Part 1, Prologue-Chapter 9

Reading Check

1. Chapter 1 takes place two months before the Prologue. (Prologue and Chapter 1)

2. Tony (Chapter 3)

3. Children’s books (Chapter 6)

4. The Fletcher County Correctional Institute (Chapter 8)

Short Answer

1. Felix’s wife acquired a staph infection after giving birth to Miranda and died shortly thereafter. (Chapter 2)

2. He asks the landlady to keep his presence there a secret and even lives under a pseudonym, “Mr. Duke.” (Chapter 5)

3. He begins to vividly imagine Miranda still alive, hallucinating that she is growing up with him in his isolated shack. (Chapter 7)

4. Felix finds his old magician’s costume. He decides that the time is not yet right for him to put it back on—this alerts the reader that at some future point he likely will put it back on, and that this moment will be a significant turning point for Felix. (Chapter 9)

Part 2, Chapters 10-19

Reading Check

1. Cigarettes (Chapter 13)

2. Prospero (Chapter 15)

3. Chess (