Trove of Treasures Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sylvia Nasar

Syliva Nasar is the author of this deeply interesting true life story depicting the life of John Nash, who at the age of 31 suffered a breakdown and was diagnosed with schizophrenia. He married Alicia Larde in 1957 and they had a son, John, who was later also diagnosed with schizophrenia.

After years of leading a life of "non existence", Nash re-emerged to win a Nobel Prize in Economics on game theory, work which he had completed years before.

This is a book about the mystery of the human mind, love and a triumph over incredible adversity.
If you read only one book this year, read this one!

Answer: Cry, The Beloved Country

"Cry The Beloved Country" is the story of Khumalo, a black parish priest, who sets off from Ixopo, a small rural town, to the city of Johannesburg, to find his missing son, Absalom. Once there, he finds that his sister Gertrude has become a prostitute, and that his son has murdered Arthur Jarvis, son of a white wealthy landowner, James Jarvis.

The climax of the book is set on the day of Absalom's execution and the receipt of a letter of forgiveness from James Jarvis who realises that racial injustice and segregation is the root of all evil in South Africa.

Answer: William Woodruff

William Woodruff, Professor, historian and writer, was born in 1916 in a carding room in a Blackburn cotton mill. "The Road to Nab End" tells his amazing story of his impoverished childhood and his fight to rise above the poverty and backbreaking work in the cotton mills. A wonderful book and the sequel "Beyond Nab End" is just as awesome and inspiring.

Answer: The Memory Keeper's Daughter

"The Memory Keeper's Daughter", tells the story of Dr David Henry who delivers his wife, Norah, of twins on a night which will haunt their lives forever. The first twin, Paul, is a healthy boy but on delivering the second twin, a girl, he realises his daughter has Down Syndrome. Recalling the birth of his own sister who was born with a heart defect, and the suffering it caused his mother, he makes a decision and hands the baby girl over to the nurse to place in an institution. He tells his wife that the second twin died. Unbeknown to him, the nurse, Caroline, after seeing the conditions of the institution, decides to keep the baby and remembers Norah's choice of names for both a boy or girl and names the baby Phoebe.

An excellent read, which highlights people's attitudes towards people with disabilities and the heartbreak and courage which goes with looking after someone with Down Syndrome.

Answer: Lawrence Anthony

In 1999, Lawrence Anthony was asked to accept a herd of "rogue" elephants on his game reserve. "The Elephant Whisperer" tells the story of how he came to create a bond with these special creatures. The book also covers topics such as local Zulu cultures, poachers, other African wildlife but, most of all, bringing home to us that animals are wild and should remain so, being allowed to wander, but be safe and not be kept in cages at zoos.

Anthony's family-owned game reserve, Thula Thula, "Place of Peace and Tranquility" (Zulu translation) is a 4500ha reserve in Zululand, and was once the hunting grounds of the Zulu Warrior, King Shaka. A must read for all animal lovers, you will laugh and cry!

Answer: At Risk

"At Risk" tells the story of the Farrell family living in a small town and 11 year old Amanda, a talented gymnast, who is diagnosed with AIDS after a blood transfusion. Set in a time when the majority of people were poorly informed about AIDS, this novel tells about the family's struggle to fight for their child's right to go to school and its effects on the family and the whole community. Reading it today, you will realise the advances which have been made over the years, as to the understanding and treatment of AIDS victims. Tissues are a definite need for this one!

Answer: Afrikaners/English

Set in 1939, when the world is on the brink of war, six year old Tom Fitzaxby, an orphan, is sent to an orphanage in a remote town in the mountains of South Africa where the Afrikaner nation sides with Hitler's Germany. He is the only English speaking person in a community of ardent Afrikaners and is ostracised by everyone, other than a young Zulu boy named "Mattress" and known as "Pigboy". Likened to the whitethorn, a tough indigenous plant, Tom learns how to survive racial hatred and find a place in South African society.

Courtenay's other books set in Africa include "The Power of One" and its sequel, "Tandia". Courtenay was born illegitimately in South Africa and was sent to a boarding school from the age of five, where he took up boxing as a means of defending himself. He won a scholarship to a prestigious school where he set up a weekend school for black Africans. He was subsequently branded as "communist" and was banned from South Africa. (Thank God those days are over.) He is now a bestselling author in Australia.

Answer: White Oleander

"White Oleander" is a novel which recounts the adolescence of Astrid, who is orphaned when her mother is jailed for the murder of her lover, Barry. Ingrid murders her philandering lover by spreading an arthritic drug mixed with the poisonous White Oleander sap all over her lover's home.

This mixture is ingested though the skin causing Barrie's death. Astrid is shunted from one foster family to another, finding it hard to connect with new surroundings and people.

Answer: Drew Barrymore

Drew Barrymore, from the famous Barrymore acting family, wrote "Litte Girl Lost" while in rehabilitation. From the ages of 9 to 13, she was smoking cigarettes and marijuana, drinking and snorting cocaine. At 14, after a suicide attempt, she was put into rehabilitation for the first of many times. Written in 1988 while she was in hospital for treatment, "Little Girl Lost" is a story of how addiction can be overcome.

Answer: West of the Wall

"West of the Wall" tells the story of Trudy Hulst and her two year old son, Stefan. Trudy is left behind in Berlin and has no idea whether her husband survived his escape. She is branded as the wife of a defector and faces a life in prison. She makes the decision to escape too, but has to leave her son with her mother-in-law.

A lovely story explaining a sad period in German history and full of historical facts.