Unto Dust – General Understanding Quiz

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Approximate Reading Times

Quick Read: under 5 minutes
Short Story: 5 to 30 minutes
Novelette: 30 to 90 minutes
Novella: 1.5 to 2.5 hours

The Fat Girl
Short Story by Andre Dubus. A mother’s efforts to control her daughter’s diet by shaming her about becoming overweight result in a serious eating disorder. Fortunately, the birth of a child brings about an epiphany through which the daughter is able to be comfortable with who she is.
The Interlopers
Short Story by Saki. When the heads of two families feuding for years over the use of a poor piece of forest land find themselves trapped under a fallen tree, they realize how silly they have been. Sadly, some unexpected visitors spoil their promises of a more peaceful future.
To Build a Fire
Short Story by Jack London. A poorly prepared prospector decides to return to his camp in the frozen wilds of Alaska, ignoring advice from more experienced men never to travel through the snow alone. A single mistake brings disaster and the most comfortable and satisfying sleep he had ever known.

The Diamond Mine
Novelette by Willa Cather. An internationally renowned opera singer derives pleasure from “giving” to her husbands and extended family, most of whom ruthlessly exploit the poor woman. Their indolence and greed leaves her “mined out”, both financially and emotionally.
Rice
Short Story by Manuel E. Arguilla. Storms have destroyed half the rice crop. The feudal landlord has taken her due, and there is insufficient left for farming families. The landlord offers to lend them rice until the next harvest, but on exorbitant terms. The desperate farmers contemplate desperate measures.
There is a Reaper
Short Story by Charles de Vet. When doctors tell a man that he has just one month to live, he begins to wonder what comes afterward. To find out, he commits murder and asks the dead man. The frightening answer is not what he had expected.
Taking Care
Short Story by Joy Williams. An understandably distracted parish priest goes through the motions of fulfilling his duties as his wife wastes away in hospital from an unknown blood disorder and he cares for his six-month-old granddaughter and a dog abandoned by his irresponsible daughter.

The Man with the Light
Short Story by José Eduardo Agualusa. During one of Angola’s many civil wars, an aging Russian entertainer comes to the attention of authorities. He watches in horror as the soldiers sent to find him savagely attack innocent bystanders and, in desperation, tries to think what “James Dean” would do.
A Worn Path
Short Story by Eudora Welty. An aged woman makes a long, dangerous trek through the Mississippi woods to the nearest town. Although she claims to have come for the regular medicine needed by her ailing grandson, her state of mind calls into question whether the boy still lives.
Lamb to the Slaughter
Short Story by Roald Dahl. A dark comedy in which a pregnant housewife kills her husband using a frozen leg of lamb after learning that he intended to leave her. It is unclear which of the characters (the husband, the wife or both) fits the titular idiom.