Literature Last Lines Trivia Quiz

Answer: Les Miserables

This amazing novel by Victor Hugo is the story of Jean Valjean, a man who spends nineteen years in prison for attempting to steal a loaf of bread to feed his sister and her starving children. The book, first published in 1862, deals with his distrust in humanity, search for redemption, and conflicts in trying to avoid being discovered for breaking his parole by a diligent officer, Javert, and raising an adoptive daughter, Cosette. "Les Miserables" has been made into the longest-running current Broadway musical, which is sadly due to close soon.

Answer: The Sound and the Fury

"The Sound and the Fury" is one of the most innovative novels of its time...and also (in my opinion) contains one of the most incredible first chapters in American literature. William Faulkner's 1929 story centers around an established Mississippi family, the Compsons, and is told through several different characters' points of view.

Their memories are portrayed through stream of consciousness style, and the reader is not meant to understand what exactly has happened until the end of the novel. I know that many people are tempted to give up after the first thirty or forty pages, but trust me...it is worth it to follow the book through to the end!

Answer: Madame Bovary

Published in 1857, Gustave Flaubert's novel, "Madame Bovary" was instantly acclaimed as a masterpiece. It is the story of Emma Bovary, who feels trapped in an unhappy marriage to a devoted, yet unremarkable doctor. She seeks fulfillment by pursuing her (rapidly changing) ideas of love and desire, but succeeds instead in dragging herself from one affair to another and into her own financial ruin. I have read this book about six times, and Flaubert's flowing prose just gets better with each reading!

Answer: The Hours

This is by far one of the most incredible books I have ever read. Michael Cunningham's 1998 novel weaves three stories together--that of Virginia Woolf writing "Mrs. Dalloway," that of Laura Brown, who is reading "Mrs. Dalloway," and that of Clarissa Vaughan, who is unconsciously mirroring the story of "Mrs. Dalloway." This book was made into a movie of the same name in 2002, and starred Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, and Nicole Kidman, who won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf.

Answer: Brave New World

Aldous Huxley's book about a dystopian world in which a totalitarian government controls society by the use of science and technology was first published in 1932. "Brave New World" deals with the idea that individuality could eventually be lost in the pursuit of social stability.

It follows the main character, Lenina, through London during a time in which the people have been "classed" by intelligence levels and conditioned by the government to be promiscuous, pursue hobbies, play games, and buy new things to continually recycle money through the economy, and generally go through life blissfully unaware and secure in the roles to which they have been genetically programmed.

A fantastic novel!

Answer: The Catcher in the Rye

Published in 1951, this is J. D. Salinger's only full-length novel. It is the story of Holden Caulfield, a precocious, alienated prep-school student who has been expelled for poor grades and decides to go back to New York, but doesn't want to see his family right away. Salinger's use of profanity and open descriptions of sexuality caused the book to be banned in many areas upon its initial release...and unfortunately, there are still some schools and libraries today that refuse to recognize this excellent book.

Answer: The Good Earth

Pearl Buck's 1931 novel earned her a Pulitzer Prize and remains today her best-known work. It is the story of Wang Lung, a farmer who manages to lead his family through famine and into wealth because of the quiet, unassuming devotion of his wife, O-lan. "The Good Earth" was made into a movie in 1937; Luise Rainer won an Academy Award for her portrayal of O-lan.

Answer: Like Water for Chocolate

Laura Esquivel's first novel, "Like Water for Chocolate," was published in 1989. It is the story of Tita, a woman who, as the youngest daughter, is forced to remain unmarried to take care of her mother...and who has to watch her older sister marry Pedro, the man she loves.

The sensual aspects of cooking and eating are woven into the story, which takes place during the Mexican Revolution, and the book includes recipes for the foods Tita is cooking. "Like Water for Chocolate" was made into a movie in 1992.

Answer: The End of the Affair

Graham Greene's 1951 book centers on a novelist, Maurice Bendrix, who has an affair with his friend Henry's wife, Sarah, during the Blitz in London. Sarah abruptly breaks off the relationship without explanation, and when Henry confides in Maurice that he thinks Sarah is having an affair, Maurice is driven by jealousy to hire a private detective to find out who has replaced him.

This wonderful novel was made into a movie twice; the 1955 version stars Van Johnson, Peter Cushing, and Deborah Kerr, and the 1999 version stars Ralph Fiennes, Stephen Rea, and Julianne Moore.

Answer: The Color Purple

"The Color Purple" is Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about life in the early 1900s. Published in 1981, it is the story of Celie, an uneducated African American woman who, although trapped in an abusive marriage to a man she does not love and separated from Nettie, her sister and the only person who cares about her, manages to find happiness. "The Color Purple" was made into a movie in 1985; it starred Whoopi Goldberg as Celie and Danny Glover as her controlling husband. Oprah Winfrey was nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal of Sofia, a strong-willed woman who fights against the confines of her gender and class.

Answer: Little Women

My favorite book as a child, Louisa May Alcott's 1868 story of the March family and their lives during the Civil War never failed to make me cry. (All right, I'll admit it--as an adult, I still cry when I read it!)

Answer: The Kitchen God's Wife

This 1991 book by Amy Tan is my favorite of her works. It is the story of Pearl, a Chinese-American speech therapist who, through her mother's stories, begins to understand her family better. The intricate details of pre-Communist Chinese life are brilliantly woven into the story, and "The Kitchen God's Wife" is one of those books you just cannot put down.

Answer: The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Milan Kundera's 1984 novel is set mainly in Czechoslovakia in the mid-1960s and continues to the 1980s. The protagonist, a surgeon named Tomas, appears to be a fictionalized version of the author, and the story centers on the relationships with his wife, Tereza, a dreamy, emotional woman, and his mistress, Sabina, a painter.

Answer: To Kill a Mockingbird

Published in 1960, Harper Lee's timeless novel deals with a child, Scout, who struggles to understand the prejudice and hatred that surrounds a racially centered court battle in 1930s Alabama. "To Kill a Mockingbird" won a Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was made into a movie starring Gregory Peck in 1962.

Answer: Gone With the Wind

Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel was made into a movie of the same name starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable. It is the story of Scarlett O'Hara, a spoiled young woman who grows up--and grows into herself--against the backdrop of the Civil War.