Culture
Try This Quiz on Mysteries Set in American Small Towns
A strong sense of place can deeply influence a story, and in some cases, the setting can even feel like a character itself. This week’s literary geography quiz highlights thriller and mystery novels set in towns around the United States. (Even if you don’t know the book, each question offers a clue about the state.) To play, just make your selection in the multiple-choice list and the correct answer will be revealed. At the end of the quiz, you’ll find links to the books if you’d like to do further reading.
Culture
Do You Know These Greek Plays and Poems That Were Turned Into Movies?
Welcome to Great Adaptations, the Book Review’s regular multiple-choice quiz about printed works that have gone on to find new life as movies, television shows, theatrical productions and more. With ancient Greek texts back in the cultural conversation — thanks to the new film based on Homer’s “Odyssey” — this week’s challenge highlights screen adaptations of other Greek plays, poems and histories. Just tap or click your answers to the five questions below. Scroll down after you finish the last question for links to the works and their screen versions.
Culture
Which Version of the ‘Odyssey’ Should You Read?
Homer’s “Odyssey” has been translated into English countless times, with versions ranging from contemporary and accessible to highly poetic. A.O. Scott, critic at large for The New York Times Book Review, breaks down three translations and explains which one might be right for you.
Culture
Try This Quiz on Literary Quotations About American Life
Among the many complaints made about the modern American novelist, the loudest, if not the most intelligent, has been the charge that he is not speaking for his country. A few seasons back an editorial in Life magazine asked grandly, “Who speaks for America today?” and was not able to conclude that our novelists, or at least our most gifted ones, did.
This opening paragraph is from an essay titled “The Fiction Writer and His Country” by a writer whose work was influenced by Catholicism, the rural South and peacocks. Who was it?
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