Biography
What's the title of the book where this story was published?
Exhalation
Provide a synonym for contemplate.
Behold
What's the meaning of impel?
To force, to urge forward.
Who tells the story? Where and when is he?
Fuwaad ibn Abbas, in Baghdad 20 years before his time.
Who speaks about "misdeeds" and why?
Ajib, the weaver, because he feels his wife was kidnapped because he stole the money that allowed him to marry her.
What collection of stories by Chiang was this story published in?
In the second collection.
Provide a synonym for thrust.
Poke, shove.
What's the meaning of scarcely?
Barely, not quite.
Why didn't the older Hassan know exactly when his younger self would visit him?
Because it had happened long ago and he had forgotten the exact day.
Is Ajib honest with his wife when he explains how he got his money?
No, he is unwilling to admit the truth to her or himself.
Mention at least 3 of Chiang's awards.
Hugo, Nebula, John W. Campbell, Best New Writer, Locus...
Provide a synonym from the story for alleviate.
Soothe
What's the meaning of withdrawn?
Removed, shy.
When Bashaarat first showed Fuwaas the time gate, did he feel truly impressed?
Not really, he was just surprised to see such a learned man to perform a good conjuror’s trick and applaudedd politely.
Which stories are connected by a chest?
The rope maker´s, his wife's and the weaver´s. All three stories are connected by chests because that's where the money is found in the three of them.
What story is Chiang's best known one and why?
"Story of your Life", because it inspired the film Arrival.
Provide a synonym from the story for discoloured.
Faded.
What's the meaning of slab as in "a circular slab of granite"?
A flat thick piece of wood, stone, metal or other material.
Why did the older Hassan say to his younger self "And I renew the oath"?
Because he had also sworn as a young man.
What's the temporal paradox in "The Tale of the Wife and her Lover"?
"Exhalation", "Tower of Babylon", "Division by Zero", "Hell is the Absence of God", "The Lifecycle of Software Objects, "The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feeling", "Omphalos"...
Provide a synonym from the story for anxiety or consternation.
Dismay
What's the meaning of ploy?
A trick, usually to gain an advantage..
What's the temporal paradox in "The Tale of the Weaver who Stole from Himself"?
That the younger Ajib stole from himself after he had had a wasteful life, which is precisely what brought misfortune upon him. Therefore, who stole from the older Ajib the first time?
What's the most important knowledge the story intends to transmit?
"Nothing erases the past. There is repentance, there is atonement, and there is forgiveness. That is all, but that is enough."