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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 contraband did Zoe successfully smuggle into Tranquillum House?

2. As Yao gives her a tour of Tranquillum House, Frances is disconcerted to learn that what happens everyday during the retreat?

3. Which contraband has Frances been allowed to keep?

4. According to Jessica, she is addicted to what?

5. What kinds of novels does Frances write at the beginning of the novel?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the reader learn about Zach's death in Chapter 26? Why does Napoleon blame himself?

2. Once alone in her room for the first time, what does Frances discover?

3. Why is Tony famous?

4. Who is Paul Drabble and what does the reader learn about him in Chapter 8?

5. What does the reader learn about Tony in Chapter 18?

6. Why is Ben unhappy with Jessica?

7. What shocking change happened to Jessica and Ben prior to their coming on the retreat? How did the change affect them?

8. What does the reader learn about Carmel's background in Chapter 21?

9. How do Frances and Zoe bond outside the meditation studio?

10. Frances is concerned to see what happen during their morning hike in Chapter 17?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What might have happened to Frances had she never attended the retreat at Tranquillum House? Argue for an alternative reality based on what the reader knows of her history, actions, and beliefs.

Essay Topic 2

How would you classify this novel? Is it a romance? A thriller? A mystery? All of the above? How does the novel’s classification mirror Frances and her career?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay defining love from Frances’s perspective. What is love, according to Frances? How does her choice of career reflect these values?

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