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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 did Marcus's mother call him as a nickname?

2. What did Marcus find in Stern's house that became a critical piece of evidence?

3. What type of writing did Harry tell Marcus to exclusively write?

4. Who gave Nola the leather bag that was buried with her?

5. What activity did David Kellergan do that constantly annoyed his neighbors?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did David Kellergan tell Marcus he always listens to music in his garage so loudly?

2. How did the townspeople of Somerset react when they find out that Harry had an affair with 15-year-old Nola?

3. What did Harry Quebert tell Marcus about the first chapter of a book?

4. How were Nola Kellergan's remains found?

5. Why did Marcus decide to write a book about Harry and Nola's relationship and Nola's murder after insisting he would not?

6. When Marcus visited Harry in Somerset in 2008, what stunning note did he find in Harry's house?

7. What did Marcus's publisher, Roy Barnaski, tell Marcus he wanted his book about Harry to include more of?

8. What is the Writer's Disease Marcus Goldman describes at the book's start?

9. What did Harry tell Marcus about the second chapter of a book?

10. What event led directly to Nola's suicide attempt?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How did Elijah Stern react to Luther Caleb's obsession with Nola? Write an essay analyzing Elijah's motivations when dealing with Luther. How did Elijah's permissiveness with Luther lead to the novel's tragic outcome?

Essay Topic 2

What are the significant ways in which the character Marcus Goldman evolves over the course of the novel? Compare and contrast how Marcus describes himself and the decisions he makes in his high school days as "Marcus the Magnificent" and how he describes himself and the decisions he makes as he approaches age 30.

Essay Topic 3

Harry loves the house at Goose Cove, which he eventually buys, at least in part because he thinks it will be a perfect setting in which to write. What does the ruin of the house through arson symbolize? Discuss the evolving meanings of the house at Goose Cove from when Harry first moves in in 1975 to when Marcus decides to restore it at the novel's end.

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