Anne Tyler Trivia

1. What does Adrian Bly-Brice ask Delia to do for him in the supermarket?

From Quiz 'Ladder of Years' by Anne Tyler

Answer: Pretend that they are a couple

Delia is shopping for her family when she meets Adrian, whose ex-wife Rosemary is in the supermarket with her new boyfriend. Adrian asks Delia to pretend to be his girlfriend and makes a point of talking to Delia about making her 'famous blancmange' and going to a concert in front of Rosemary. He also insists on paying for Delia's shopping. The two later have an emotional affair, but it never goes further than a kiss. Rosemary's mother confronts Delia during a family dinner, claiming she has photographic evidence of Delia and Adrian together and that Adrian and Rosemary are getting back together, but the photo is too blurry. However, Sam, Delia's husband, gets suspicious.

From Quiz "The Accidental Tourist" - Anne Tyler

Answer: Sarah

Sarah was Macon's wife. Helen was his cat. Rose is Macon's sister and Muriel is the woman he dates while he is separated from Sarah.

From Quiz "Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant"

Answer: 6

All of Pearl's friends are married by the time she meets Beck, and everyone said she would never marry since she was already 30 years old.

From Quiz Anne Tyler's "A Patchwork Planet"

Answer: Gaitlan

The Gaitlin name was well-known in Philadelphia, as Barnaby's father ran the Gaitlin Foundation.

From Quiz Anne Tyler's "Saint Maybe"

Answer: a bowling ball

Lucy mails Tom his bowling ball - the first chapter of the book is called, fittingly, "The Airmail Bowling Ball". To mail it first class, which is what Lucy wanted to do, would have cost her twenty dollars and twenty-seven cents. Her future husband, Danny, told her to mail it parcel post, which was cheaper. And she did; therefore, the rest is history. In the TV version of "Saint Maybe", Lucy was played by Mary Louise Parker, Ruth from "Fried Green Tomatoes".

From Quiz Anne Tyler, Today's Jane Austen

Answer: Saint Maybe

Ian Bedloe is the main character in "Saint Maybe."

From Quiz 'Ladder of Years' by Anne Tyler

Answer: She goes for a ride with a workman in his RV.

Sam makes fun of Adrian's name, and Delia gets fed up and goes for a walk on the beach while Sam goes swimming. She arrives back at the Grinsteads' holiday home and calls for Vernon, the cat, but is surprised to meet a workman who has come to look at the roof, whose name is also Vernon. Vernon shows Delia his RV, which he has 'borrowed' from his brother, and Delia is impressed and asks Vernon to take her with him when he leaves, which unnerves him somewhat. She claims to be going to Ashford, but decides to get out at a random church which, unbeknown to her, is a shelter for domestic violence victims. She later finds out that Vernon - whose brother is abusive to his wife - thought Sam was abusing her.

From Quiz "Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant"

Answer: Everyone in her address book

Pearl tells Ezra to invite everyone in her black address book to her funeral. Written on all the pages are the different addresses of Beck's. She really wanted him at her funeral.

From Quiz Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant

Answer: Ezra

Cody is incredibly jealous of Ezra because he can do no wrong in his mother's eyes. Jenny tries so hard to please her mother, but never succeeds.

From Quiz Anne Tyler's "A Patchwork Planet"

Answer: I am a man you can trust.

The same line is both the opening line and the closing line in this book.

From Quiz Anne Tyler, Today's Jane Austen

Answer: identity crisis

Rebecca isn't sure she has turned out to be the person she was originally destined to be.

From Quiz 'Ladder of Years' by Anne Tyler

Answer: George Bay, a deserter and the town's founder

Delia figures the town is called Bay Borough after looking at names of various businesses, and comes across a statue of George Bay, a soldier who deserted his regiment during the Civil War after an angel appeared in a dream and told him, "Ye are sitting in the barber's chair of infinity." He took it as an instruction to leave his regiment and stay behind to found a township. She buys some new underwear and a dress, and goes for a walk around town. On seeing a sign advertising a room to rent, she asks Belle Flint, the landlady, about the room. Belle admits she would rather rent to a man as she had a bad experience with her last female tenant, but lets Delia have the room. Delia and Belle later become friends.

From Quiz "The Accidental Tourist" - Anne Tyler

Answer: Alexander

Norman was Alexander's father, and Muriel's ex-husband. Ethan was Macon and Sarah's son and Porter is one of Macon's brothers. Muriel named him Alexander because she thought it sounded high class.

From Quiz "The Amateur Marriage" by Anne Tyler

Answer: George

Pauline and Michael had three children: Lindy, George and Karen.

From Quiz "Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant"

Answer: Cody

Cody pretended to aim for Ezra, who jumped on Cody. When Ezra did that, the arrow let fly, and hit Pearl in the shoulder. It was really Ezra's fault, but Pearl blamed Cody.

From Quiz Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant

Answer: Painfully Thin

Jenny is always on a "crazy diet," and people describe her as "painfully thin." This is an example of Jenny trying to live up to her mother's harsh standards.

From Quiz Anne Tyler's "A Patchwork Planet"

Answer: Philadelphia

Barnaby is on his way to Philadelphia to visit his 9 year old daughter, whom he sees one Saturday a month.

From Quiz Anne Tyler's "Saint Maybe"

Answer: Bachelor

Ian was babysitting for the children - Thomas, Agatha, and baby Daphne- when Danny arrives home, drunk, from his friend's bachelor party. Ian tells Danny that baby Daphne can't be his, and he takes his own life by driving his car into a retaining wall.

From Quiz Anne Tyler, Today's Jane Austen

Answer: Both are shopping in a supermarket.

Delia's husband calls Adrian "Adrian Fried-Rice."

From Quiz 'Ladder of Years' by Anne Tyler

Answer: Legal secretary

Delia discovers that Katie O'Connell, the previous tenant with whom Belle had problems, was a legal secretary who worked for Zeke Pomfret, a local solicitor. Katie quit her job and eloped with another tenant, a divorcé called Larry Watts. Delia has been looking at local businesses and imagining which office she would choose to work for, picturing herself a serious secretary type in her new dress. She has experiences working as a medical admin assistant in her father's clinic, and Mr Pomfret immediately takes her on. However, as she settles into the job, she becomes frustrated and wants to move on, as Mr Pomfret is rather old-fashioned and keeps asking her to order random gadgets for him. She eventually decides to resign after he tells her off for butting in during a conference with a client.

From Quiz "The Amateur Marriage" by Anne Tyler

Answer: Becoming

Becoming was the head of the retread. Lindy was staying there, and she was using the name Serenity. Destiny was Lindy's landlady.

From Quiz "Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant"

Answer: Ezra

Even though Pearl claims to love all her children equally, her favorite is Ezra. All the children knew this, even when they were very young. That's why Pearl blames Cody when she gets hit with the arrow.

From Quiz Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant

Answer: apple

This is revealed towards the end of the novel, when Ezra is reading Pearl her old diaries.

From Quiz Anne Tyler's "Saint Maybe"

Answer: Dulcimer

If you've read the book that question shouldn't have been hard at all. Thomas named the doll, which disturbed Ian, Dulcimer, which is a variation on Thomas and Agatha's real last name, Dulcimore.

From Quiz 'Ladder of Years' by Anne Tyler

Answer: Other people's use of language

Joel is the headmaster of Dorothy Underwood High, the local high school, and Delia meets him earlier on when he comes to Mr Pomfret's office to discuss custody of Noah. He is very popular with the other pupils' mothers and many of the female students, but idolises Ellie, his ex-wife, who left him after she discovered a lump in her breast (which turned out to be benign). He insists on keeping the house exactly as she left it, and gets easily irritated at the way Noah speaks, such as 'humongous' and the use of 'goes' as a substitute for 'said'. Ellie later reveals that this was one of the reasons why she left, as he was always criticising how she talked. Delia meets Joel after seeing the advert in the newspaper and finding out from her new friend Vanessa that there are few other options. She has misgivings about the job, as does Belle, but eventually decides to take it and moves in with the Millers.

From Quiz "Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant"

Answer: Mrs. Scarlatti and Josiah

Mrs. Scarlatti runs Scarlatti's Restaurant, where Ezra works. Mrs. Scarlatti is like a mother to Ezra. Josiah Payson is Ezra's best friend.

From Quiz Anne Tyler's "A Patchwork Planet"

Answer: Sophia Maynard

When Mr. Brimm was going from passenger to passenger looking for someone to deliver the package to his daughter, he bypassed Barnaby entirely. Barnaby was offended that the man didn't ask him to take the package.

From Quiz Anne Tyler's "Saint Maybe"

Answer: fried chicken and devil's food cake

Grandma Bedloe brings fried chicken shortly after Danny dies. Bee thinks that Lucy might be an alcoholic and asks Agatha if her mother drinks beer or wine, maybe a little cocktail now and then. The drink that really gets Lucy up and going is Coke with a little instant coffee stirred in. Maybe the taste of it is what got her up and around!

From Quiz Anne Tyler, Today's Jane Austen

Answer: Dr. Sam Grinstead

Both Maggie's and Delia's husbands are fairly steady, sensible men who love their wives but think they are flighty or ditzy.

From Quiz 'Ladder of Years' by Anne Tyler

Answer: Eliza and Carroll

Delia is the youngest of three sisters; Eliza is the oldest, and is into alternative medicine and reincarnation, while Linda, the middle sister, is a divorcée with a thing about French culture (hence her twin daughters being named Marie-Claire and Therese). Susie is the oldest of Delia and Sam's children, then Ramsay, then Carroll. Eliza - who made a comment about Delia being a cat in a previous life in the missing persons report, much to Delia's annoyance - comes to visit her a few weeks after her disappearance, and tries to get Delia to come back with her, but Delia refuses. The children, Linda, Eliza and Eleanor, Sam's mother, all send her birthday cards after Eliza gives them her address. Much later, when Delia is working for the Millers, Carroll comes to visit, to warn her that Eliza is coming on to Sam. Delia insists on taking him for lunch, but Carroll storms out when he finds out Delia has a new life and new friends and is, as he puts it, 'ensconced'. Ramsay gives Carroll a lift in, but does not talk to Delia.

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Last Updated Apr 13 2024 5:46 AM

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