Medium Level – GK Questions

Samuel Beckett's 'Waiting for Godot' is a foundational text of the Theatre of the Absurd, highlighting the meaninglessness and existential dread of human existence.

The Prix Goncourt is a French literary prize, created in 1903, awarded to the author of 'the best and most imaginative prose work of the year'.

The Hugo Awards are presented annually by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year.

U.R. Ananthamurthy was a pioneer of the Navya movement in Kannada literature, which focused on modernism and questioning traditional values.

V.S. Khandekar wrote 'Yayati' in Marathi. It won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1960 and later the Jnanpith Award in 1974.

William Ernest Henley wrote 'Invictus' in 1875 while recovering from multiple amputations due to tubercular arthritis.

T.S. Eliot published 'The Waste Land' in 1922. It is considered one of the most important poems of the 20th century, reflecting post-WWI disillusionment.

In 2022, Geetanjali Shree and translator Daisy Rockwell won the International Booker Prize for 'Tomb of Sand' (originally 'Ret Samadhi'), a first for any Indian language.

Historian William Dalrymple wrote 'The Anarchy' (2019), detailing how a single London-based corporation eventually conquered the vast Mughal Empire.

Prince Hamlet delivers this soliloquy in Act 3, Scene 1 of the play, pondering life, death, and suicide.

Charles Dickens wrote this iconic opening line for his 1859 historical novel 'A Tale of Two Cities', set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution.

Originating in Germany, a bildungsroman is essentially a 'coming-of-age' story. Charles Dickens' 'David Copperfield' is a classic example.

An epistolary novel is written as a series of documents. Examples include Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' and Alice Walker's 'The Color Purple'.

Sachin Tendulkar co-authored his autobiography 'Playing It My Way' with Boria Majumdar. It was released in 2014.

Nelson Mandela published 'Long Walk to Freedom' in 1994. It profiles his early life, his years in prison, and his role in ending apartheid in South Africa.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a prominent Nigerian author, not Kenyan. Her works frequently explore themes related to Nigerian history and the immigrant experience.

Haruki Murakami is a globally renowned contemporary Japanese writer. Kawabata and Ōe have already won the Nobel Prize.

Rohinton Mistry's 'A Fine Balance' (1995) is set in an unnamed Indian city during the Emergency (1975-1977), exploring themes of cruelty, corruption, and resilience.

Kamala Markandaya published 'Nectar in a Sieve' in 1954. It became a bestseller and is a classic post-colonial text detailing the impact of industrialization on rural India.

The Beat Generation, including works like 'On the Road' and 'Howl', rejected standard narrative values, pursued spiritual quests, and rejected materialism.