May the Fourth Be With You — Answers

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Quizologist

Pursuit of the Trivial

Here are the answers to my earlier questions.

See Question Three. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, 1974.
Image Wikimedia Commons

The first question concerns today, May 4th. The rest follow a theme related to the first.

One

On 4 May, Napoleon landed on an island to begin his first exile. What island and in what year?

Answers: Elba; 1814.

Napoleon escaped Elba in February 1815 and embarked on his ‘Hundred Days’ before ultimately being defeated at Waterloo and exiled to Saint Helena.

The first question related to ‘exile’ so we will continue with that theme for the remainder.

Two

Which band released the double album Exile on Main St on this day in 1972?

The Rolling Stones.

This double album was the band’s tenth studio album and was recorded at various locations including Mick Jagger’s country house in England and a villa in the south of France, which was rented by Keith Richards.

Three

After eight years in a labour camp and a year of internal exile, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was finally permitted to receive cancer treatment in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 1954. Which 1966 Solzhenitsyn novel specifically depicts this period?

Answer: Cancer Ward.

Cancer Ward, a semi-autobiographical novel by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, explores the moral responsibility of those implicated in Stalin’s Great Purge. The story, set in a Tashkent hospital in 1955, follows a group of patients, including the protagonist Oleg Kostoglotov, who reflect on their roles and the lasting impact of Stalinism. Kostoglotov ultimately realises that healing after Stalin is impossible, likening the situation to cancer. Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008) was a Soviet and Russian author and dissident renowned for exposing Soviet political repression, particularly the Gulag system. Awarded the 1970 Nobel Prize in Literature, his work The Gulag Archipelago challenged the Soviet state and sold millions. Born into a devout Orthodox family, he initially embraced atheism and Marxism–Leninism. Arrested during WWII for criticising Stalin, he served eight years in the Gulag, leading to his conversion to Orthodox Christianity. Released during the Khrushchev Thaw, he published One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich in 1962. Exiled in 1974, he settled in the U.S. before returning to Russia in 1994.

Four

Dante Alighieri, known as Dante, poet, writer and philosopher who was the author of Divine Comedy was, in the early 14th century, exiled from his native city for life. What was that city?

Answer: Florence.

Dante Alighieri, while serving as Florence’s city prior in 1300, was accused of corruption by the Black Guelphs. Still in Rome in 1302, he was considered an absconder by Florence. Dante refused to pay the fine, believing in his innocence and having his assets seized. Condemned to perpetual exile, he risked execution if he returned. In 2008, Florence rescinded his sentence.

Five

Five music questions spread over the past fifty years?

King Crimson’s song Exiles was featured on their 1973 album …’ Tongues in Aspic. What word completes the album title?
Irish singer Enya’s song Exile was from her 1988 album Water…. What four letters complete the album’s one-word title?
Exile, a track from the 1997 album also titled Exile, was performed by a man considered a pioneer of electronic music. Who was this singer?
Exile featured on Slayer’s 2001 album … Hates Us All. What word is missing from the start of the album name?
In 2020, Bon Iver featured on whose song Exile?

Answers

Larks. Larks’ Tongues in Aspic was the full title of King Crimson’s 1973 album.
Mark. Watermark was the 1988 album by Enya.
Gary Numan. Numan was the 1997 exile who was a pioneer of electronic music.
God. Slayer’s Exile came from God Hates Us All (2001).
Taylor Swift. The Exile featuring Bon Iver was by none other than Ms Swift, who Wikipedia describes as ‘the highest-grossing live music artist, the wealthiest female musician, and one of the best-selling music artists of all time’.