Tuesday, February 19, 2013
What Alice Forgot
Greetings book club!
Today we begin our discussion of Liane Moriarty's What Alice Forgot.
This book provides plenty of good material for discussion as well as bonus Ugly Crying potential. I speak only for myself of course as I experienced said ugly cry last week when re-reading the book. I already knew the ending, knew the story, knew the characters - and still - the sobbing!
In my view - that's a good book.
Let's get started!
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Sue, I'm so glad you suggested this book! There is a lot I like about it -- the premise of losing an entire 10 years, the structure (with various characters talking about what is going on for them, to other offstage characters). It really is a book that is hard to put down.
ReplyDeleteI love the suspenseful and interesting way that Alice begins figuring out what has happened over those lost years, and who the people around her are. And I really enjoyed seeing her discover that she had become someone she did not recognize at all. And then, the reconciliation of the old and new Alices -- that is terrific.
This must have made all of us reflect back on changes in our own lives: people who have come and gone; for parents especially, how fast those years go when our children are growing; differences in our own relationships and own selves.
How can you not love a character who regains consciousness and professes disbelief that her accident happened in a gym, because she *hates* gyms?
ReplyDeleteI found it hard to go with the idea that everybody would just go home after she had this major accident and lost the 10 years of memory. But in real life, if you were insisting you were OK, and nobody actually believed you forgot everything (surely you couldn't forget them!), that could happen -- especially if you spent those 10 years becoming more distant from family, and cultivating much more shallow relationships and a persona of unchallenged competence.
I love, love, loved it too. And surprisingly (I am an easy *and* ugly crier), I didn't cry.
ReplyDeleteA couple of things I found intriguing:
I am no Alice in Wonderland expert, but I wondered about the connection that is made explicit somewhere early on. And the giant lemon pie seemed Carroll-like (like the little Eat Me cake?). That would be a fun paper to write, were I an English major.
And, I thought there were almost two protagonists. Elizabeth's character being the other one. Of course, it was easy for me to identify with her with the infertility business--all consuming that it is.
Anyway, great suggestion, Sue. And I love me a happy ending.
And I might need to go on record that my suggestion for the next time is...er...darker, more disturbing, more violent, especially against women. It is about a genocide after all.
Oooo...I never made that Alice in Wonderland connection. That would be an excellent paper to write.
ReplyDeleteIt seemed to me that current day Alice had a hardness to her. I could almost sense the way her jaw clenched when she spoke. Ten Years Ago Alice was so much softer that the other characters could actually see the difference.
This made me think of women of a certain age whose faces show the depth of pain and hardship that life has brought to them. It's not about wrinkles. It's about leaving behind vulnerability because being vulnerable has bit them in the rear too many times. The firmly set jaw and clipped voice becomes a bit of a mask.
It made me wonder about what my face says to the people who love me the most and what it says to people I was once close to but now see once a year, if that.
Esperanza, I am so looking forward to your suggestion for next time. That's the genocide of my husband's grandparents' families. It colors his world, and therefore mine. But I think the story has implications for all of us.
ReplyDeleteBack to the book at hand. How did I miss the Alice in Wonderland allusions? I *was* an english major, and have a decent familiarity with that story. Geesh.
You are completely on mark about Elizabeth being the other major protagonist. Her story comes out really much more passionately than Alice's, as the pages unfold. Alice is a somewhat distant observer of her own mysterious life; but Elizabeth is in such a hard and awful place.
I'm very interested in how the sisters pulled apart, and then how they came together again. For the Old Alice, she was just instinctively back at how close they used to be. And that trust -- which happened accidentally -- made things possible again.
My favorite scene is when Alice climbs into bed with Elizabeth. That was just so real to me.
ReplyDeleteSo good. Exactly what people need to do to support friends/relatives. None of this "let me know if you need anything." That places too much burden on the not-well person. Just show up. Be.
DeleteSorry, end of sermon.
It's a good sermon.
DeleteOh, I like that scene, too, Liz. And I wondered if I will ever do that with one of my sisters, because time has worn us, too, in divergent ways.
ReplyDeleteI really adore Frannie. She is such a rock, and such a sweetheart. And look at her, finding new love after all those years.
I hear you kathy a. I loved that scene but I felt a bit sad knowing such a lovely moment is unlikely with my sisters.
DeleteGosh, now y'all are making me feel smart.
ReplyDeleteAnd what's not to like about Frannie?
I love Frannie! So full of life!
ReplyDeleteDid anyone else notice Nick's lapses in memory? It seemed like there were a lot of times when Alice brought up memories of happier times and he drew a blank. Or at least he seemed not to recall. I'm thinking of the lion statues in front of the house.......did he really not remember them or was it something else?
Hmm. I thought (perhaps uncharitably) that he was trying to cut the conversation short, or didn't *want* to remember happier times. Like he was trying to avoid the "remember when..." conversation.
DeleteI thought so at first too esperanza, but with the lions it seemed so unlikely. They said goodbye to the lions when they left the house and told them to guard the place while they were gone. Who forgets sweet moments like that?
ReplyDeleteMaybe "forgetting" meant he didn't have to open up the hurt of their lost relationship?
Well, but everybody is remembering things differently. At the family talent thing at Frannie's place, Nick remembers knowing he would get back with Alice when she turned to him first after Olivia's performance -- and Alice doesn't remember that at all. Alice and Elizabeth also have different memories of things; and Elizabeth and Ben. We hear some observations from Frannie that don't really seem to register with others in the moment.
ReplyDeleteAbout the 3 pregnancies that Alice forgot, Nick remembers so many details, and some scary ones. The pain; the blood, so much blood.
One of the reasons I really like this book is that having the different viewpoints rings true to me. Things register differently with different people; we help each other remember all the time, in our real lives.
That said -- I agree, Sue, that there are things Nick did not want to remember. Things Elizabeth did not want to remember -- she very definitely did not want to remember.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think about Gina?
Gina was a hard character for me to wrap my head around. She seemed parasitic to me and in Alice's loneliness, she allowed Gina to take over her life. Gina separated Alice from her loved ones which left Alice without true support after Gina's death. Although, a lot of Alice's troubles seemed to be from her not knowing how to handle her grief, the seeds of her bitterness were already planted. She became a shadow Barb in my mind. Whereas Barb sat around depressed, Alice felt she had to be Super Mummy.
ReplyDeleteThis book really knocks the reader over the head with how important, yet unreliable, viewpoint is. As noted above, each character has a distinct set of memories that often clash with other characters and even the readers. I found it especially telling that Alice's first memory of unhappy times in her marriage with Nick was actually something that happened to Gina and Mike. How much do we allow other viewpoints to color our own experiences?
It's true - every character has their own unique "filters" of memory. But we all do, I suppose. That's why family/school reunions are so much fun (or awful, depending on the circumstance) - everyone brings some different stories into the conversation.
ReplyDeleteGina. Oh, Gina. I tried to like her and value her as much as Alice once did, but I couldn't do it. Perhaps we didn't know enough about her, but she did seem parasitic (great word Miranda!) and did not seem to have been a great influence on the Love family.
That said, she worked very hard at the school, and she did help Alice to get in shape and learn to like the gym.
I, too, had a hard time with Gina. I just didn't like her.
ReplyDeleteShe seemed like the kind of person who is so sure of herself that others want to be like her. And I imagine (or perhaps it was mentioned) her over time giving Alice slight and not-so-slight digs about not being "whatever" enough. And over time Alice tried to change to be more what her friend who she admired wanted her to be. And in the process lost herself.
It happened to me once in a relationship, actually. And it was so subtle. You know that the person you love/admire "loves" you too, but that you are not "quite" how they would wish you were--on just this "one tiny thing". And so it seems like such a small thing to do to change that bit. And another bit, and another. And it is so slow and subtle that you don't see it happening. Until, ironically, in my case I got dumped because I wasn't the person he had fallen in love with. Hah! And I woke up and said, "Wow, how did I get here??? This isn't who I am at all!!" And, "Wow, that's not the person I should be with at all!" And reverted to my liberal leftish ways.
Though, I don't seem to recall her having that feeling about Gina so much--the revelation of her being the impetus for becoming what she became. Or perhaps, it is just more complicated than all that....
So, yeah, this book resonated with me a LOT!
--Neighbor Lady
I didn't even try to like Gina. I'm thinking about what Neighbor Lady described, and I have had something similar happen. Often in a situation or time when I am feeling particularly unsure or myself, I will latch on to someone who seems like she (it's always been a she, I think) has it all together. I'll imitate her, first as a coping mechanism and then as a habit. At some point, I'll take a look at myself and realize "I don't even *like* myself when I'm with her. After that, I will let the friendship dwindle away, because it was usually my effort that was making it happen.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what gets us to that point of reconsideration and self-reflection, and why Alice hadn't gotten there herself, until the crash at the gym?
We are primed to dislike Gina. As Alice is trying to put the pieces together, before she remembers, she hates Gina; she can't quite understand why everyone behaves so strangely when Gina comes up. Only a part of that is the shocking death; the rest is how Alice changed during the Gina years, how she seemed sucked along when Gina's marriage broke up.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of a similarly intense work friendship some years ago. I don't think it changed me in terms of isolating me from other people -- in fact, it gave me confidence and I'm still very pleased about various collaborative efforts. But when that friendship crashed, it was pretty awful; I felt I had not been listened to about something important, and very betrayed. If Gina had not died, I wonder if she and Alice would eventually have had a falling out? When Alice finally remembered and reflected, she ended up discarding the hardest, most driven pieces of the person she had become....
Sue, I guess there is nothing wrong with becoming fit or being involved at the school. But the degree of New Alice's involvement strikes me as pretty insane. A 6 hour catered cocktail party for the kindergarten parents? The world's largest lemon meringue pie? All that busy busy busy...
ReplyDeleteTrue. I think I want to find something redeeming about Alice's friendship with Gina. Perhaps the best thing she got out of it was her later realization of what she *didn't* want.
DeleteWhat about Elizabeth? I like her and feel for her, even though she has also become someone she does not like. You can feel the weight of all those years of failed pregnancy attempts, squishing away all that she used to be.
ReplyDeleteBut I love the scene where Alice remembers how Elizabeth told her that their father died, because their mother was unable; how she and Frannie were the ones there for Alice when they were growing up.
And I really like the way Elizabeth's intense personal thoughts are revealed, as notes to her therapist which she expects to never show him.
I really liked Elizabeth. She seemed the most real to me of any of the characters in the book. And I really liked the way that Alice could see the sadness that had manifested itself in Elizabeth's body itself. The way she walked and carried herself. That feels very real to me.
ReplyDelete--Neighbor Lady
That's right -- Alice could see the sadness, even though she did not know what it was about. And Elizabeth -- well, she was so human. She understood the best that Alice really did not remember anything, and yet she walked away for her lunch with the infertiles. But on the other hand, the Alice who forgot the last 10 years awakened something of the younger Elizabeth. Elizabeth let Alice crawl into bed with her -- she permitted that vulnerability and comfort again, after being so well fortified.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth is also the character who most plainly confronted her own wrong assumptions, near the end, when she realized she had made her therapist into an enemy by assuming he had this perfect family and could not possibly understand infertility.
The whole topic of assumptions we carry around (and the rigidity of adhering to them) is really something to ponder. We see Alice grappling with trying to piece things together based on her assumptions of years ago; we see everyone else adjusting, as the awakened but forgetful Alice behaves as if nothing had changed in 10 years. Somehow, it became so easy to assume so much was a sign of disdain, over time; that everything would be a fight -- because it had gotten that way, and the pattern was self-reinforcing.
ReplyDeleteWasn't it great when Alice gave back that ugly ring that she never wanted in the first place? And when she gave up Gina's fight about neighborhood zoning or some-such, which estranged her from the neighbor who taught her to garden? Oh, and when she let Madison quit the team sport she hated?
Barbara -- I kind of like her. It is hilarious when she shows up in the salsa costume and suddenly married to Roger, Nick's dad, and Alice is trying to figure all that out. Her chattiness comes out as a slightly adorable quirk -- one that everyone seems to have in hand, because the girls and Frannie know how to cut it off without anyone being offended.
ReplyDeleteBarb keeps showing up, and that counts. From Frannie, I get the impression that Barb did need help, which Frannie was glad to give, but Elizabeth and Alice always had what they needed even after the terrible blow of their father's death. Barb has had a rebirth of her own during the 10 lost years; and it's not a bad thing, even if Roger is slightly oily.
I liked how when, Alice-39 comes back, all the stuff that puzzled Alice-29 made sense. Like the ring, and how Alice-39 wanted to keep it for her oldest daughter. And the sense of abandonment. And feeling judged by Elizabeth.
ReplyDeleteBut I do wish there had been more of a struggle between Alice-29 and Alice-39 for a chapter or two before the very very pat ending. That ending felt untrue to the rest of the story. Don't get me wrong, I loved that they end up back together and that everyone gets a happy ending, but...it felt too easy.
I think I agree with your too-easy resolution and reconciliation. Time passed, but we didn't get to see the ins and outs of how she came to grips with herself, and how she and Nick figured it out.
DeleteI thought the whole last chapter was unnecessary and did nothing to advance the characters. It felt tacked on and superfluous. I thought a more satisfying end would be Frannie's last letter to her deceased beau. It achieved the same end without the unnecessary exposition.
DeleteWhat did you all think of how motherhood was presented?
Agreed. By the end of the book, I was so convinced that these two belonged together that if the story had ended with Frannie's last letter I would have assumed (another assumption!) they eventually got back together.
DeleteGood question Miranda - I'll think about the portrayal of children and check back later.
How motherhood was presented? It was presented in a lot of ways, and I didn't like the too-perfect-by-half overachieving of Alice before the fall. Poor Elizabeth, feeling so harshly and bitterly that motherhood was a goal she could never achieve, so her real self was compressed to little angry letters to her therapist for a long while. Barb, who was absent but never entirely so. Frannie, who gave up the "honorary" part of her title, because this family was too hers.
ReplyDeleteFrannie is the one who always showed up, doing what was needed, stopped the fussing, and kept loving everyone.
I can't say anything about the school moms, because they all seem so shallow and distant; these were not "it takes a village to raise a child" kinds of people. Something I've always appreciated about the wonderful world of parenting is other parents who love your kids, too, and that wasn't happening with those people.
DeleteIt felt to me like there might be supportive moms out there but because of Gina, Alice was only friends with the competitive ones, because Gina was one of them.
DeleteSorry to be so late. What great points.
ReplyDeleteMotherhood seems to be both the most important, elusive goal, and at the same time nearly irrelevant to the kids. When I try to think about what mothering means in this, I get wrapped up on what being a woman means. And even the contrast that Elizabeth can't become a mother as she wants to be and she feels lost and broken and less. It doesn't seem to be all that much about the children. And then fatherhood doesn't seem nearly as important to being a man - Nick's success is wholly separate.
I really didn't like Gina. And that almost seemed a false note to the story. Like 29yo Alice doesn't understand 39yo Alice and Gina is the root cause. It's almost too convenient to point to Gina at fault...but maybe I'm being harsh on Alice. I really liked her, most of the time.
I also tried to imagine if it would be cool or not to wake up with new skills, like running.
And Alice in Wonderland - oh wow, mind blown!
Fatherhood was tremendously important to Ben, though -- he was about in about as much agony as Elizabeth over the lost pregnancies. Ben was the reliable one who dropped everything to run the kids around to their practices after school, when Alice had her accident.
DeleteWhen Alice's accident forced Nick to reflect, I think he realized just how much he had marginalized his own kids -- they became possessions to fight over during the divorce, but somewhere in there, he adored them as individuals. Remember the scene during Olivia's birth, when he felt like he was having a heart attack and tried to hide in the corner to die quietly, so as not to distract anyone? Not part of his public persona, but there.
Domenick -- we haven't talked about him, but his whole identity is tied up with being the father of a young boy, and being in loco parentis as principal of the elementary school. The man has "dad" written all over him.
I'll agree, that motherhood is still so closely tied to womanhood, culturally and emotionally -- fatherhood and manhood, not so much.
But isn't that also the difference in motherhood versus fatherhood - it was vitally important to some of them, not others and it didn't seem to matter as much. Which may be the writing as much as culture.
DeleteNick's father was an example of the acceptance of part-time fathering. And even that relationship changes in the story, somewhat.
And for Ben - he had all of the "bones" to be a good father but 39yo Alice didn't trust him. Remember how shocking it was that Alice asked him to pick up the kids? (he was willing, which is sweet.)
I think other things went on in Alice's life and relationships during the 10 years; it was not just Gina. Nick was away so much; he lost his sense of humor somewhere, and started acting like Alice was staff. Elizabeth was suffering so much that she resented Alice, and pushed her away. And the disappeared best friend, Sophie? When she got divorced, she found all new single friends and stopped having time for Alice. All that left room for Gina to have a stronger impact than she might have otherwise.
ReplyDeleteExactly. Everything else in Alice's life seemed perfectly primed for Gina to have influence. I wasn't quite sure what Sophie's role was in the story, but now that you put it that way it's clearer. In so many ways, Alice was lonely and vulnerable despite presenting as the busy busy perfect mom.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about Alice-39 and her upcoming 40th birthday. I'm not one for big "milestone" birthdays in that I don't believe that your chronological age determines maturity. However, in my own life there was a time - about 10 years ago, just after I turned 40 - when I seemed to do a lot of looking back and looking forward.
One of the questions I asked myself was "Are you happy?" If so, good. If not, what can you change?
One of those things was the astonishing number of unhealthy relationships in my life. I looked around and found very few people with whom I could let down my guard and just "be." For so many of my friends, I was a resource, someone who would listen and try to help. That is, of course, part of being in relationship. But none of the same support was coming back to me. In some cases, what was being returned to me was criticism or teasing. I despise teasing.
So I did something similar to new-Alice letting her daughter quit soccer and apologizing to the neighbour. I assessed the important things, surrounded myself with healthier relationships, and discovered a spine. It was slow in coming and still needs work, but what resulted was a better and more authentic me.
Did all of that happen because I was around 40, or just because I actually - finally - grew up? Maturing is a bit like clearing through the fog - not of lost memories - but of lost introspection. I came to a point where external expectations did not matter as much as simply liking who I am.
Oh, excellent points, Sue. I made some major life changes 11-12 years ago, after a period of reflection and a good deal of angst. I really thought I would stay at my old job forever -- I loved (and still love) the mission; I liked most of the people -- but things just became excruciating.
ReplyDeleteThere was a hideous re-organization; the place was moving in a direction away from the core mission that I loved; I had made huge sacrifices over the years to keep things going during times of trouble, but was left out of the decisionmaking at that time. (The betrayal by a close work friend happened during this; but the overall situation was much more complicated and unhealthy than that.) So, I shocked everyone including my self by quitting and setting up my own little place.
Which overall was good, because it has allowed me to attend to other important parts of my life -- even if I do miss the resources and camaraderie, and the pension contributions and paycheck. I didn't really burn bridges: still have a contract with the old office; still have good friendships, although of course they drift more distant when one does not see people every day. But I was so desperately miserable at the end, there; could not stand my own bitterness.
I'm almost 39. Should I schedule some time for major life decisions in the near future? :)
ReplyDeleteHa! If only we could schedule. I don't think it is so much an age thing, per se; just that a variety of things tend to add up, at one point or another.
ReplyDeleteIs the shedding of bad relationships also a chance to allow better relationships to grow? Or did you find losing the soul-sucking relationships behind, was that enough to improve things?
ReplyDeleteI'm in my mid-thirties and I'm in the middle of a divorce. And I think it has brought me closer to some of my friends. But to examine some of those relationships I had to reach the pont of being able to accepot losing people. And that was scary.
I lost one person whom I thought was a super friend. And I'm still somewhat hopeful we might talk again, even thought in the process of our breakup she's hurt some people close to me, particularly my daughter, who was close to her as well. Very hard for me to think that letting go forever is the right choice...and probably not even my choice.
Oh, Sarah. Yes, I think that letting some bad ones go can let better ones develop. But I also sympathize with losing someone who was once close, and how painful that can be. The grand thing with long relationships is how much you share, all the things you don't even have to explain; and to not be able to share anymore is really sad.
ReplyDeleteYou're right that sometimes that is not even your own choice -- have to deal with what other people have done, ways things have changed, and with the other feelings of people around you. Hard to recover once the rocks of hurtfulness have been thrown, though.
One mother who is fairly invisible in the book is Nick's mom. For all the flaws of the other parents we see, they are at least around; but she isn't, except as a bitter offstage presence. Remember when Roger and Barbara got together, and Nick's reaction was that it was horrible because what would his mother think, even though his parents were long divorced?
ReplyDeleteIt seems silly to think for a moment that Barbara, who retreated to her shell after Alice's dad died, somehow finagled the outgoing and slightly too loud Roger into salsa dancing and marriage.
I have the impression that perhaps "The Flakes" (Nick's sisters) are distant in part because they stuck with their (unhappy) mom after the divorce, and Nick kept up with Roger, their dad.
Sorry for writing too much. This is kind of a crappy week, and I really like this book. Not trying to crowd anybody out!
ReplyDeleteSo, that ugly ring -- doesn't it stand for all the silly things we sometimes fight with people about? The stands we sometimes take "on principle," which really are not principled at all, but an expression of unhappiness?
I was cheering for Alice when she gave it back. She never liked it, but during the marriage she couldn't give it up, because it was the thing Nick gave her to symbolize their promise. After the marriage, it just became one more thing to fight about. And what was the point? (Saving it for Madison was no more than an excuse. There is no hint that Madison madly desired it.)
No need to apologize kathy! These are great ideas and wonderful discussion. I'm at a meeting/conference all weekend, so I'm not able to contribute much at the moment. Sorry!
ReplyDeleteI'll check in tomorrow night.
Has anyone read Moriarty's other books? Just curious whether the others are as compelling as this one. Because I need more books on my pile!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any other books by this author. Now I'll be on the lookout for them.
ReplyDeleteGreat discussion book club pixies!!
I loved this book, and reading everyone's discussion of it. I thought it was very well written. It was also encouraging to me, though my life is far from perfect, to realize that my marriage , relational skills and emotional health are in a far better place now than they were ten years ago.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone else find the youngest daughter, or at least the way she talked, annoying and unconvincing? There was so much of the book that was just pitch-perfect, but to me that youngest child didn't seem so.
Also, yes, I like the idea of discussing the Les Miserables movie. Thanks! I am still going to try to read the book to compare/contrast with the movie, but I like the idea of discussing the movie.
ReplyDeleteOlivia reminded me of all the sweet 5 year olds I used to know, including my own kids. It's one of my favorite ages -- still cuddly and cute, learning all these new things, not yet cynical. Sure, she was a little over the top with preciousness ("Dear Mummy..."), and those blond curls (Shirley Temple, anyone?).
ReplyDeleteBut Olivia was so endearing that she helped Alice re-attach to her own kids after the fall; and certainly she charmed the socks off of all the elders. It was a little harder to warm up to Madison, whose considerable good qualities were a bit hidden at first.
And then later? When Olivia turned into a sullen angry teenager, while Madison had moved past all that, it was a good reminder that things (bad times, charming times) do not stay in one place forever. Madison came to reconcile the parts of herself, much as Alice did when her memory came back, and there she was with Young Alice and the more flinty and driven New Alice.
Now I'm wondering if I should go look again at Alice in Wonderland. Our Alice is certainly having that out-of-body kind of experience; and then the mega-pie!
ReplyDeleteRemember that the subtitle of Alice in Wonderland is Through the Looking Glass? If I remember, it all took place in a dream, so all the characters really were within Alice herself.
Just remembered the White Rabbit with his watch -- "I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date; no time to say hello, goodbye, I'm late I'm late I'm late!" New Alice was constantly flying around, a perpetual motion machine; Elizabeth explains they had drifted apart because "you are always so busy."
Could the Kindergarten Cocktail Party be like the Mad Hatter's tea party? Our Alice hadn't a clue who these people were, and they said such mysterious things.
New Alice also was something like the Queen: there was a bit of verdict "first, trial later" and "off with his head." And, there was a scene (in the Disney version, at least) with all the Queen's servants painting the rosebushes because they were the wrong color; remember how our Alice was so astonished at the work that had been done on the house, and wondering where the sandstone lions had gone?
Gina was something like the Cheshire Cat: not there, but not quite gone, either. Or, maybe Alice and Gina were Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum. Everyone reported that they were joined at the hip, so to speak.
kathy a I love this! Great parallels to Alice in Wonderland. Especially the Mad Hatter's tea party! I really felt for our Alice at that party. It's so uncomfortable to be at a function and not know a soul. Alice added not knowing herself to an already puzzling event.
ReplyDeleteSorry to post and run earlier. It was work last week and a family crisis today. I have more thoughts about this book - which sounds like a warning. Yikes. ;)
ReplyDeleteJump in, Miranda! When you can.
ReplyDeleteI'm in no position to go searching for it right now, but if someone needs a procrastination tool...early on, I'd say in the first 75 pages, Elizabeth (I'm pretty sure) asks Alice if she feels like Alice in Wonderland, and she may even use the "through the looking glass" phrase.
ReplyDeleteI didn't come up with it all by myself! Promise!
p. 66 of my edition, Alice says to Elizabeth that nothing seems real. "I'm like Alice in Wonderland. Remember how much I hated that book? Because nothing made sense. You didn't like it either. We liked things to make sense."
ReplyDeleteEsperanza for the prize -- that's pretty explicit. My only explanation is that I read at night, when I'm not sleeping, and I didn't know how the rest of the story would go.
OK, I will say I'm impressed with myself for getting the page range correct.
ReplyDeleteI will also confess that I didn't like Alice in Wonderland either, for the same reason.
Great literary detective work!!
ReplyDeleteCan anyone tell me, are word searches possible in Kindle? I rely on word searches so much in real and especially work life. But in literary life, it is more like informed skimming -- a skill I don't want to lose.
ReplyDeleteActually, informed skimming is a huge work skill. We need to be able to identify issues, and material that might inform on those issues. Ye olde word search only gets one so far...
ReplyDeleteYes, word searches are possible in the Kindle.
ReplyDeleteDon't want to get very much ahead of things, but there are references to Alice in the next book, too. Very different. I think we can take that as a signal about the broad cultural influence of Lewis Carrol's book, over time and geography.
ReplyDeleteHuh? Really?
ReplyDeleteHilarious that I find them in Sue's book, but not my own suggestion.
Very minor in the next book. I'm just primed now... ;)
ReplyDelete