Funny You Should Ask Quiz: 20 Questions on Plot, Characters, and Themes
About This Quiz
This 20-question quiz covers the full arc of Elissa Sussman's Funny You Should Ask, from the epigraph to the Montana finale. Questions are grouped into four sections: plot and sequence, character motivation, theme and symbol, and synthesis. Multiple-choice questions have one correct answer; short-answer questions are followed by model responses in the answer key. If you want to review the story before testing yourself, start with the book overview, then check the ending explained after you finish.
Plot and Sequence (Questions 1–8)
1. What event launches the novel's present-day storyline?
A) Chani receives a book deal offer based on her old article
B) Chani's editor calls to say Gabe Parker's team requested her for a new interview
C) Gabe Parker announces his retirement from acting
D) Chani's divorce from Jeremy is finalized
2. During their first interview, what does Gabe reveal about his Bond casting?
A) He was the studio's first and only choice
B) He was the second choice, behind Oliver Matthias
C) He auditioned against director Ryan Ulrich for the role
D) He turned down the role twice before accepting
3. What interrupts Chani and Gabe's intimate dance at the gay club?
A) Paparazzi burst into the club
B) Gabe receives an urgent phone call from his manager
C) Oliver pulls Chani away, tearing her dress
D) The club announces last call
4. What name does Gabe have saved for Chani in his phone?
A) Chani Horowitz (Team L.A.)
B) Tracy Lord
C) The Interviewer
D) Broad Sheets Writer
5. What does Gabe reveal about his reaction to Chani's original article?
A) He loved it and framed it in his office
B) He felt exposed and angry, which led him to impulsively marry Jacinda
C) He never actually read it
D) He wrote a rebuttal essay
6. What does Chani find when she wakes in Gabe's bed after their Montana trip?
A) A note from Gabe saying he left for L.A.
B) A Rumor Mill post with photos of them at dinner
C) A text from Jacinda warning her away
D) A written proposal from Gabe
7. What does Gabe confess about the couch incident ten years earlier?
A) He had planned the moment for weeks
B) He climaxed prematurely before they could go further
C) He was pretending to be drunk
D) He had been thinking about Jacinda
8. What does Chani do at first light after their night together in Montana?
A) She wakes Gabe to talk about their future
B) She slips out, hails a cab, and returns home
C) She calls Katie to ask for advice
D) She makes breakfast for Gabe
Character Motivation (Questions 9–13)
9. Why does Gabe say he never contacted Chani after their weekend?
A) He lost her number in a phone upgrade
B) She was married, and he planned to wait six months after her divorce
C) His management forbade him from contacting her
D) He was in rehab and couldn't reach out
10. Why did Gabe threaten to quit the Bond franchise?
A) He disagreed with the director's vision
B) He learned Oliver had been approached first and asked to sign a morality clause
C) He wanted a higher salary
D) He was offered a better film role
11. Why does Chani agree to the second interview with Gabe?
A) Her editor threatens to fire her
B) She hopes to finally get answers about that weekend and achieve closure
C) She needs money to pay her rent
D) Katie dares her to do it
12. Why did Gabe have Dan Mitchell fired?
A) Dan was spreading lies about Chani after their interview
B) Dan leaked Gabe's private photos
C) Dan stole Gabe's script
D) Dan insulted Gabe's family
13. Why does Chani stop kissing Gabe on the couch?
A) She remembers she's still married
B) He calls her baby and she doubts the moment's meaning
C) The puppy interrupts them
D) She hears paparazzi outside
Theme and Symbol (Questions 14–17)
14. What does the epigraph from The Philadelphia Story invert?
A) The proverb about a rolling stone gathering no moss
B) The saying all's fair in love and war
C) The phrase opposites attract
D) The adage absence makes the heart grow fonder
15. What does the puppy in the first interview symbolize?
A) Gabe's desire for a family
B) Companionship and the list of goals for success
C) Gabe's fear of commitment
D) The tabloid media's intrusion
16. What does the half-finished Yellowstone mammals puzzle represent?
A) Gabe's stalled acting career
B) Gabe's recovery and patience
C) The fractured Parker family
D) Chani's unfinished novel
17. What does the old theatre Gabe purchases symbolize?
A) His nostalgia for his Broadway days
B) New beginnings and creative ambition
C) His rivalry with Oliver
D) A tribute to his late father
Synthesis (Questions 18–20)
18. Short answer: How does the novel use The Philadelphia Story as a mirror for Chani and Gabe's relationship?
19. Short answer: What does the monkey's paw metaphor reveal about fame in the novel?
20. Short answer: How does the Running Pyramid game challenge the public/private persona divide?
Answer Key
1. B. Chani's editor, Alexandra, calls to say Gabe's team requested her specifically for a new interview, which sets the present-day story in motion. The book deal offer, retirement announcement, and divorce are not part of this opening scene.
2. B. Gabe admits he was the second choice for Bond, with Oliver Matthias as the first. He was not the studio's first pick, did not audition against Ryan Ulrich (the director), and did not turn down the role twice.
3. C. Oliver pulls Chani away from Gabe on the dance floor, and her dress tears in the process. Paparazzi, a phone call, and last call do not interrupt the scene.
4. B. Gabe saved Chani's number as Tracy Lord, the Katharine Hepburn character from The Philadelphia Story. He saved his own number in her phone as Gabe Parker (Team L.A.), which is a distractor.
5. B. Gabe explains that reading the article made him feel exposed and angry, and that reaction led him to impulsively marry Jacinda in Vegas. He did not love the article, did not skip reading it, and did not write a rebuttal.
6. B. Chani wakes to find a Rumor Mill post with photos of them at dinner, taken from a distance. No note, text from Jacinda, or proposal appears in this scene.
7. B. Gabe reveals he climaxed prematurely before they could go further, which is why he seemed annoyed when she stopped. He was genuinely drunk, not pretending, and was not thinking about Jacinda.
8. B. Chani slips out at first light, hails a cab, and returns home because she is too embarrassed to face him. She does not wake him, call Katie, or make breakfast.
9. B. Gabe explains he never called because she was married, and after her divorce announcement he planned to wait six months. He did not lose her number, was not forbidden by management, and was not in rehab at that time.
10. B. Gabe threatened to quit when he learned Oliver had been approached first and asked to sign a morality clause. The other options are not supported by the story.
11. B. Chani agrees to the interview hoping to finally get answers about that weekend and achieve closure. Her editor does not threaten her, she does not cite financial need, and Katie encourages but does not dare her.
12. A. Gabe had Dan Mitchell fired because Dan was spreading lies about Chani after their interview. The other reasons are not in the book.
13. B. Chani asks Gabe to stop after he calls her baby and she doubts the moment's meaning. She is divorced by this point, the puppy is not involved, and no paparazzi appear.
14. A. The epigraph reads The course of true love—gathers no moss, inverting the familiar proverb about a rolling stone. The other sayings are not referenced in the epigraph.
15. B. The puppy connects to Gabe's list of things he planned to do once successful, with getting a dog as one item, and it serves as a companion throughout the interview. The other interpretations are not supported.
16. B. Gabe says puzzling became part of his recovery, so the half-finished puzzle represents patience and healing. It does not symbolize a stalled career, family fracture, or Chani's novel.
17. B. Gabe has purchased the old theatre with plans to renovate it with Ollie, representing new beginnings and creative ambition. It is not about Broadway nostalgia, rivalry, or his father.
18. Model response: The Philadelphia Story appears throughout the novel: in the epigraph, in Gabe's research for his role, in Chani's critique of the film's sexist subplot, and in Gabe saving her number as Tracy Lord. The film's themes of love versus worship, second chances, and the gap between public persona and private truth mirror Chani and Gabe's relationship. Chani's line I don't want to be worshipped. I want to be loved directly connects to her desire for genuine connection rather than celebrity fantasy.
19. Model response: Chani reflects that wishing for fame was the ultimate monkey's paw wish: you never see the cost until it has already been paid. Her article made her known not for her writing but for the question of whether she slept with Gabe. The metaphor reveals that fame carries hidden costs, including loss of privacy, being defined by a single moment, and public scrutiny that shapes personal decisions.
20. Model response: During Running Pyramid, Chani and Gabe work as a team, with Gabe encouraging her and lifting her in a spinning hug when they win. The game strips away the interview power dynamics and celebrity performance, revealing their genuine compatibility. Adrienne's comment that they are the dream team highlights how their private connection contradicts the public narrative of their relationship.
For more discussion of key moments and character choices, visit the questions and answers page.