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Quiz about Pulitzer Prize Winners in Fiction

Pulitzer Prize Winners in Fiction Quiz

Launched as an incentive to excellence, the Pulitzer Prize began as a series of awards in several categories of publishing for writers that deeply reflected American life in their work. This is a quiz about books in the Fiction category.

A multiple-choice quiz by albert11. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
albert11

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
377,178

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
447

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. The 1972 winner follows the story of a retired history professor's grandparents, who migrated to different mining camps in the west during the 19th century. What was it called? Hint

A Summons to Memphis

The Good Earth

Angle of Repose

Lonesome Dove

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Question 2 of 10

2. In which book written by Michael Chabon do a magician and a creative genius team up to write comic books during World War Two? Hint

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

The Able McLaughlins

Laughing Boy

A Confederacy of Dunces

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Question 3 of 10

3. Which book, written by Jane Smiley and set in Iowa, has three daughters fighting for the affections of an aging farmer? Hint

American Pastotal

The Magnificent Ambersons

A Thousand Acres

House Made of Dawn

4. Before becoming a writer, James Michener was a lieutenant commander for the US Navy during World War II. Which 1946 Pulitzer-winner of his became more famous for its adaptation as a musical? Hint

The King and I

The Shipping News

The Caine Mutiny

Tales of the South Pacific

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Question 5 of 10

5. In this 2014 winner, Theo Decker falls in love at first sight with a redhead while looking at a Dutch painting. What painting shares its name with the title of the book? Hint

Lamb In His Bosom

The Optimist's Daughter

The Goldfinch

Early Autumn

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Question 6 of 10

6. In 1954 William Faulkner released a novel that was unlike anything he'd ever written. He considered it his greatest work, but now it's one of his lesser-known ones. Which Pulitzer winner was this? Hint

Andersonville

Absalom, Absalom

The Killer Angels

A Fable

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Question 7 of 10

7. Sharing its name with a Prussian explorer, what 1975 winner follows the thoughts of an intellectual named Charlie Citrine, and is a self-described "comic book about death"? Hint

Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer

Humboldt's Gift

The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters

Olive Kitteridge

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Question 8 of 10

8. What controversial 1968 book explored the life of a man who led a slave rebellion in 1831? Hint

The Executioner's Song

Breathing Lessons

Empire Falls

The Confessions of Nat Turner

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Question 9 of 10

9. Geraldine Brooks wrote a book that retells an American classic from the point of view of the father. Set away from home during the Civil War, what was it called? Hint

The Hours

The Stone Diaries

Arrowsmith

March

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Question 10 of 10

10. This 2015 Pulitzer winner is about a blind French girl who crosses paths with a German boy with an interest in electronics. Set in occupied France during World War II, what is it called? Hint

The Orphan Master's Son

All the Light We Cannot See

Gilead

Foreign Affairs

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The 1972 winner follows the story of a retired history professor's grandparents, who migrated to different mining camps in the west during the 19th century. What was it called?

Answer: Angle of Repose

Written by Wallace Stegner, "Angle of Repose" is based on the letters of Mary Hallock Foote, an author who wrote books about miners in the American west. It tells the story of Susan, an artist from New York, who meets an idealistic engineer named Oliver, a wanderer who liked to travel the west in search of work.

In 1999 it was voted #1 among the best 20th century novels written about the American West by readers of the San Francisco Chronicle.

2. In which book written by Michael Chabon do a magician and a creative genius team up to write comic books during World War Two?

Answer: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

Joe Kavalier and Sam Clay are Jewish-American cousins who use their unique talents to create superheros for the comics, some of which paint Hitler in an ominous light. Joe the magician had escaped from the Czech Republic during the German invasion, which gave rise to the idea of their most beloved creation: the Escapist.

The book was well-received by critics and may serve as a benchmark in 21st century literature.

3. Which book, written by Jane Smiley and set in Iowa, has three daughters fighting for the affections of an aging farmer?

Answer: A Thousand Acres

"A Thousand Acres" is thought to be a modernized version of Shakespeare's "King Lear". Each of the names of the main characters start with the same letter as the Shakespearean character they resemble. Larry the farmer is King Lear, Ginny is Goneril, Rose is Regan, and Caroline is Cordelia.

4. Before becoming a writer, James Michener was a lieutenant commander for the US Navy during World War II. Which 1946 Pulitzer-winner of his became more famous for its adaptation as a musical?

Answer: Tales of the South Pacific

The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "South Pacific" is largely based on Michener's book. "Tales of the South Pacific" is actually a collection of short stories that were merged together in the musical. The stories are all interconnected with each other, taking place in the Coral Sea and Solomon Islands.

5. In this 2014 winner, Theo Decker falls in love at first sight with a redhead while looking at a Dutch painting. What painting shares its name with the title of the book?

Answer: The Goldfinch

"The Goldfinch" is based on a real painting by Carel Fabritius. In the book it was Theo's mother's favorite painting, perhaps lending some mystical power to his meeting with the redhead girl. This was Donna Tartt's first book in eleven years, and she certainly delivered.

6. In 1954 William Faulkner released a novel that was unlike anything he'd ever written. He considered it his greatest work, but now it's one of his lesser-known ones. Which Pulitzer winner was this?

Answer: A Fable

It's interesting that "A Fable" won multiple awards, yet was panned by critics and became largely ignored in today's reading world. Set in the trenches of World War I, it offers powerful insights into the human condition, using a peacemaking corporal as an allegory of Jesus. I've read most of Faulkner and also feel it's the capstone of his career.

7. Sharing its name with a Prussian explorer, what 1975 winner follows the thoughts of an intellectual named Charlie Citrine, and is a self-described "comic book about death"?

Answer: Humboldt's Gift

1976 was a big year for Saul Bellow. Not only did he win the Pulitzer Prize that year, but the Nobel Prize in Literature as well. "Humboldt's Gift" was highly responsible for that. It follows the life of a writer torn between two philosophies, one in support of artistic integrity and the other in commercial interests.

8. What controversial 1968 book explored the life of a man who led a slave rebellion in 1831?

Answer: The Confessions of Nat Turner

William Styron's fictional portrayal of Nat Turner caused an uproar, mostly because antebellum whites in the novel are depicted as saintly and innocent, while (some) blacks are portrayed as monstrous. Nat Turner and his freed slaves killed 60 white people before they were caught and executed, ultimately hurting the cause for civil rights in the state of Virginia.

9. Geraldine Brooks wrote a book that retells an American classic from the point of view of the father. Set away from home during the Civil War, what was it called?

Answer: March

March is the father from Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women". Since Louisa based "Little Women" on her own life, Brooks used her father's journals as the primary source of material for the novel. Mr. Alcott was friends with Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, who feature in the book.

10. This 2015 Pulitzer winner is about a blind French girl who crosses paths with a German boy with an interest in electronics. Set in occupied France during World War II, what is it called?

Answer: All the Light We Cannot See

Author Anthony Doerr took ten years to write "All the Light We Cannot See". It was critically acclaimed, nearly winning the National Book Award in addition to the Pulitzer - something which few authors have achieved. The title is a reference to all the wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum we can't see: radio waves being the most relevant.

Source: Author albert11

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
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