Dec 6, 2022 Wordplay
1. R C by D D
2. A O A by L M M
3. L O T F by W G
4. I O T B D by S O’D
5. A I C by R G and A U
6. M O A G by A G
7. S I by D L
8. S I by A L
9. T B by P M
10. T S L O A J F by G Z
Question:
R C by D D
Answer:
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, 1719
Background:
After being shipwrecked, Robinson Crusoe washes up on a deserted island near Trinidad. While Defoe set his book in the Caribbean, he was apparently inspired in part by reading about Alexander Selkirk, a sailor marooned for five years on a Pacific Island about 400 miles west of Chile. In 1966, the Chilean government renamed this 18.5 square mile island, today home to about 800 people, Robinson Crusoe Island.
Question:
A O A by L M M
Answer:
Anne of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery, 1909
Background:
Lucy Maud Montgomery’s nine Anne of Green Gables novels are set in a fictional community on Prince Edward Island, Canada.
Question:
L O T F by W G
Answer:
Lord of the Flies by William Golding, 1954
Background:
Golding’s book is set in the early stages of World War II after a British airplane crashes on or near an isolated island in a remote region of the Pacific Ocean; the only survivors are a number of preadolescent boys. Apparently, the novel was triggered by Golding reading
The Coral Island by R. M. Ballantyne (1857), which he felt was an overly harmonious portrayal of how young children would behave if left to their own devices; so he wrote a novel that he felt was more realistic.
Question:
I O T B D by S O’D
Answer:
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell, 1960
Background:
Island of the Blue Dolphins is a historical novel for young readers based on the life of a Native American woman who spent 18 years alone on San Nicolas, one of the eight Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California. She was left behind when the Spanish relocated the island’s population to the mainland in 1835. Apparently, a strong storm was imminent and the sailors, realizing there was a high risk of their ship being wrecked on the island, left without locating her; whether she chose to stay hidden or accidentally missed the boat is unclear.
Question:
A I C by R G and A U
Answer:
Asterix in Corsica by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, 1973
Background:
In the 20th volume of this long running comic book series (that began in 1961), Asterix and Obelix travel to fight the Romans on the French island of Corsica. Among their company are many colorful characters including (in the English version) Petitsuix from Switzerland, Gaulish restaurateur Instantmix, and Chief Mykindomforanos from Britain. Although not a popular title in English translation, it is the best-selling title in the series owing to its huge sales in France.
Question:
M O A G by A G
Answer:
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, 1997
Background:
Arthur Golden’s first and, to date, only published novel is set mostly in the geisha district of Kyoto before, during and after World War II. Kyoto is in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, which is by far the largest and most populace of Japan’s more than 6,000 islands. While popular with English-speaking readers, the book sold poorly in Japan and was mostly ignored until Mineko Iwasaki,the geisha Golden had consulted, sued him for defamation as she claimed that many of the events in his story were taken from her own life and then twisted into a prostitution narrative.
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Question:
S I by D L
Answer:
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane, 2003
Background:
Lehane drew his inspiration for
Shutter Island from the hospital on Long Island in Boston Harbor, which he had visited in his early teens during the infamous Blizzard of 1978.
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Question:
S I by A L
Answer:
Small Island by Andrea Levy, 2010
Background:
Small Island is set in both Britain and the Caribbean in the immediate aftermath of World War II. Like Andrea Levy’s parents, the characters are part of the Windrush Generation, who arrived in Britain from Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean (that were at the time part of the British Empire) to fill post-war labor shortages; the first boat to dock was the MV Empire Windrush in June 1948.
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Question:
T B by P M
Answer:
The Blackhouse by Peter May, 2012
Background:
All the books in Peter May’s Lewis trilogy are set on the Isle of Lewis, which is the northern and most populated half of the Island of Lewis and Harris, one of a cluster of islands off the north-west coast of Scotland.
More about the book and island
Question:
T S L O A J F by G Z
Answer:
The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin, 2014
Background:
A. J. Fikry owns a bookstore on Alice Island near Boston. According to the author’s acknowledgements, there is no real Alice Island but some readers feel it is modeled on Nantucket and/or Martha’s Vineyard.
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