View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What color dresses do Dennis and Veronique's daughters wear to Paul's funeral?

2. In Chapter 1, who tells Paul that he needs time?

3. By the time Paul has spent ten days in Greece, how many Greek words can he say?

4. What design was on the formal china that Fenno's mother selected when she got married?

5. What type of flowers are next to Paul's ashes after the funeral?

Short Essay Questions

1. How many dogs were left after Maureen died, and what happened to them?

2. How does Fenno help Veronique at the beginning of Chapter 7?

3. What are some sketches that Fern shows Paul?

4. What does Fenno say about his mother's death in Chapter 4?

5. How did Ralph and Fenno happen to find Armand dead at one of his bistro tables?

6. What do Veronique and her daughters wear for Paul's funeral?

7. Why does Paul choose to go to Greece?

8. Who was Malachy Burns?

9. What is the favorite piece that Marjorie buys on the trip to Greece?

10. What was a major expenditure in furnishing the bookstore, and why was it a wise investment?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

David and Lillian ask Fenno to be a sperm donor. How does the request affect Fenno’s relationship with his brother and his wife? How does the request affect Fenno’s outlook on life?

Essay Topic 2

Fern and Fenno reach New York at the end of the novel. How does Fern think that a trip through the Midtown Tunnel makes it difficult to know where you will emerge? How does that relate to Fern’s view of life? In what way do the twists and turns of life, like the tunnel, always take people where they intended to be?

Essay Topic 3

The author said that love depends “upon an ecosystem, a context.” What is meant by that phrase? In what ways is the delicacy of love revealed in the novel? Is love still attainable in spite of its fragility?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 718 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample