The "Snows" of Kilimanjaro Trivia Quiz

Answer: Esquire

Hemingway was given an advance of $3,300 by "Esquire" to create a story for the magazine's fiction department. Hemingway wrote "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" in response. The story tells the tale of a bitter writer named Harry who dies while on a safari in East Africa. As he dies slowly, Harry reflects that he lived a full life; but laments his failure to write about his experiences. Harry castigates himself for "doing" and living in the moment of experience and failing to chronicle and analyze his actions. Harry's death delirium is of an airplane whisking him away to the top of Mt Kilimanjaro to rest atop the proverbial "snows". "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" is both a rebuttal and an embrace of popular existentialist philosophy. While Hemingway embraces the self-doubt and reflection that are the hallmarks of post World War I existentialist writers, he also laments and dismisses the nihilist concept of dismissing the meaning of experiences in favor of simply having the experience. On any level Hemingway's oft-used semi-autobiographical construct is present in the story.

Hemingway published many of his short stories and even portions of his novels in magazines during his life. In addition to "Esquire", Hemingway first published "The Old Man and The Sea" in the September 1952 edition of "Life" magazine. The second edition of "Fortune" magazine in 1930 contained a long article about the economics of bullfighting penned by Hemingway. Hemingway even published in "Cosmopolitan" magazine, including the short story "One Trip Across" in May 1934 that became part of the 1937 novel "To Have and To Have Not".

Answer: She is forced to wear red-hot iron shoes and dies dancing

No recitation of literary works about "snow" would be complete without some reference to the "fairest of them all", the Grimm Brothers' classic 1812 tale of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". Let's get one thing clear, the Grimm Brothers' stories and the Walt Disney movies are only tangentially related. The Grimm Brothers wrote gritty stories filled with violence and bad endings.

The first book of stories published by the brothers in 1812 was a simple volume of short stories collected by the brothers from local tales told by farmers and villagers in modern Germany. One of the stories in their first book was "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". In the tale young Snow White surpasses the beauty of her mother the Queen, who then orders a huntsman to kill the girl and bring the Queen her liver and lungs. The huntsman spares young Snow and the Queen instead feasts on a boar's innards. Ultimately Snow White meets some dwarf miners who take her in and warn her to be on guard for the Queen. The Queen finds Snow White, and despite being forewarned, Snow gives the Queen three chances to do away with her, thus proving that even in the 19th century beauty did not breed intelligence in literature.

Eventually the Queen gets Snow to eat a poisoned apple and the girl falls into her coma. The dwarfs set the girl, placed in a clear coffin, outside on a mountain. A wandering prince sees Snow White and determines he cannot live without her. The prince convinces the dwarfs to give him the coffin and proceeds to make his servants carry the coffin and the girl wherever the Prince goes. When a servant drops Snow the poisoned apple is dislodged from her throat and she returns to life. The prince and Snow are then married at the prince's father's castle. The evil mother is invited to the wedding. In a less than brilliant move she attends the wedding. When the Queen arrives she is placed into red-iron heated shoes and forced to dance until she dies.

There you have the true story -- a simple tale of bad parents, not so bright but beautiful women, small men, lustful princes and death by dancing shoes. One side note: the Grimm Brothers spent much of their lives publishing and varying their original stories and Snow White was no exception. In what must have been an early case of an editor making "improvements", by 1819 copies of the Grimm Brothers' books, the jealous mother was replaced by a jealous "step-mother". Luckily for the Grimm's they were not around to see what studio bosses, focus groups and political correctness would require in rewrite.

Answer: Japanese internment during World War II

"Snow Falling on Cedars" is set in post World War II Washington state, on a small island named San Pietro. Told in part by flashbacks, the story centers on three main characters: Kabuo Miyamoto who is on trial for murder of a fellow fisherman and strawberry farmer; his wife Hatsue; and a reporter named Ishmael Chambers. Ishmael and Hatsue were teenage lovers separated by Hatsue's mother and the forced internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Ishmael learns of exculpatory evidence in Kabou's trial and must decide whether to use the opportunity to reconnect with his lost love or save her innocent husband.

The cedars of the title are both literal and allegorical. Literally the young lovers Hatsue and Ishmael would meet in the hollow of a dead cedar tree for their trysts; figuratively the cedar tree is the symbol of truth and rebirth. The "snow" on the trees as such also serves this dual purpose. In a literal sense when it snows during Kabou's trial the impact of the weather causes difficulty in the small community; figuratively the snow on the trees hides the past and cleanses the land allowing the characters to see both beauty and renewal in their future.

Gusterson's book highlights the suffering caused by the prejudice inherent in the internment of Japanese-Americans during the war. Unfortunately this cultural prejudice and mistreatment is, for better or worse, a part of the American experience. The history of the United States includes slavery, forced relocation and abusive treatment of immigrants (all learned from our European ancestors I might add); however, as in "Snow Falling on Cedars", America's greatest gift is also the ability to grow, change and redeem ourselves from our past.

Answer: Caldecott Medal

The Caldecott Medal has been awarded annually since 1937 by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) to the illustrator or artist of a book published in the United States, judged to have produced the best children's picture book during the past year. The award is named after 19th century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott, who is revered for creating whimsical and endearing illustrations to many children's book of the period.

"Snowflake Bentley" was illustrated by Mary Azarian with a text written by Jacqueline Briggs Martin. "Snowflake Bentley" tells the true story of Wilson Bentley, a self-taught scientist and pioneer photographer who became the first person to capture the image of a single row of snowflakes in 1885. Bentley went on to photograph over 5000 snowflakes showing both the beauty in nature and that no two flakes were exactly alike. For the book, illustrator Azarian used wood cuts and hand painted scenes to evoke the image of rural 19th Century Vermont.

A number of other Caldecott winners have also had snow in their titles: "White Snow" (1948), "Bright Snow The Big Snow" (1949) and "The Snowy Day" (1963). Even more surprising is that one of the Caldecott runner ups in 1999 was "Snow" illustrated by Uri Shulevitz.

In addition to the Caldecott Medal the ALSC awards the Newbery Medal to the best children's author and the Batchelder Medal to the best children's book originally in another language other than English. In the UK the Greenway Medal is the equivalent of the Caldecott, and is named after Kate Greenway, a contemporary and friend of Randolph Caldecott.

Answer: Smilla's

Peter Høeg's Danish language book, translated into English by Tiina Nunnally as "Smilla's Sense of Snow", tells the story of Smilla Jaspersen, a 37-year-old single woman who is half-Greenlandic and half-Danish and living in Copenhagen. Smilla discovers that her young neighbor, an Inuit boy named Isaiah, has died falling off a roof.

The police are convinced it was an accident and want to close the case, but Smilla grows suspicious and starts her own investigation. Ultimately Smilla is transported to a remote cave on Greenland where the clash of corporate greed, individual rights and natural law tell the reason for the young man's death.

Answer: Orhan Pamuk

Orhan Pamuk is the first Turk to receive a Nobel Prize in any category. Pamuk was born in Istanbul but teaches at Columbia University in the United States. A Muslim, Pamuk is only the second Islamic writer to receive the Nobel Prize (the first was Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz in 1988). Pamuk is both revered and controversial in his native country. In 2005 Pamuk made comments in an interview in a Swiss magazine and later a televised speech in Germany acknowledging the fact of Turkish participation in the Kurdish and Armenian genocide. Pamuk was charged with a crime under a new law for insulting the Turkish armed forces. The crime carried a penalty six months to three years in jail. International outrage over the attempt to limit free speech caused concern as to whether Turkey's entry into the EU would be approved. Pamuk eventually paid a small fine and the matter was dropped. In a bizarre twist of fate the Turkish politician who brought the charges against Pamuk was arrested in 2008 and charged with attempted assassination of key Turks including Pamuk.

"Snow" was first published in 2002 and translated into English in 2004. The story is set in the early 1990's in Kars, a remote and impoverished city in the eastern Anatolian region of Turkey. Kars was at one time a crossroads for the eastern edge of Turkey and was known for its connection to Armenian and Russian trade routes; but is now known more a punchline for its spectacularly awful weather. Snow, "kar" in Turkish, falls incessantly on the treeless Turkish plains. Apparently, the local castle, river and boulevards are ever covered in the grimy remnants of constant winter snow. Thematically, "Snow" deals with issues both large and small that face Turkey and the Middle East in general, namely the conflict between religion and secular government, poverty, unemployment and despair. Written before the events of September 11, 2001 but published after the tragedy, "Snow" received even greater critically and commercial scrutiny because of its window into the complex underpinnings that both foster and drive Islamic aggression.

Tawakkol Karman is the first Arab woman and Yemeni to win a Nobel Prize, sharing the Peace Prize in 2011. Ms. Karman is a journalist and women's rights activist who is considered an architect of the "Arab Spring" protests that changed many of the Middle East regimes.

Answer: highlight the bad and downplay the good

Originally published in 1845, "The Snow Queen" is one of Hans Christian Andersen's best known stories. The book first appeared in English in a collection of fairy tales by H. P. Paull in 1872. "The Snow Queen" is a tale the centers on the struggle of good and evil as experienced by a young boy and girl, Kai and Gerda. The tale is told in seven stories that weave together, and it is one of Andersen's longest fairy tales. The story starts with the Devil, who creates a magic mirror that distorts reality by taking everything good and making viewers see only bad things. In some translations the good is turned to bad and in others the good is hidden and the bad highlighted. Eventually the mirror breaks and fragments fall over the world and wedge themselves into people's eyes and hearts, turning them cold and prone to wickedness. Kai is struck by a fragment and in turn runs away with the Snow Queen. Gerda searches for her lost friend and eventually finds him in the icy cold palace of the Queen. Driven by her love for her friend Gerta warms Kai's heart and dislodges the mirror fragment and the two return to the village in time for springtime.

On one level the Andersen tale is a straightforward fairy tale filled with bad trolls/devils, cold winter Queens, good grandmothers and the triumph of child-like love over evil. As an adult allegory Andersen's themes are less simple. The devil is not punished for his mirror; the shards remain in the world and the evil Snow Queen is neither banished nor defeated, only outwitted by Gerda's efforts. Kai and Gerda do not marry or live happily ever after but simply return to their life to continue their journey.

The character of the Snow Queen and her loose connection to the Devil in the story often draws parallels to C.S. Lewis "Narnia" stories and the White Witch character.

Answer: Snow Crash

"Snow Crash" is Neal Stephenson's third novel, published in 1992. The success of this novel, both commercially and critically, established Stephenson as one of the premier science fiction authors of the day. Stephenson's writing can best be described as "post cyberpunk", combining the heavy use of advanced computer technology common in cyberpunk writings (such as William Gibson) with an often twisted irreverence that is more reminiscent of absurdist writers like Vonnegut.

"Snow Crash" is almost impossible to describe in a few sentences, as it combines computer programming (written in ancient Sumerian no less) with discourses on religion, economics, politics and cognitive evolution. The plot centers around "Hiro Protagonist" a freelance hacker and unemployed pizza deliveryman for the Los Angeles Mafia who is lost in a business-dominated future America. Society seems to have evolved much like the dystopia presented by Norman Jewison in 1975's movie "Rollerball"; the government has been usurped by a landscape of company towns and gated communities with endless strip malls and repetitive retail franchises (in other words the not too distant US future). Hiro becomes aware of a new drug/computer virus called Snow Crash that is on the market and altering human consciousness. Snow Crash, the drug/virus, might or might not be a vengeful elder god's rebirth into modern society (after having been originally thwarted by the Tower of Babel). Hiro teams up with a sexy and wisecracking skateboard messenger (is there any other kind?) named Juanita to save the virtual and mundane world. "Snow Crash" was a UK Science Fiction Book of the Year nominee and in 2005 was named by "Time" magazine to their ALL-TIME Top 100 Novels published since 1923 (the year Time was first circulated).

Answer: Snow Country

"Yukiguni" or "Snow Country" was a serialized novel written by famed Japanese writer Kawabata Yasunari. Kawabata started "Snow Country" in 1934 as a short story, but continued to explore the characters through nine total installments that were incorporated into the finished "novel" format in 1947. Snow Country is a tale of the doomed love affair between a modern "westernized" Tokyo writer and a small town geisha/concubine set in the remote and snow covered country of the mountains of northern Japan. The writer is married with children and travels to the remote spa, known for both healing and available women. Komoko, the geisha, is both passionate and talented but ends up wasted as little more than a prostitute. In the end the love affair dies and the writer moves on to another concubine.

The novel is often compared to Japanese haiku as it is filled with detail and subtle beauty, not unlike the fresh fallen snow. The most recognized English translation was made in 1957 by Edward George Seidensticker (say that five times fast) noted as a scholar and translator. "Snow Country" is one of the novels specifically mentioned by the Nobel Committee in awarding Kawabata the Nobel Prize for Literature, the first for a Japanese author, in 1968.

Answer: Debbie Macomber

Romance novels are massive business. Debbie Macomber is one of the world's most popular authors and has more than 140 million copies of her books in print. Macomber has topped the "USA Today" and "New York Times" bestsellers list over 50 times. Readers of Macomber (including my wife who recommended this title for this quiz) describe her books as displaying the ability to create compelling characters and bring stories to life with a minimum of vulgarity and over-the-top dialog. Macomber's books are not "bodice-rippers" but stories that draw on Macomber's experiences of small-town life, home and family, and quite often women who knit. Macomber writes with a sense of unpretentious humor. Macomber herself is a self-described dyslexic who did not learn to read until she was in the fifth grade.

"The Snow Bride" is the tale of Jenna Campbell who quits her job in Los Angeles and moves to the tiny town of Snowbound Alaska to meet a man she talked to on the internet. Jenna is kidnapped by her pilot, who hates the man Jenna is to meet. Eventually, during Christmas, (of course when else) Jenna, her handsome former boss, her pilot kidnapper, the internet womanizer and Jenna's oft-married mother all end up together in Snowbound "snowbound". I do not want to give the plot away but you do not sell over 140 million books by letting your heroine end up alone and unhappy.

Julie Garwood and Bertrice Small are equally well-known and massively successful historical romance fiction writers. However my favorite romance author has to be Jayne Ann Krentz. Ms. Krentz has written bestsellers under seven different names. Under her legal name she only writes contemporary fiction. Ms. Krentz uses the name "Amanda Quick" for historical fiction and "Jayne Castle" for futuristic paranormal romance fiction. But what really makes Ms. Krentz different is that many of her characters and stories will cross over from one pseudonym to the other.