XYZ Trivia

1. What is the name of the Greek island that the book takes place on?

From Quiz Anne Zouroudi's "The Messenger of Athens"

Answer: Thiminos

Thiminos is a fictional Greek island in the southern Aegean, of which a map is given at the beginning of the book. It is very small, only about five miles across, and naturally most people living here know each other quite well. As is usual in a tight-knit community, many of the inhabitants of Thiminos look down on so-called "foreigners", that is, those from mainland Greece, even though they are fellow countrymen. Many too have never left the island. It is described as "one huge rock", with cliffs around its coast and little more than some black pines and shrubs. The only way in and out is by sea, and the island is at least five miles away from the usual shipping lanes. Although the island is said not to have much beauty, the seashores provide a dazzling display of greens and blues, and the island's various chapels give small pockets of paradise.

From Quiz American Born Chinese

Answer: Graphic Novel

This book is written in a comic book style, and is about 240 pages long. Therefore it is a graphic novel. It is actually the first graphic novel to be recognized by the National Book Foundation.

From Quiz People in "Elsewhere" by Gabrielle Zevin

Answer: Elizabeth Marie Hall

Elizabeth has no idea how she got on the ship.

From Quiz Easy Quiz on "Queen's Own Fool"

Answer: Annette

Annette and Nicola were the two dancing girls for Troupe Brufort. Nadine was Uncle Armand's wife, and the tamborine player and singer.

From Quiz Girl in a Cage

Answer: Turnips

Turnips were quite common in medieval England. In fact, corn was not eaten there until it was introduced by the Native Americans.

From Quiz Anne Zouroudi's "The Messenger of Athens"

Answer: Theo's grandfather Thodoris

We are introduced to Theo at the funeral of his grandfather and namesake, Thodoris (or Theo for short). He was born on Thiminos and expects to die here, following the line of his father, his grandfather, his great-grandfather and so on. Each of the male line are buried in the same plot after death, being disinterred later and their bones stored in the ossuary. Theo reflects that knowing the location of one's own grave throughout life makes one pessimistic; he simply gets on with life as a carpenter and his marriage to Elpida. He is resented by his brother, Takis, who disdainfully calls him "Saint Thodoris".

From Quiz American Born Chinese

Answer: The Monkey King

The first story is the tale of the monkey king who is invited to a dinner party, but is shunned and embarrassed for being kicked on the account of being a monkey. He trains to be strong and powerful, but is trapped for centuries under a rock, when he messes with his creator, Tze-Yo-Tzuh.

From Quiz People in "Elsewhere" by Gabrielle Zevin

Answer: Thandi

Thandi's guy at home was named Reginald Christopher Doral Monmount Harris the Third, but she calls him Slim.

From Quiz The Icarus Hunt: Characters

Answer: Ephis and Borandis

He had Cole's diesease, and needed borandis, but couldn't get it legally because he caught the disease in Ephis, an interdicted world.

From Quiz Girl in a Cage

Answer: Fife

Dumfries and Scone were places Marjorie visited during the course of the book, and Lochmaben was an estate. According to Ms. Yolen and Mr. Harris's afterword, Marjorie most likely wasn't at Dumfries when Comyn was murdered.

From Quiz Anne Zouroudi's "The Messenger of Athens"

Answer: Wearing winged sandals

"Diaktoros" is a Greek word meaning "messenger", so he is named "Hermes Messenger" by his father, who was a classical scholar. Hermes is a very mysterious character, never mentioning who has sent him on this private investigation to Thiminos, only that he has come from Athens. Often referred to in the narrative as just "the fat man", Hermes's appearance is described as an eccentric mix: he wears a fine, gray suit that "shimmer[s] with a lavender sheen" whenever he moves, a sports shirt, a fancy Italian leather belt, old-fashioned glasses, and finally, to the bafflement of Thiminos's police officers, white canvas tennis shoes. Hermes points these out as his winged sandals to various people, evoking those worn by the god himself. He carries shoe whitener with him and frequently touches up the canvas of the shoes, wherever he is and whoever he is with.

From Quiz American Born Chinese

Answer: Forfeit his soul

Transformation seems to be a key idea in this novel, but by transforming Jin Wang gives up every thing that makes him, himself, his soul.

From Quiz People in "Elsewhere" by Gabrielle Zevin

Answer: Curtis Jest

Curtis Jest is (or was) the lead singer of Liz's favorite band, The Machine.

From Quiz The Icarus Hunt: Characters

Answer: Kalix

Chort was Craean, everyone else on the Icarus was human. The Ikyam worked for the Paath, and had quite a few run-ins with the Icarus' crew.

From Quiz Easy Quiz on "Queen's Own Fool"

Answer: Eloise

Eloise was the first one Nicola really talked to. She told Nicola who everyone was as they walked out of Mass. Eloise had made a silly joke, and stunned Nicola by asking her if she too could become a court fool.

From Quiz Girl in a Cage

Answer: 1306

In 1296, the previous king, John Balliol, abdicated the throne.

From Quiz Anne Zouroudi's "The Messenger of Athens"

Answer: Irini and Nikos

Irini is the niece of Nikos, who lives on the west coast of the island. He is an old man who has a sign by his door saying "Café Nikos", serving drinks to anyone who comes, for company rather than business. He is sick, with problems in his stomach, but is too afraid to see a doctor. Nikos stayed on the island after falling in love with his wife, and enjoys the quiet existence of island life. Nikos and his sister, Irini's mother, arranged Irini's marriage to Andreas here on Thiminos after her previous fiancé moved to Australia and married someone else. Andreas had promised her that they would travel, but since the wedding, they have stayed on Thiminos, where Andreas is content but Irini wishes to see more of the world. After her apparent suicide, Hermes wonders if the marriage was unhappy enough to have driven her to this.

From Quiz American Born Chinese

Answer: Wei Chen

Wei Chen, supposedly, arrives from Taiwan. At first Jin feels anger towards him and wants to beat him up. But he and Wei share a common love of transformer toys, and they quickly become best friends.

From Quiz People in "Elsewhere" by Gabrielle Zevin

Answer: Elsewhere

"Elsewhere" is the title of the book.

From Quiz Easy Quiz on "Queen's Own Fool"

Answer: The Magpies

They called Lord William's nieces "The Magpies" because they were like magpies, talking constantly, and "fluttering about".

From Quiz Anne Zouroudi's "The Messenger of Athens"

Answer: Fisherman

As a fisherman, Andreas is often away from home for days or even weeks at a time, leaving Irini very lonely, especially because as a "foreigner", she feels ostracized by the others on the island and has no real friends. Even when she knows he won't be back for days, Irini often walks down to the coast to keep an eye out for his boat returning. Although she loves him, she is still unhappy at his broken promises and wishes for excitement in her life. Andreas himself is content with life, being at one with the sea and its fish. While working, he often eats raw sea-life, and feels that "sharing of their fluids" is vital to his job, absorbing their oils and being spattered by their blood. As a man who'd "choose to be a merman" in another life, he is happy on Thiminos and feels no need to travel and see the world beyond his sea voyages.

From Quiz People in "Elsewhere" by Gabrielle Zevin

Answer: He is her principal

Trick question! Dr. Fredrick was her male principal.

From Quiz Easy Quiz on "Queen's Own Fool"

Answer: Hamish

Nicola needed to get to the Queen, and no one would let her pass. She tricked Hamish into giving Nicola the tray of food by telling him Lord Darnley was over-protective of the Queen, and killed any man that came near her.

From Quiz Girl in a Cage

Answer: Saint Cuthbert

This book takes place before Joan of Arc was born. (She was born in about 1406).

From Quiz Anne Zouroudi's "The Messenger of Athens"

Answer: Theo

Irini dreams of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, bringing her a gift. Shortly thereafter, during a storm, Theo's truck crashes into a tree blocking the road outside Irini's house, and she falls in love with him on sight. Their affair largely consists of secret glances as they pass each other, then they begin to intrude on the other's thoughts, although neither has spoken to the other since the day of the storm. Irini begins to show obvious signs of trying to catch another man's attention, such as starting to wear more make-up, not coming to meet Andreas's boat when he returns, and feigning sleep to avoid making love. Meanwhile, Theo's wife Elpida also realizes he has found another woman, as he has extreme mood swings, fails to concentrate at work, and refuses to switch on the TV, as it might mask the sound of Irini's footsteps approaching the house.

From Quiz People in "Elsewhere" by Gabrielle Zevin

Answer: She was hit by a car on her way to the mall to meet her friend

Liz was riding her bike on her way to see Zooey, her best friend, at the mall. She was supposed to help her pick out a prom dress.

From Quiz The Icarus Hunt: Characters

Answer: Pix and Pax

They were "ferrets" who could link their nervous systems with his when they stood on his shoulder.

From Quiz Easy Quiz on "Queen's Own Fool"

Answer: Michel

The first Sunday that they were in Holyrood, there was a mob of angry Protestants that attacked them on their way to Mass. Afterword, Michel was so frightened he could barely remember what to say.

From Quiz Girl in a Cage

Answer: Green

Her favorite color is green. In fact, when she was captured, her dress was green, although by the end of the book, it is "a dirty gray".

From Quiz Anne Zouroudi's "The Messenger of Athens"

Answer: She was stoned by Elpida's mother.

Although the official police ruling is that her death was an accident, most of Thiminos believes that Irini jumped from the cliff beneath which her body was found. In his investigations, Hermes talks to Eleni, the mother of Elpida, Theo's wife, who becomes enraged at any mention that Theo was in love with Irini instead of her daughter. She gives herself away when Hermes asks if Elpida is the guilty one in Irini's death, and Eleni replies "Elpida wasn't even there!", confirming that she herself is involved. It transpires that Eleni had discovered Theo crying over Irini, and knew that it was love rather than just sex. (In fact, Irini and Theo had never had full sex, as they'd been interrupted in his truck.) She, her other daughter Yorgia, and her mother went to confront Irini at the garden she was growing on a plot of abandoned land, and destroyed the garden. They then killed Andreas's pet lark as a warning. After Eleni's mother suggested they go again to confront Irini face to face, they began to throw stones at her, until Irini was curled up on the ground, crying and screaming. Eleni then dropped a large rock on her head, claiming she didn't realize the damage it would do.

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