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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 is undrinkable according to Colin?

2. What prize did Reta's novel, "My Thyme is Up," win the previous year?

3. Who suddenly dies at Scribano & Lawrence?

4. What does Norah ask Reta about their family when she is nine years-old?

5. What kind of world is Reta interested in creating for her characters?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Reta reluctant to give Arthur Springer a first draft of her novel, and what does it reveal about her writing?

2. How are Reta's feelings about sex related to her writing about Alicia and Roman?

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

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

5. 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"?

6. Describe life in the Winters' household.

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

8. What are Reta's feelings about Tom and their sexual relationship?

9. Describe Norah's thoughts about the two main characters in her novel, and why they are significant.

10. Why does Reta realize that she cannot create a perfect woman as a hero in her novel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss grief as a major theme of the novel, especially the expression of suffering, responding to the following questions:

1. How does Reta cope with her grief?

2. How are Norah's actions a manifestation of grief?

3. What is the relationship between memory and grief?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the plot and subplot of the novel, including the rising action, climax, and resolution for both.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the role that faith plays in the novel. What are the differences between personal and religious faith? Discuss Reta's views on faith.

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