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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 health problem does Mike have?

2. Who is Alec's first grandchild who he sometimes looks after?

3. Who confronts the Neo-Nazis in Part III, challenging them publicly?

4. What does Alec remember Vern's nickname as in school?

5. Who does Mike kill in Part III?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do Vern and his wife Kath break up?

2. What does Val think is specifically wrong with her sex life with Mike?

3. What does the woman Val helps at her volunteering position tell Val about why she is so upset?

4. In Part III, what does Jo want from Ricky?

5. What does Mike do in Part III that horrifies Val and changes the course of her life?

6. How does Marsha change Ben's life?

7. What does Jo end up doing after moving back to London, and why does she move back from America?

8. What are some things about Marsha that Ben admires?

9. Why does Marsha sometimes get nervous when her sister comes to visit the house for family events?

10. What problem does Val's husband Claude struggle with?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Vern's chance meeting with Alec change the course of Vern's life and business dramatically? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

How does Spufford describe Ben's and Marsha's relationship, and why does it work so well even though it appears unconventional on the surface? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

How does Alec's relationship with his son, Gary, change over the course of the novel? Why does Alec have a fleeting feeling of failure at the end of the novel upon hearing of Vicky's eating disorder? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 672 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample