View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How old does Christine, Reta's daughter, turn in October?
(a) 16.
(b) 18.
(c) 17.
(d) 15.

2. According to Reta, young adults live in an age of prolonged _________and protracted__________.
(a) Adulthood; dependency.
(b) Childhood; dependency.
(c) Childhood; independence.
(d) Adulthood; independence.

3. What is the signal Reta gives to Lois for her to come over for her nightly meal with the family?
(a) Reta opens the red kitchen curtains.
(b) Reta shuts the red kitchen curtains.
(c) Reta opens the patio door.
(d) Reta shuts the patio door.

4. What is the name of the previous owners of Reta and Tom's Ontario farmhouse?
(a) McGregor.
(b) McGuffin.
(c) McGinn.
(d) McGafferty.

5. What is the first subject Reta and her writer friends discuss at the Orange Blossom Room?
(a) The path to enlightenment.
(b) The way to forgiveness.
(c) The loss of truth.
(d) The nature of goodness.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the subject of the new book Tom is reading?

2. How does Tessa discover the mystery of Norah's disappearance six months prior?

3. What is the name of Reta's friend, a medical journalist who lives in Newfoundland?

4. Why does Reta also chide Valkner about his article "The History of Dictionaries"?

5. What does Norah accidentally find in the pocket of Christine's winter parka?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Reta Winter's thoughts and feelings as the novel opens.

2. Why does Reta initially think Norah's problems may have stemmed from her relationship with Ben Abbot?

3. How does Reta respond to the death of Mr. Scribano and how is it significant?

4. Why does Norah make the sarcastic observation in her letter to Alexander Valkner that he must have suffered from extreme fatigue when he thought of his list of "literary big cats"?

5. What are some concerns Reta has in creating her fictional character Alicia, and how are they significant?

6. What does Reta do each month that indicates her attempt to live up to an idea of "goodness?"

7. Why do Reta and her writer friends at the Orange Blossom Room conclude that the concepts of goodness and greatness are incompatible for women?

8. When does Reta's mind begin to wander and what does she think of during dinner with Tom's physicist friend, Colin Glass?

9. Why does Reta feel that normalcy is "monstrous?"

10. How does the American election results in Florida that Tom, Christine, and Natalie watch relate to Norah's absence?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 850 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample