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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Where does L say he has never felt "freer and more alone" (19)?
(a) New York.
(b) Paris.
(c) L.A.
(d) The marsh.

2. What is one example the narrator cites as moments when things do not turn out as planned?
(a) L's visit.
(b) Her first marriage.
(c) Building the second place.
(d) Motherhood.

3. What reason did L give to M for not wanting to paint her portrait?
(a) He did not find her beautiful.
(b) He was afraid of his attraction to her.
(c) He could not really see her.
(d) He was not really a portrait painter.

4. Where does L tell M he has always felt most at home?
(a) His childhood home.
(b) A cabin in the woods.
(c) His New York studio.
(d) Wherever he can paint.

5. Which relative of Brett's aided in she and L's arrival in the harbor town?
(a) Her rich father.
(b) Her billionaire cousin.
(c) Her millionaire mother.
(d) Her wealthy uncle.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did M tell L Tony's early experience with death forced him to do?

2. Who does the narrator say she meant on a train at the start of the novel, which made the following years difficult?

3. What did M once see a musician who was staying in the second place to record bird songs doing?

4. Where did Tony get his wardrobe?

5. What feeling did L tell M he had from his early experience with death living near a slaughterhouse?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe L and M's first interaction the morning after he arrived at the second place. How did she feel about him? How did he make her feel?

2. What issue did Brett have with the bed linen in the second place? What did she want M to do?

3. What does the narrator say her first experience with L coincided with? What did she think L's visit would do in terms of her recovery?

4. Where did L stay instead of coming to the second place? What happened to him while there? Where did he invite M during that winter?

5. What happened on the narrator's final morning in Paris when she saw a particular sign?

6. Who is the narrator speaking to at the start of the novel? What does she say happened while on a train in Paris?

7. What is M's impression of Brett when she first meets her?

8. What did the narrator do on her final night in Paris and with whom?

9. What do readers learn of L's backstory in the fourth chapter?

10. What do readers learn about Tony's backstory in the third chapter?

(see the answer keys)

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