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Multiple Choice

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Multiple Choice by Alejandro Zambra is a novel structured as a multiple choice test, mimicking the Chilean Academic Verbal Aptitude Test. The book delves into various topics such as human nature, politics, marriage, and relationships through a series of questions that range from inane to insightful. The format of the book presents a mix of the mundane and the extraordinary, the absurd and the rational, all within its 100 pages, providing a unique and thought-provoking reading experience.

Characters:

The characters are primarily represented through the choices they make, reflecting personal struggles and broader societal themes.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is characterized by humor and playfulness, employing a fragmented yet inventive approach to convey depth and insight.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot is structured around the format of a standardized test, allowing themes of human experience, personal relationships, and societal issues to surface throughout the questions posed.

Setting:

The setting is mainly in Chile during a politically tumultuous time, highlighting high school experiences and personal narratives.

Pacing:

The pacing is fast due to the book's short length, though the fragmented structure may interrupt the flow for some readers.
(1) With the money he won in the lottery, the old man decided to fulfill his lifelong dream, but since his lifelong dream had been to win the lottery, he didn’t know what to do. In the meantime, he bo...

Notes:

Multiple Choice is written in the format of a Chilean standardized test, specifically modeled on the 1993 Academic Verbal Aptitude Test.
The book consists of 90 multiple choice questions covering various topics, from silly wordplay to serious reflections on relationships and historical context.
It explores themes like human nature, politics, marriage, and infidelity, often with a humorous twist.
Readers find the book to offer deep insights despite its lighthearted appearance, with profound messages about life hidden in the questions.
There are playful elements, such as the structure resembling an exam, which adds a unique layer to the storytelling.
Some readers appreciate the fragmented format, while others find it makes the reading experience challenging.
The book addresses the inadequacies of standardized tests to assess real-life qualities and performance.
The narrative gradually shifts from focusing on the test format to the narrator's personal stories and dilemmas, reflecting a loss of interest in the initial constraint.
Zambra uses humor and absurdity in his questions to provoke thought about life and choices, making readers reconsider their understanding of serious topics.
Overall, Multiple Choice has been described as imaginative, fresh, and a clever fusion of format and narrative.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Content warnings for Multiple Choice include themes of betrayal, existential anxiety, and references to sociopolitical turmoil in Chile.

Has Romance?

There are elements of romance present throughout the book, framed within the context of broader relationship dynamics.

From The Publisher:

A "brilliant, innovative, beautiful" (The Guardian) book from the acclaimed author of Chilean Poet

"Dazzling . . . a work of parody, but also of poetry." -The New York Times Book Review

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR, THE GUARDIAN, AND THE IRISH TIMES

"Latin America's new literary star" (The New Yorker), Alejandro Zambra is celebrated around the world for his strikingly original, slyly funny, daringly unconventional fiction. Now, at the height of his powers, Zambra returns with his most audaciously brilliant book yet.

Written in the form of a standardized test, Multiple Choice invites the reader to respond to virtuoso language exercises and short narrative passages through multiple-choice questions that are thought-provoking, usually unanswerable, and often absurd. It offers a new kind of reading experience, one in which the reader participates directly in the creation of meaning, and the nature of storytelling itself is called into question. At once funny, poignant, and political, Multiple Choice is about love and family, authoritarianism and its legacies, and the conviction that, rather than learning to think for ourselves, we are trained to obey and repeat. Serious in its literary ambition and playful in its execution, it confirms Alejandro Zambra as one of the most important writers working in any language.

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE SUMMER BY THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, ELLE, THE HUFFINGTON POST, THE MILLIONS, VOX, LIT HUB, THE BBC, THE GUARDIAN AND PUREWOW

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About the Author:

Alejandro Zambra is the author of Multiple Choice; My Documents, a finalist for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award; and three previous novels: Ways of Going Home, The Private Lives of Trees, and Bonsai. The recipient of numerous literary…

 
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