The Memory of Things

PART 1

Reading Check

1. Manny makes the comment that an attack like this one is very unexpected in the US. (Part 1, Chapter 1)

2. The girl says she does not know her own name. (Part 1, Chapter 2)

3. A cell phone (Part 1, Chapter 3)

4. Fugue amnesia is usually caused by sudden trauma; the person experiencing it forgets both the past and their identity. (Part 1, Chapter 5)

Short Answer

1. Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan with many other people, Kyle sees a teen girl wearing costume wings near the edge of the bridge. Against the protest of people, he stops to comfort her and lead her away, assuring her that he can help her. She does not say anything. He leads her to his apartment, where he tries to locate his parents. She remains quiet, reeling from shock. (Part 1, Chapter 1)

2. Kyle is particularly concerned about his father because as a member of the Joint Terrorist Task Force, his father would have been sent into the World Trade Center as a first responder. He hears a voicemail from his father telling him to get safe, stay put, and call him. Later, he hears a voicemail from his mother, who is trying to fly home from LA with his sister; they are safe but stranded. (Part 1, Chapters 1-3)

3. When he turns on the TV, Kyle hears different ideas about what happened (including that the North Tower fell first) and reports on the difficulty of communication. Kyle is confused but tries to remain calm and focus on contacting his parents in the chaos. (Part 1, Chapter 3)

4. Kyle’s inner monologue reveals important key points about relationships between family members: For example, he and his father tend to disagree regarding Kyle’s interests; his mother usually wins arguments; Kyle’s Uncle Paul disapproves of Kyle attending a math and science school. Uncle Matt, who has lived with Kyle and his family since an accident the previous summer, is one of the more supportive people in Kyle’s life. (Part 1)

PARTS 2-3

Reading Check

1. Swallowing the pills (Part 2, Chapter 6)

2. US Memory Championship (Part 2, Chapter 8)

3. The Twin Towers (Part 2, Chapter 10)

4. That she attends Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and the Performing Arts (Part 3, Chapter 13)

Short Answer

1. Uncle Matt suffered a broken jaw and spine and a fractured skull when an SUV struck his motorcycle months before. He is currently in the recovery phase. Although he is progressing well, Matt still experiences difficulties with motor function and speech. Kyle is simultaneously proud but embarrassed with the girl there; however, the girl’s inner monologue reveals that she likes Uncle Matt, and she thinks that his words sound similar to her thoughts. (Part 2, Chapter 8)

2. After trying to reach his father all day, Kyle finally receives a call from his father who is still in the rubble supporting the other first responders. He tells Kyle he needs to stay to support his team. He also tells Kyle that they need to remain indoors. Both father and son are emotional at this point. (Part 2, Chapter 8)

3. Kyle’s friend Marcus was adopted by a wealthy American couple from a refugee camp in Uganda. Marcus is traumatized by the events of the day, referring to Manhattan as a “war zone,” which Kyle realizes is significant since Marcus had escaped war in Uganda. Marcus also tells Kyle that some of their classmates’ relatives were working in the Towers before they collapsed. (Part 2, Chapter 9)

4. On 9/12, Kyle discovers that the girl has left his apartment. He decides to go out into the streets and find her, reflecting on a J.D. Salinger story while he quickly navigates the streets of Brooklyn. (Part 3, Chapters 13-14)

PART 4

Reading Check

1. That most of the time, lies do not work because others see through their illogic (Part 4, Chapter 15)

2. His sister’s snow globe of the NYC skyline (Part 4, Chapter 15)

3. Pancakes (Part 4, Chapter 21)

4. “We are FIRST Americans.” (Part 4, Chapter 22)

Short Answer

1. The girl is hesitant to go back with Kyle, but he is able to convince her. Kyle asks the girl to tell him small things about herself. She tells some of the things she likes, such as cherries, Mario Kart, and dance steps. They both begin to feel more comfortable from the interaction. (Part 4, Chapter 16)

2. Kyle teaches the girl a memory game as a method to remember the order of random words. With Uncle Matt, the three enjoy the game and are temporarily suspended from the reality of the 9/11 attacks. (Part 4, Chapter 17)

3. Uncle Paul calls asking Kyle if he had heard from his father. Initially Kyle is confused since he thinks his father is still at Ground Zero, but then he discovers his father has made it home safely and is sleeping in the bedroom. (Part 4, Chapter 20)

4. Kyle decides to take the girl to Coney Island, which is more or less deserted. Their uneasiness contrasts with their warming relationship; Kyle resists the urge to kiss her. The two spend time holding hands and embracing. (Part 4, Chapters 22-23)

PARTS 5-6

Reading Check

1. The Lovers (Part 5, Chapter 24)

2. Angel wings (Part 5, Chapter 25)

3. Kyle’s eyes are kinder, and his face does not have the harshness that his father’s does. (Part 5)

4. Two candles (Part 5, Chapter 29)

5. The “blindside way” and “gradually” (Part 6)

Short Answer

1. Madame Yvette is a psychic whom Kyle and the girl visit while at Coney Island. He asks her to read his palm, and she identifies a difficult moment when he was five years old, which he confirms as the year that he watched his grandpa have a stroke. He feels like he may have made a bad decision to bring the girl there, since she is distraught with her palm reading from the psychic. (Part 5, Chapter 24)

2. Kyle’s father reminds his son to be cautious with the girl, as he can see that Kyle cares for her even though they do not know much about her. This conversation happens after Kyle kisses the girl and tells her he might love her. (Part 5, Chapter 29)

3. Kyle sees an outdated TV program with a man named Mr. Marconi. Kyle immediately registers the name as on the girl’s ID card, and the girl recognizes her father’s voice. Hannah then reveals to Kyle that his office was on the 63rd floor of the World Trade Center. (Part 6, Chapters 30-31)

4. Mr. Marconi is a lawyer, and Mrs. Marconi worked for the New York City Ballet before she died of ovarian cancer. Hannah recalls that Mr. Marconi’s legal case was particularly inflammatory and affected the relationship he had with his wife in the days before her death, which made Hannah angry and frustrated with him. (Part 6, Chapters 32-33)

5. Le Petit Pain is Hannah’s favorite cafe where she goes in order to feel close to her mother. The cafe was located next to the World Trade Center, and on the morning of 9/11, Hannah saw the plane hit the second tower. She rushed to the World Trade Center in order to help her father. (Part 6, Chapter 33)

PARTS 7-8

Reading Check

1. His PopMart Tour T-shirt (Part 7, Chapter 36)

2. She called Hannah “papillon,” which is French for “butterfly.” (Part 8, Chapter 37)

Short Answer

1. After Kyle shares Hannah’s father’s identity with his own father, Mr. Donahue is able to locate Hannah’s father and confirm that he is alive and safe. As Mr. Donahue prepares to travel to Kyle’s home and pick up his daughter, Kyle becomes more anxious at what the future will hold for Hannah and him. (Part 7, Chapter 36)

2. Hannah returns home, where she tells her father that she loves him, looks adoringly at Kyle’s email on her hand, and wears his T-shirt to sleep in. Kyle speaks with his father about Uncle Matt’s improvements, welcomes his family home, and reflects on his time with Hannah. (Part 8, Chapter 37)