A Novel Quiz

Answer: Mitch Albom

"Tuesdays with Morrie" is a biographical novel by Mitch Albom originally published in 1997. It is the story of how Mitch reunited with his old professor, Morrie Schwartz, shortly before Morrie's death. It is moving, poignant and inspiring. Among Albom's other novels are "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" and "The Time Keeper".

Answer: Robert James Waller

Robert James Waller's 1992 novel, "The Bridges of Madison County", became a best-seller and was even made into a 1995 movie with major stars Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood as the protagonists. My question is - why? I am sure I am in the minority, but I found this story about the burgeoning relationship of the photographer and the housewife mundane and uninspiring. Even with the movie's star power, the brief affair never came alive for me. Please do not send correction notices if you disagree; we are both entitled to our opinions. Other novels by Waller include "A Thousand Country Roads" and "Iowa".

Answer: John Irving

Author John Irving tends to set his novels in New England where he was born and raised. His plots often center on the coming-of-age of both ordinary and extraordinary children. The latter is true in the case of Owen Meany, a character from Irving's seventh novel, the 1989 book "A Prayer for Owen Meany".

The story is narrated by Owen's best friend John Wheelwright and explores growing up in New Hampshire and ends with Owen fulfilling his dream and his destiny. Irving also penned "The World According to Garp" and "The Cider House Rules".

Answer: Khaled Hosseini

Have you ever read a book that makes you a part of a culture you've never experienced? I found that happening to me as I read Khaled Hosseini's 2003 novel "The Kite Runner". The book describes the life of a young Kabul boy, Amir, and his best friend Hassan, a servant of his father.

The plot shows the dichotomy between the peaceful days of kite flying and the turbulent days which follow in that area of the world. "The Kite Runner" was Hosseini's first novel. It became a best-seller along with his next two books, i.e., "A Thousand Suns" and "And the Mountains Echoed".

Answer: Yann Martel

Can you imagine a story about a boy spending months in a lifeboat with a Bengal Tiger? Oh, and the tiger's name is Richard Parker. That is the main plot of Yann Martel's 2001 book and, as incredible as it sounds, it draws you in amd makes you believe. Our hero is a young boy from India named Piscine "Pi" Patel who gets shipwrecked and winds up in the above-mentioned lifeboat.

When he finally lands in Mexico and tells his story, the officials do not believe him so he makes up another story and lets them choose to believe what they wish. Martel has also written "The High Mountains of Portugal" and "Beatrice and Virgil".

Answer: John Knowles

"A Separate Piece" is a 1959 novel based on an earlier short story by John Knowles. Teenager Gene Forrester is the main character in the story which is set during World War II. In his mind, Forrester relieves his earlier prep school days with his friend Finny, and his guilt over an accident he caused.

As the students become more involved in the war effort, there is yet another accident, this time with even more dire consequences. John Knowles (1926-2001) is also the author of the 1981 book "Peace Breaks Out".

Answer: Arthur Golden

Arthur Golden's 1997 novel, "Memoirs of a Geisha", is set around the time of World War II. The book is set in Kyoto, Japan from the point of view of the protagonist Chiyo Sakamoto who is separated from her older sister and sold into a 'geisha boarding house' at a very young age. Chiyo must learn about the nature of her housemates and adapt in order to survive. Due to the machinations of others, Chiyo winds up becoming a maid but works her way up again as a geisha under the name of Sayuri. It seems such a sad life. Golden wrote the novel over a ten year period, rewriting it several times and changing the perspective.

Answer: Markus Zusak

Australian Author Markus Zusak authored "The Book Thief" which was originally published in 2005. Here we have yet another coming-of-age novel set during World War II, but this time the setting is Germany. Liesel Meminger is a ten-year-old girl who has been taken in by foster parents Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Hans teaches her how to read and Liesel begins to steal books about to be burned by the Nazis.

She even goes so far as to start writing her own stories which she shares with Max, a Jew who is being hidden from the Nazis by the Hubermanns. Zusak's previous novels include "Underdogs" and "I Am the Messenger".

Answer: Frank McCourt

Frank McCourt describes memories of his childhood in Ireland in his Pulitzer Prize winning best seller "Angela's Ashes", first published in 1996. McCourt was actually born in Brooklyn, New York in 1930, but his family moved back to Limerick, Ireland in 1935.

The family has more than its share of tragedy and winds up poor and on welfare ("on the dole"). Malachy, Frank's father, is an alcoholic who is unable to support the family. Angela's ashes refers to his mother and what her life has become.

Despite everything, Frank is able to return to the United States at nineteen years old to start again. "Angela's Ashes" was followed by "'Tis: A Memoir" and "Teacher Man".

Answer: Wally Lamb

"She's Come Undone" is the delightful story of Delores Price from the age of four to forty. The novel was written by Wally Lamb and published in 1992. What amazed me most about this story is the fact that a male author could write so convincingly and accurately about the innermost thoughts and feelings of a female. From Doris' parents' troubled marriage to her oppressive grandmother, from her obesity, her suicide attempts and her incarceration in a mental institution... this is all done with warmth, understanding and humor. Lamb followed this novel with "I Know This Much Is True" and "We Are Water".