impression does the narrator form of how his colleagues regard Kees?

10. What story does Anton tell that reflects somewhat poorly on both him and the story's subjects?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does the narrator feel when her texts and calls to Adriaan are met with silence while he is in Lisbon? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

What are the major sources of the narrator's discomfort during her first assignment with the well-known jihadist at the detention center at the beginning of the novel? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

How does the narrator's conversation with her mother from the dunes at the end of the novel seem to affect the narrator's sense of place, purpose, and memory? 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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