Great Non-English Novels Trivia Quiz

Answer: Boris Pasternak

The author was Boris Pasternak who wrote "Doctor Zhivago", an epic novel about the Bolshevik Revolution. The Russian government refused to allow its publication because of its "subjective anti-revolutionary views". However, the manuscript was smuggled out of Russia and it was published in Italy.

After Pasternak won the Nobel Prize, the Kremlin exiled him to the country (to Peredelkino, about 25 km west of Moscow) and he was banned from writing.

Answer: French

Victor Hugo (1802-1885) is arguably France's most distinguished poet and Romantic novelist. He is best known for his novels, "Les Miserables" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame".

Answer: The Lady of the Camellias (also known as Camille)

Alexandre Dumas (fils), was the illegitimate son of Dumas (pere). The stigma of his illegitimacy caused him much suffering and is reflected in his writing. "The Lady of the Camellias" (also known as "Camille") was his first play and best-known work. It was based on one of his novels. Giuseppe Verdi based his opera, "La Traviata", on this tragedy.

Answer: Francois Marie Arouet

All of the choices are French writers who wrote under pen-names. The pen-names of Jacques Anatole François Thibault, Armandine Lucie Aurore Dupin and Jean Baptiste Poquelin were Anatole France, George Sand and Moliere, respectively. Voltaire was the pen-name of Francois Marie Arouet.

There are several theories about the origin of his pen-name. The most popular theory is that it comes from an imperfect anagram of the letters making up the name Arouet le jeune (Arouet the younger). This was then abbreviated to Arouet l.j., with the substitution of the letters 'v' and 'i' for 'u' and 'j' respectively.

This results in the letters A R O V E T L I which can be rearranged to form the name VOLTAIRE. (It hardly qualifies as an anagram, in my humble opinion).

Answer: Gabriel Garcia Marquez

All the authors listed have won Nobel Prizes for Literature. Gabriel Garcia Marquez was born in Colombia in 1928. "One Hundred Years of Solitude", published in 1967, was the novel that brought him fame, winning several international awards. He won the Nobel Prize in 1982 and "Love in the Time of Cholera" was published in 1985.

Answer: Don Quixote

The novel commonly known as "Don Quixote" was written in 1605. Its original title was "El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha" (translation: "The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of Mancha"). Hidalgo means a man of the lower nobility in Spain. This novel contributed the term 'quixotic' to the English language. According to the Macquarie dictionary, quixotic means "extravagantly chivalrous or romantic, visionary, impractical".

The expression 'tilting at windmills' also comes from this story.

Answer: War and Peace

"War and Peace" is the odd one out; it was written by Leo Tolstoy. The other three novels were written by Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821-1881). Some of Dostoevsky's other works include "Poor Folk" (his first novel), "Memoirs from the House of the Dead", "Memoirs from Underground", and "The Possessed".

Answer: Emma

Madame Bovary's first name is Emma. Berthe is the name of her daughter. Heloise is the first wife of Charles Bovary, Emma's husband. Marie Louise is her mother-in-law. Flaubert's novel was very controversial when it was first published. Its theme of extramarital sex was considered to be portrayed rather graphically. Flaubert and his publisher were prosecuted for "violation of public morals" but were subsequently acquitted.

The book continues to make 'banned books' lists even today.

Answer: Boccaccio's "The Decameron"

"The Decameron", by Giovanni Boccaccio, dates from the mid 1300's (about 1348-1353). The word "Decameron" is based on the Greek words for ten days. In the introduction, three men and seven women move to the country to escape an outbreak of plague in Florence. To amuse themselves, they hold storytelling competitions.

It is believed that Boccaccio was a major influence on Geoffrey Chaucer, whose "Canterbury Tales" is also a collection of stories told by a group of people.

Answer: Homer

There is some debate as to whether Homer really wrote these two epics but he is generally accepted as the author. Some scholars believe they were the work of many poets. According to tradition, Homer was blind. However, almost nothing is known about him - where and when he was born is a mystery. "The Iliad" tells the story of the Trojan War. "The Odyssey" relates the adventures of Odysseus on his way home after the Trojan War.