Come join the discussion today. Thoughts and inputs greatly welcomed.
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{{{Scott}}}}...I will make the effort here in a while.....plowing through a bunch of "Executor" type chores right now.....
Family first....I will make the effort here in a while.....plowing through a bunch of "Executor" type chores right now.....
Very nice observations and comments.I've only read one other book by this author- All The Light We Cannot See- and will highly recommend it to all.
My take was this was a love story with a series of wishes. Two characters with opposite goals who appear to want something, (togetherness, love, connection)
yet end up unexpectedly at odds with each other.
I enjoyed the spiritual and mystical nature of the wife. Her abilities to be one with nature.
She lives in winter, he in spring and summer.
The Hunting scenes are as they are, just difficult to read.
Was it a fairy tail ending? Or acceptance where he finally accepts her gifts as good and honest? They are metaphorically pinned against their glass reflection as he was physically pinned to the window glass by the weather at the beginning.
He reaches for her hand.
Very nice observations and comments.
I'm not sure I have much to add to what you said so perfectly. (shock!)
I will say, the first bit of reading, I felt overpowered by all the detailed and descriptive adjectives. The story felt forced and overpowered. But, that quickly changed. I'm not sure why it hung me up at first, but the author continued the pattern throughout the story and it didn't bother me. After I finished it, I went back and reread that beginning again and did not have the same reaction. Strange little hiccup that didn't last.
The age difference and the fact they were different seasons as Spidey pointed out, made them star-crossed lovers.
They would never be a whole until each of them could appreciate the other's unique singleness.
I'd like to think they got to that whole in the end.
Exactly. Stephen gets very descriptive, but I'm never taken out of the story by them. So I'm not quite sure why I was at first on this. It just felt a tad trying-too-hard.Romantic here, so yes, I am taking away they become whole. I want happy happy.
I think that is his style- the detailed and descriptive adjectives. And yes, you just get into the story and they are no longer an issue.
Great additional thoughts.I had a slightly different take on their love story. He lives in summer, she in winter, Spidey said. I love that. I think maybe his way of making a living (hunting) was at odds with her need to see, feel, experience what we all wonder is at the clearing at the end of the path. And she could actually do it and used it to help people. I think she helped the animals she touched as well to find their way.
Also I fixated more on the death side of the story. I thought it bookended last week's story very nicely. Last week, there was dread and sadness. This story was full of hope to me. Hope that there is something nice waiting for all of us. It left me feeling good at the end. So I believe they did find a way to come back together with their summer/winter lives.
I have also read All the Light We Cannot See by this author and can second Spidey's recommendation.
Oh and I meant to say too that I loved all the descriptions of the land and the winter, how hard it is sometimes. I felt that keenly.
It was President O'Brien's family -- but what happened to them? Were we told?I thought the description and imagery of the harsh winters was beautiful.
I liked this story very much. I think her young age at the beginning was used to show how deep his love was for her. He was willing to wait 3 years to be with her (he probably didn't have to but I'm glad the author chose to keep it nice and legal ).
I thought it was very bizarre near the end where the coffins are brought in for her to put her hands in. I'm not sure what to make of that. (I mean that it seems like a pretty extreme way to use her talent)
It was President O'Brien's family -- but what happened to them? Were we told?
I took it she was the guest of honor to read his family in the coffins, to give him peace. That's what she was known for, so people sought her out. Obviously something really awful happened, maybe he needed that final moment with them.But I'm just talking about the bizarreness (I made a new word) of having a formal dinner with the coffins of your family members brought in.
But I'm just talking about the bizarreness (I made a new word) of having a formal dinner with the coffins of your family members brought in.
I took it she was the guest of honor to read his family in the coffins, to give him peace. That's what she was known for, so people sought her out. Obviously something really awful happened, maybe he needed that final moment with them.
And he threw a wake/dinner party?