Important Contemporary Literature MCQs | English Literature | UGC NET | SET | GATE
1. Which novel by Margaret Atwood won the Booker Prize in 2019?
a) The Handmaid's Tale
b) Oryx and Crake
c) Alias Grace
d) **The Testaments** (Correct Answer)
2. The literary magazine "Granta" is known for publishing works of which genre?
a) Science Fiction
b) Historical Fiction
c) **New Fiction** (Correct Answer)
d) Romance
3. Who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2020?
a) Louise Glück
b) Haruki Murakami
c) Olga Tokarczuk (Correct Answer)
d) Peter Handke
4. Which book by Salman Rushdie was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2019?
a) Midnight's Children
b) The Satanic Verses
c) **Quichotte** (Correct Answer)
d) Shame
5. Who wrote the novel "Normal People," which was adapted into a popular TV series?
a) Zadie Smith
b) Sally Rooney (Correct Answer)
c) Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
d) Kazuo Ishiguro
6. Which of the following is NOT a common theme explored in contemporary literature?
a) Globalization
b) Identity Politics
c) Technological Advancements
d) **Courtly Love** (Correct Answer)
7. What is the name of the movement that emphasizes the importance of personal experience and subjective reality in writing?
a) Realism
b) **Confessionalism** (Correct Answer)
c) Modernism
d) Postmodernism
8. "Cloud Atlas" is a complex novel featuring multiple storylines by which author?
a) Michael Ondaatje
b) David Mitchell (Correct Answer)
c) Arundhati Roy
d) Marlon James
9. "The Road" is a post-apocalyptic novel by which American author?
a) Philip Roth
b) Cormac McCarthy (Correct Answer)
c) Toni Morrison
d) John Updike
10. What is the term for a dystopian society that appears utopian on the surface?
a) Dystopia
b) Utopia
c) **Irony** (Correct Answer, technically not a literary term, but applies here)
d) Satire
a) The American Civil War
b) The French Revolution
c) **The Nigerian Civil War** (Correct Answer)
d) The Rwandan Genocide
12. What is the name of the graphic novel series by Alison Bechdel that explores themes of sexuality and family relationships?
a) Maus
b) Watchmen
c) **Fun Home** (Correct Answer)
d) Persepolis
13. Which author is known for their magical realist novels, blurring the lines between fantasy and reality?
a) J.M. Coetzee
b) Salman Rushdie
c) **Gabriel Garcia Marquez** (Correct Answer)
d) Haruki Murakami
14. "The God of Small Things" is a Booker Prize-winning novel by which Indian author?
a) Vikram Seth
b) Arundhati Roy (Correct Answer)
c) Salman Rushdie
d) Aravind Adiga
15. The term "Afrofuturism" refers to a genre that incorporates science fiction elements with what cultural perspective?
a) **African Diaspora** (Correct Answer)
b) Latin American
c) European
d) Asian
16. "Beloved" by Toni Morrison is a haunting exploration of which historical event?
a) The Civil Rights Movement
b) The Vietnam War
c) **American Slavery** (Correct Answer)
d) The Great Depression
17. What is the name of the unique narrative style employed by David Foster Wallace, characterized by long, winding sentences and footnotes?
a) Stream of Consciousness
b) **Hyperbole** (Correct Answer), more generally it's his idiosyncratic style, not a single term
c) Minimalism
d) Magical Realism
18. "Lincoln in the Bardo" by George Saunders is a historical novel told from the perspective of who?
a) Abraham Lincoln himself
b) Mary Todd Lincoln
c) **Spirits in a Civil War-era graveyard** (Correct Answer)
d) Union soldiers
19. "Exit West" by Mohsin Hamid is a contemporary novel that explores themes of what?
a) Coming-of-age
b) **Migration and displacement** (Correct Answer)
c) Historical fiction
d) Crime and mystery
20. "The Vegetarian" by Han Kang is a disturbing South Korean novel that delves into themes of what?
a) Political corruption
b) **Patriarchy and societal expectations** (Correct Answer)
c) Technological anxieties
d) Coming-of-age
21. "Ducks, Newburyport" by Lucy Ellmann is an experimental novel written entirely in what grammatical form?
a) First person
b) Second person
c) **Free indirect discourse** (Correct Answer)
d) Dramatic monologue
22. "Milkman" by Anna Burns is a Booker Prize-winning novel set during which historical conflict?
a) The American Revolution
b) The Irish Potato Famine
c) **The Troubles in Northern Ireland** (Correct Answer)
d) The Rwandan Genocide
23. "On Beauty" by Zadie Smith explores the complexities of what in a multicultural society?
a) Economic disparity
b) **Race, class, and family dynamics** (Correct Answer)
c) Environmental concerns
d) Political corruption
24. "Lincoln in the Bardo" by George Saunders is an example of which literary genre?
a) Science fiction
b) Historical fiction
c) **Historical fantasy** (Correct Answer)
d) Crime fiction
25. "There There" by Tommy Orange is a novel that gives voice to the experiences of which marginalized group?
a) African Americans
b) Latinx immigrants
c) **Native Americans** (Correct Answer)
d) LGBTQ+ community
26. "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" by Junot Diaz is a coming-of-age story that incorporates elements of what literary tradition?
a) Gothic fiction
b) Bildungsroman
c) **Magical realism** (Correct Answer)
d) Detective fiction
27. "Exit West" by Mohsin Hamid utilizes a fantastical element – magical doors – to explore the real-world issue of:
a) Climate change
b) Technological addiction
c) **Global migration** (Correct Answer)
d) Political corruption
28. "A Little Life" by Hanya Yanagihara is a critically acclaimed novel that delves into themes of what?
a) Historical trauma
b) **Childhood abuse and trauma** (Correct Answer)
c) Environmental justice
d) Political satire
29. "My Monticello" by Toni Morrison is a posthumously published novel that reimagines the life of which historical figure?
a) Abraham Lincoln
b) Harriet Tubman
c) **Sally Hemings** (Correct Answer)
d) Frederick Douglass
30. "Pachinko" by Min Jin Lee is a multigenerational saga that explores the experiences of which ethnic group?
a) **Korean** (Correct Answer) Americans
b) Chinese immigrants
c) Vietnamese refugees
d) Indian diaspora
31. "The Vegetarian" by Han Kang is narrated from whose perspective?
a) The husband
b) The wife's best friend
c) **Multiple characters, including the wife** (Correct Answer)
d) A therapist
32. "Cloud Atlas" by David Mitchell employs a unique narrative structure. What is it called?
a) Stream of consciousness
b) First-person limited
c) **Nested narratives** (Correct Answer)
d) Epistolary
33. "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a novel that explores themes of:
a) **Immigration and cultural identity** (Correct Answer)
b) Political corruption
c) The American Civil War
d) Coming-of-age in a rural setting
34. "Lincoln in the Bardo" utilizes elements of which literary device to create a sense of the unsettling and ethereal?
a) Simile
b) Metaphor
c) **Juxtaposition** (Correct Answer)
d) Foreshadowing
35. "Ducks, Newburyport" by Lucy Ellmann's stream-of-consciousness style is reminiscent of the work of which modernist author?
a) Ernest Hemingway
b) F. Scott Fitzgerald
c) **Virginia Woolf** (Correct Answer)
d) John Steinbeck
36. "On Beauty" by Zadie Smith features a large cast of characters. Which character is the central protagonist?
a) Howard, the patriarch of the Belsey family
b) Kiki, a flamboyant artist
c) **Clara, a young woman navigating university life** (Correct Answer)
d) Jerome, a charismatic academic
37. "There There" by Tommy Orange utilizes a non-linear narrative structure. What is the unifying element connecting the various storylines?
a) Geographical location
b) Historical event
c) **Shared experience of marginalization** (Correct Answer)
d) Family lineage
38. "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" by Junot Diaz is a coming-of-age story set in which locations?
a) England and France
b) **Dominican Republic and the United States** (Correct Answer)
c) South Africa and India
d) China and Japan
39. "A Little Life" by Hanya Yanagihara has been praised for its beautiful prose. Which literary device is a recurring feature?
a) Hyperbole
b) Onomatopoeia
c) **Simile and metaphor** (Correct Answer)
d) Alliteration
40. "Pachinko" by Min Jin Lee spans multiple generations. What historical period does the novel begin in?
a) The Korean War
b) The Japanese occupation of Korea
c) **Early 20th century Korea** (Correct Answer)
d) The rise of K-pop
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