Quarter 4: Week 7, Post B

Dear Khaled Hosseini,

Wow! This weekend I finally finished your book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and I loved it! It was a powerful, inspiring novel that moved me and opened my eyes to a tragic story that is an awful reality for many Afghan women. I must say I was doubting how much I would like this book at first. My Mom has been bugging me to read this and The Kite Runner, your other novel, for months but I've kept putting it off. It just didn't seem like the type of book I would enjoy. But boy was I wrong! I loved this story and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I looked forward to reading it each week.

Mariam and Laila's stories were both so different to begin with, and yet the way they intertwined in the middle was so cool! They experienced two completely different childhoods, but they were still able to connect as women and form and unbreakable bond within their terrible situation. Their friendship was so wonderful to read about. I loved that they supported each other and stuck up for one another, especially when Rasheed was involved. It seems so strange to me--two women forced under the same roof because they share a husband. They start out despising each other but grow to be best friends, almost sisters. It's such a crazy situation, unimaginable for me, a teenage girl growing up in modern America. But in spite of these core differences, I was able to relate to and empathize with Laila and Mariam in some ways too.

Even though I enjoyed the whole book, the ending hit me the most. I was completely shocked when Tariq showed up on Laila's doorstep. I mean obviously I had been hoping that he wasn't really dead the whole time, but I never actually thought it would happen! I can't believe Rasheed-what a terrible thing to do, to lie to Laila about something as serious as the death of her very best friend! I cannot imagine the anger I would feel if I was ever betrayed like that. And then, Mariam kills Rasheed! Just when I thought I couldn't be surprised anymore, Mariam gets some guts out of nowhere and shovels Rasheed to death! I was cheering for her when she did that for being so bold and finally taking matters into her own hands, even though murder is a horrible crime. Rasheed may have been a horrible, mean, scum of a person but he still didn't deserve death. I guess in their situation it was the only solution that Mariam saw possible. And I really respect the way she took the blame for the whole thing just so Laila, Tariq, and the children can live in peace and happiness.

Overall, this was an extremely moving and inspirational novel. I know the story will stay with me for years. And now I can't wait to read The Kite Runner!

Sincerely,
A-Rod

Quarter 4: Week 7, Post A

This past week, I continued to notice a lot of cultural differences in A Thousand Splendid Suns, even in these last few chapters. I found several examples in the story that demonstrated again the inequality between men and women. One instance occurred when Laila and Mariam tried to escape from Rasheed but they were caught by Afghan officers. Laila and Mariam know they are in deep trouble because it is a crime for women to run away from their homes. Officer Rahman tells Laila that he must send her back home because he has a "responsibility to maintain order" (238). However, when Laila begs him not to send them home for fear of Rasheed's abuse, the officer is indifferent. "'As a matter of policy, we do not interfere with private family matters, hamshira.' 'Of course you don't. When it benefits the man'" (238). The Afghan authorities do not care about the possible dangers Laila would face in returning home; instead they focus on making sure women know that men must be respected at all times as rulers of the household. This is very different from American culture where there are laws in place to incriminate men who abuse their wives. Abuse still occurs, but it is definitely not tolerated as it is in Afghanistan. Women's and men's rights are much closer to equal here in the U.S. compared to Afghanistan. Another example of the discrepancies in the rules for men vs. women is shown when Laila is visited by Tariq. After years of living with the belief that he was dead, she finally learns the truth--he was alive and thinking of her the whole time. However, even though the two are childhood friends, and maybe more than just friends, Laila still feels shameful at her enthusiastic welcome towards Tariq: "It embarrassed her now to think of how she'd thrown her arms around his neck and wept into his chest...Had she acted too eagerly, she wondered, too desperately?" (294). Laila worries about the affection she showed Tariq because it is considered unproper for women to show such affection for men other than their own husbands. This point is emphasized by Rasheed when he later asks Laila, "'I suppose you let him see your face?'" (301). When Laila must admit that she did indeed show Tariq her face, Rasheed becomes even more angry. This situation shows the restrictions placed on women's behavior in Afghanistan. There is a long list of written and unwritten rules that must be followed in order for them to uphold their honor and respect in society.

Quarter 4: Week 6, Post B

"It was hard to summon sorrow, to grieve the deaths of people Laila had never really thought of as alive in the first place[...]It was Tariq who was real, flesh and blood. Tariq, who taught her cusswords in Pashto, who liked salted clover leaves, who had a light pink birthmark just beneath his left collarbone shaped like an upside-down mandolin. So she sat beside Mammy and dutifully mourned Ahmad and Noor, but, in Laila's heart, her true brother was alive and well" (126).


In one of the chapters in my reading this week, Laila's family found out that her two older brothers, Ahmad and Noor, were dead. Her mother was grief-stricken and went into a state of listlessness and extreme grief. Her father, Babi, was also horribly upset. Laila, on the other hand, found it hard to mourn two brothers she'd never even met. Her brothers were not real people to her, more like characters in a story than her true siblings. I think it's really interesting how she considers Tariq a brother--she is 1,000 times closer to him than she was with her brothers. And now, she will never get a chance to get to know them. Clearly, she and Tariq are extremely close--they seem to know each other as well as they know themselves. I think Laila is very lucky that she has such a good friend in her life, especially because her own family life is so unstable right now. She needs someone to lean on, and Tariq is that person for her. Their close friendship brightens the mood of the novel during such a depressing event as the deaths of Laila's brothers.

Quarter 4: Week 6, Post A

I am continuing to notice more and more cultural differences within my book, A Thousand Splendid Suns. This week I particularly noticed a difference when it comes to languages among different ethnic groups. In Afghanistan, there are two major languages spoken by Afghan citizens: Pashto and Farsi. The split between people who speak Pashto and people who speak Farsi is fairly even. However, most people in Afghanistan know how to speak both. Because there is such an even split between the dialects, it's almost necessary to know both of them. Many people, even children, can easily switch back and forth between the two. For example, Tariq knows both Pashto and Farsi. Even though he grew up learning Pashto and knows it much better, he has no problem communicating with Laila in Farsi. "Though Tariq and his parents were ethnic Pashtuns, they spoke Farsi when Laila was around for her benefit, even though Laila more or less understood their native Pashto" (117). Clearly, Laila and Tariq, although still young, each understand the other's native language fairly well. The fact that so many Afghan citizens are "bi-lingual" like Laila and Tariq is something very different from the U.S. We obviously have many people who speak multiple languages, but it's much less common than in Afghanistan. Most Americans speak English. And although there are several other languages spoken in our country, none are even close to the same importance and popularity as English. No one ethnic group is so dominant in America that their language rivals English.

Quarter 4: Week 5, Post B

Dear Laila,

I really like your story so far! I've only read a few chapters, but I can already tell I'm going to enjoy it. The fact that you are so much younger than Mariam makes your story slightly more light-hearted and gives a fresh perspective. It's funny how even though you and Mariam live on the same street your stories are completely different. While Mariam is dealing with an abusive new husband, you are growing up in a home with two parents who fight constantly and a mother who is depressed.

I admire your relationship with your dad, or Babi. You seem to take after him and the two of you clearly share a bond that you and your mother do not. It's sad that he gets attacked by your mother for such tiny insignificant things, and he just quietly takes it. You should stick up for him to her once; maybe it would help your family situation. But I can understand why you might be afraid to make such a bold move. With your mother's moods so completely crazy, I wouldn't want to do anything to set her off either.

I also like hearing about your friendship with Tariq. It must be so nice to have a friend who you've known since you were little. The two of you seem to know each other really well and balance each other nicely. I can tell you're really missing him while he's away. Maybe you two will become more than friends as you get older...who knows! But for now, it's just nice that you have such a good supportive friend in your life to talk to when things get tough at home or at school with those nasty boys. I can't believe they sprayed pee at you!! I would be soo mad if any boy ever did that to me. You didn't do anything to deserve such cruelty! I hope they let up soon and that you can stick up for yourself next time!

Good luck,

A-Rod

Quarter 4: Week 5, Post A

This week I noticed a fem more cultural differences between the United States and Afghanistan, Laila's home. Also, in A Thousand Splendid Suns, Part 2 of the book is from a new point of view. Laila becomes the main character instead of Mariam and the story revolves around her life and her family, rather than Mariam's life with Rasheed. So, my posts will focus on Laila for now!

Anyway, one of the cultural differences I noticed this week has to do with marriage again. I already discussed arranged marriages as a cultural difference. This time, it's marriages to family members. For example, Laila's parents were originally cousins: "Both Mammy and Babi, who were first cousins, had been born and raised in Panjshir..." (98). In the United States, it would be a huge scandal if two first cousins got married. That just doesn't happen here, it's not socially acceptable. In Afghanistan, the social standard is clearly different--marriage between cousins is accepted and seen as normal.

A second cultural difference I discovered in this week's reading was in schooling. Laila's teacher, Shanzai--or Khala Rangmaal, Auntie Painter, as the students call her--uses discipline methods with her students that are very different from Edina High School: "...behind her back, the students called her Khala Rangmaal, Auntie Painter, referring to the motion she favored when she slapped students--palm, then back of hand, back and forth, like a painter working a brush" (101). Slapping students is considered totally reasonable punishment in Laila's school. If a teacher did that in Edina, or anywhere in the U.S., there would be severe consequences!

Quarter 4: Week 4, Post B

This week, I chose to analyze a quote. It's from earlier in the book, but it stuck out to me and I wanted to go back and acknowledge it, even if it's a little late.

"She [Mariam] remembered Nana saying once that each snowflake was a sigh heaved by an aggrieved woman somewhere in the world. That all the sighs drifted up the sky, gathered into clouds, then broke into tiny pieces that fell silently on the people below. As a reminder of how women like us suffer, she'd said. How quietly we endure all that falls upon us" (82).

For some reason, these lines immediately struck a chord with me when I read them. First of all, I thought they perfectly showed Nana's grief and unhappiness in life. She was constantly reminding Mariam of how much she had suffered--she pitied herself immensely. She wasted her life away with regrets and resentment. Instead of instilling hope and optimism in her daughter, she was constantly pessimistic. And this is only one example of this. Another reason this quote caught my eye is because of its significance in Mariam's life. When she remembers this moment with her mother she has just lost a child due to miscarriage. Rasheed is furious and upset with himself, the doctors, and Mariam. He is selfish about his grief though, and he doesn't see how Mariam is equally, if not more, grief-stricken by the loss. She does not speak up though. Just as her mother stated about the snowflakes, Mariam endures the loss quietly and alone. She doesn't burden Rasheed with her pain. I think this quote also holds some foreshadowing. Having read further ahead in the book now, I know that Mariam is just beginning to suffer. She is forced to endure much more pain in the future--this is only the beginning. And through all of it, she continues to turn inward and face her pain alone. This quote foreshadows the pain and difficulty Mariam will face in the future.

Quarter 4: Week 4, Post A

I'm continuing to love A Thousand Splendid Suns, and as I read I notice more and more cultural differences in Mariam and Laila's world. One example of this is the food people eat in Afghanistan. Rice seems to be a staple item, eaten at most meals, if not all. Some of the other dishes that have been mentioned by Mariam include sabzi, borani, aushak, lamb, daal, and okra qurma. All of these dishes are completely unfamiliar to me, with the exceptions of rice and lamb of course. Still, these strange dishes show how important food is to our culture and how much we notice the different types of food around the world.

Another cultural difference I noticed this week was the sense of religious community in Kabul. During Ramadan, a Muslim holiday, the entire city nearly shuts down. As Mariam observes, "...a drowsy hush overtook Kabul. Traffic became languid, scant, even quiet. Shops emptied. Restaurants turned off their lights, closed their doors" (71). Then, at the end of Ramadan, or Eid, the opposite occurs. Just as the city became quiet and empty during the Ramadan fasting time, the entire city comes together to feast and be joyful. The sense of community is just as strong, instead it's focused on celebration instead of prayer and reflection. Mariam notes the differences: "Rasheed and she took to the streets. Mariam had never walked amid such livliness...kids romped about and compared Eid gifts. Maraim saw festive lanterns hanging from shop windows, heard music blaring from loudspeakers" (73).

Here in the United States, it would be rare to find an occurrence similar to this one in Afghanistan. There is such diversity of religion here that it would be extremely unlikely for an entire city, especially one as large and important here as Kabul is in Afghanistan, to all partake in the same religious rituals. Although cities do have celebrations and parades, they aren't centered around religion. The fact that the lives of Mariam and her fellow Kabul residents are so focused on religion is very different from most people in the U.S. It would be impossible to shut down an entire city for days at a time, all because of one single religious holiday. People here work on all holidays-Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Easter, Passover...there is never a time when everyone gets to take off and celebrate together as a community.

Quarter 4: Week 3, Post B

Dear Mariam,

Wow. As I continue to read A Thousand Splendid Sons and learn more about you and your life, I become more and more appalled! Your situation seems awful. First, you're forced to marry a complete stranger so your father can save face. Then, this man turns out to be a total control freak--he makes you wear a burqa, he doesn't allow you to talk to certain people, and he gets angry at YOU when you have miscarriages. It's not your fault! You shouldn't have to take the blame for something that you feel terrible enough about as it is.

He has no right to treat you the way he does. He talks down to you, if at all, and he complains about everything. You work so hard to keep the house to his liking and to cook meals that he'll find satisfactory, but he always finds something wrong with what you've made. It's just not fair! The real kicker was when he forced you to eat pebbles-that is just inhumane! Pebbles are obviously not meant to be chewed with human teeth, but he made you do just that! You lost two molars and all because he thought your rice wasn't soft enough?! If I was you, I would have left his sorry butt months ago!

But the sad thing is, you can't. You have nowhere else to go. The fact that living with this abusive man is your best option does not say a lot. I feel so sorry for you! I really hope you can stay optimistic even though it must be so tough to deal with your situation right now. Try to remember that you're so much stronger than him-he is weak.

In hopes that things improve soon,
A-Rod

Quarter 4: Week 3, Post A

My reading this week of A Thousand Splendid Suns revealed many cultural differences. First of all, the fact that Mariam and Rasheed sleep in separate rooms was strange to me. I'm sure there are similar cases in the U.S. in some places, but for me this is really weird! I've always known marriage to be between two people who love each other enough to spend the rest of their lives together, which usually means spending a lot of time together. I do not know of any married couples who sleep in different rooms, it seems to defeat the whole purpose of marriage-togetherness. But in Kabul, Afghanistan, this is a very common practice. In fact, Mariam is relieved that she gets to sleep alone and the arrangement seems to please Rasheed as well. Strange as it seems to me, this is the norm for couples with arranged marriages in Afghanistan.

Another cultural difference I've noticed is the life of Mariam as a housewife. She is held to very high expectations by Rasheed. For example, she is expected to have dinner hot and ready to eat every day when Rasheed comes home from work so he can eat. She also is expected to keep the house clean and tidy all the time. Furthermore, when Rasheed wants to host friends, Mariam is expected to clean, cook, and set up the house for them but then spend the night in her room, out of sight. And the most surprising part about this is that Mariam actually enjoys this! She likes the fact that Rasheed wants to hide her from his friends-to her, it shows that he's proud of her. If that were me, I would be seriously angry! To do all that work and then be forced to hide out in my room and miss out on all the fun? No way! It just goes to show how extremely different Afghan society is from ours.

World Issues

For our world issues outline/annotated bibliography assignment, I've decided to focus on the terrible situation in Darfur in Africa. (And I'm not just copying the model, I actually really do want to learn more about this issue-it's something that really interests me.) Here are some sources that seem helpful so far:

"Dying in Darfur: Can the Ethnic Cleansing in Sudan Be Stopped?" from New Yorker, accessed on SIRS
http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SMN0307-0-2161&artno=0000193365&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=darfur&title=Dying%20in%20Darfur&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=N&ic=Y

"Darfur and the Genocide Debate" from Foreign Affairs, accessed on SIRS
http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SMN0307H-0-6022&artno=0000209215&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=darfur%20conflict&title=Darfur%20and%20the%20Genocide%20Debate&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=N&ic=Y

"UN Says Darfur Conflict Worsening, with perhaps 300,000 Dead" from The New York Times online
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-UN-Sudan-Darfur.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=darfur&st=nyt&oref=slogin

Quarter 4: Week 2, Post B

So far I am really, really enjoying A Thousand Splendid Suns-much more than I thought I would. I mean, I've heard how amazing The Kite Runner is, and this is by the same author, but I definitely didn't expect to like it as much as I do. Mariam is easy to relate to in some ways because she's around the same age as me, she doesn't always get along with her mom, and she and her dad have a special bond-at least at first. However, in most ways our lives are very different. Mariam's parents are not married, she doesn't know any of her siblings (or half-siblings, technically) and her mother kills herself when Mariam is just fifteen years old. Also, she is forced into an arranged marriage and she is an outcast in her father's home. In these ways, her life is so vastly different from mine, it's hard to believe. She has so much struggle at such a young age, and many of these struggles are things that would never be encountered by the average American teen (aka the arranged marriage and dealing with her father's multiple wives). Overall, I really like Mariam so far. I think she's smart and very strong. Hopefully she can learn to stand up for herself a little more-she needs a little Minerva Mirabal attitude in her! I can't wait to keep reading and see what happens when Mariam gets married to Rasheed..should be interesting!

Quarter 4: Week 2, Post A

I switched books this week to A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini because there weren't very many cultural differences to blog about in Atonement. I'm going to keep reading it, just not for our outside reading assignment.

Anyway...there is definitely an abundance of cultural differences to be found in this book! Within the first few pages I immediately noticed how many aspects of Mariam's life are strange to me. It's crazy to think how incredibly different her life is from mine, when she's just a teenage girl like me. For example, Mariam's father, Jalil, has three wives with ten children between them. Obviously, this would be seen as completely crazy and just wrong in our modern American culture, but it's seen as totally normal in Mariam's home of Afghanistan.

Another prominent example of culture difference is Mariam's arranged marriage to Rasheed. "Mariam's multiple step-mothers inform her that she has a "suitor" and even though she doesn't want to be married, her father has already agreed and she must honor that. She is only fifteen years old-something that would never happen in the U.S., but is seen as acceptable in Afghanistan. 'What are you, fifteen? That's a good, solid marrying age for a girl' (44). And arranged marriages are very uncommon in America as well, although they do still exist in some areas.

The last major cultural difference I found this week was Mariam's lack of familiarization with material goods. For instance, she sees a car for the very first time in her entire life when she is fifteen years old! "Mariam had never before touched a car. She ran her fingers along the hood of Jalil's car, which was black, shiny, with glittering wheels...the seats were made of white leather" (30). Cars are just one of many things that Mariam has never seen or used-things we take for granted in our daily lives.

Quarter 4: Week 1, Post B

Dear Briony,

So far, I am not that impressed by you in this story. You do seem very intelligent, and based on the snippets from your play, you're definitely a gifted writer. I think it's impressive how you've tried so hard to follow your dreams by writing so many stories and plays. It's nice that you have the support of your family to back you up as well.

However, I really think you're being kind of immature about this whole casting situation with Lola. Even though she sort of took over your territory by taking the lead role in your summer play, you could be handling the issue with much more grace than you currently are. Especially given Lola's current situation--her mother has abandoned her and she has just been sent to live in a totally new home with family she doesn't know that well. That's got to be a pretty scary change for a teenage girl to be forced into, especially with the added anxiety about the war raging in her hometown. I advise you to take some pity on the girl and befriend her. Even though she seems uppity and annoying right now, deep down she's probably feeling very scared and alone.

Also, even though Lily's twin brothers seem pretty bothersome since they're ruining your play with their terrible acting, you should have more patience with them. Again, they're stuck in a very difficult situation right now. And frankly, I think you should consider it a victory that you even convinced them to be in your play in the first place. Giving them acting tips is probably not the best idea right now.

Anyway, I hope you start to grow up a little bit more as the story continues because right now you strike me as almost whiny at some parts. Sorry for the negativity, but I'm just trying to be honest here.

Sincerely,
Anna

Quarter 4: Week 1, Post A

This week it was fairly difficult to find cultural differences in Atonement. Since the book takes place in England, the culture is very similar to here in America. Also, the plot is still in the beginning stages. However, there was one difference that stood out to me in my reading this week, which is the great importance of family. In the beginning of the book, Briony's family has just taken in her three cousins, the daughters of her mother's sister. They take them in because their home had become somewhat of a war zone and their mother fled. Their father feels the children would be safer with the Tallis family. And the Tallises were more than happy to help out: "...the house could easily absorb three children and the Quinceys could stay as long as they liked..." (8). This willingness to do nearly anything to help one's family is less common here in the U.S. It is much more unusual to find extended families living together in one household. Perhaps this is because the United States is not a war zone, but I think it goes beyond that because I've noticed this difference in other cultures as well. My dad's family is from Spain and two of his aunts and their children have lived together in the same home since they arrived here many years ago. Since one of his aunts is widowed, it is simply expected that her sister and her sister's husband will welcome them into their home. This is much the same as with Briony's family being expected to welcome the Quincey girls into their home when their mother abandons them.

Quarter 4: Explanation

For quarter 4, I chose to read Atonement by Ian McEwan. I made this pick for a few different reasons. First of all, Ian McEwan is an award-winning author which leads me to believe that this book will be a quality read. But this is not the main reason I chose this book. I was most attracted to it because of the film adaptation that was recently released, featuring Keira Knightley. The movie won an Oscar and was nominated for countless other awards and honors. I talked to a few adults who had seen it and they were full of positive reviews for the film. So, when I heard about the foreign authors requirement, I immediately thought of this book. Ian McEwan is from Britain, which is the setting of the book. Also, the story is set during World War II, which will provide for some major cultural differences from our modern life here in Edina. I can't wait to read this book; hopefully I will enjoy it enough to go see the movie when i finish it!

Quarter 3: Week 7, Post B

"'You'll live with it, Nikki. I'll help you.' I waited for Strabane to say more. I knew him now: my lover. I waited for him to reason with me, to argue with me. I waited for him to say those words we say to one another at such times. But he remained silent. He gripped my hand in such a way that his fingers pushed through my fingers and held them tight. I understood that this was the reasoning, this was his argument. In this way ended my first full year of missing Mom" (434).

This is the final quote in the book, and one of my favorites of the entire novel. In honor of Mother's Day and the anniversary of her mom's death, Nikki and her new boyfriend, Detective Strabane, are vacationing in Key West at the same resort her parents stayed at on their honeymoon. As Nikki and Strabane take a walk on the beach, Nikki breaks down from the grief and memories that still haunt her from that terrible day one year ago. But, unlike the rest of the traumatic year, this time she has someone there for her. Strabane takes her hand and shows her that he will be strong for her, that he will be her rock, her light through the storm. He silently promises this by simply holding her hand-grasping it tightly and showing that he will never let her go. In the past weeks, he has had to reason and argue with Nikki to prove that none of what happened was her fault, that she will make it through this. But now, instead of words, his hand holding hers is reason and argument enough to keep going.

Quarter 3: Week 7, Post A

VOCAB:

dun-colored (350): having a dull, gloomy, grayish-brown color
duplicity (363): deliberate deceptiveness in behavior or speech

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:

1. "Wanting to fire back You're the one who left, do you miss us?" (322). This is an example of figurative language because Nikki refers to "firing" a question back at Clare, when literally questions aren't "fired". Her word choice is used to show the accusatory nature of the question.
2. "...with rice-paper skin..." (323). This is an example of figurative language too. A metaphor is used to compare Aunt Tabitha's skin to rice paper because it is so thin and translucent.
3. "Mom's cheery teapot and matching mugs..." (348). This is an example of personification because a teapot can not have feelings. It can not be "cheery", this is a human characteristic.


QUOTE:

"I was stunned to see him: the man who, long ago when he'd been a boy, my mother had loved. The man who'd impregnated my mother. Might have married her, if he'd wished to" (371). This quote is interesting because it shows the new information Nikki has gathered about her mother's life from people after her death. Her mom's best girlhood friend, Alyce Proxmire, told Nikki the story of her mother's first serious boyfriend who got her pregnant, but she had a miscarriage only a month into the unexpected pregnancy. This is just one of the stories she hears, and all of them give her new perspective on her mother. Nikki wishes she would've gotten to know her mother's past better when she was still alive.

THEME:

The overall theme of the novel was definitely the struggles along the journey of grief in the aftermath of the death of a loved one.

Quarter 3: Week 6, Post B

Dear Joyce Carol Oates,


Nikki's storyline continues to be very sad and I must say it's starting to be a sort of depressing read. I like your writing syle a lot; it's very different from anything else I've read. However, I hope the plot gets more optimistic soon because right now it's too sad! It's hard to get through such a downer of a book, even though I like it overall.

Some parts of the storyline are much more interesting to read about than others. For instance, I'm enjoying reading about Nikki's relationship with Wally Szalla. The experience of being "the other woman" adds a certain drama to the book. Nikki's her relationship with Clare is intriguing as well. I have two sisters of my own, but my relationships with both of them are very different from Clare and Nikki's interaction. It's interesting to see such a switch from what I'm used to within my own family. It's upsetting to see them draw further away from each other during this time when they could most use the support. I hope they can make up and help each other through their time of grief and sadness.

I have yet to understand the significance of Smokey the cat. He is constantly referred to--by Nikki, Clare, Wally Szalla, and others--but I still don't really understand why he's so important to the story. Maybe some special symbolism will be revealed later on, but as of now I'm confused. Also, I'm wondering what's up with the letters between Detective Strabane and Nikki. Strabane continues to talk to Nikki and seems to feel a very personal connection to her mother's murder case. Even though Nikki keeps declining his offers to talk, it still seems pretty random that he keeps emailing her and giving her is cell phone number. I can't help but wonder after his motives.

Even though some of your story has been depressing, overall I'm enjoying it.

Thanks,
A-Rod

Quarter 3: Week 6, Post A

VOCAB:

insipid (203): lacking interest, significance, or impact
serendipity (240): good luck in making unexpected and fortunate discoveries

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:


1. "...and my head swathed with white gauze and adhesive like the head of a mummy..." (237). This is an example of a simile. On the ride home from a trip to the emergency room because of a disasterous biking accident, Nikki compares her bandages to the wrappings of a mummy.
2. "The dream shimmering around us careened in and out of focus. I'd been hearing words but couldn't seem to process them" (202). This is an example of figurative language because Nikki and Detective Strabane are not literally in a dream-it only feels that way to Nikki because she is so shocked and upset about what she is hearing. Because of this shock, she feels like she cannot comprehend what Strabane is saying, which makes her feel like she's in a dream.
3. "This was the season, people said, that Nikki Eaton broke into pieces. To me, it felt like the season I put myself together, stronger than I'd been" (212). This is another example of figurative language because people obviously do not actually break into pieces. People said this about Nikki because her grief after her mom's death affected her and changed her so much--her life fell apart.

QUOTE:

"If they tease me, if they laugh at me they love me. For I am only just Gwen, to be teased" (239). This quote is one of many in the book that are written as if they are in the first person from Gwen Eaton. However, the comments are written as Nikki imagines her mother's thoughts, so they aren't actually in the first person from Gwen. Here, Nikki reflects on her mother's role as the one to be teased. As she thinks back, she realizes that teasing her all the time may have lowered her mom's self-esteem more than she thought.

THEME:

The theme of the novel remains to be the struggles of dealing with the death of a loved one. It especially focused on how hard it is to watch the rest of the world move on when the people who suffered the loss are still grieving.