Wuthering Wednesday (4)…Ch. 27 to End

The Book Club of Two Presents:

Welcome! We’ve got an extra-special Book Club of Two this month. We’ve decided to be all literary and take on a re-read of Wuthering Heights. A book that I disliked the first 2 times around and RachelKiwi enjoyed but found it wasn’t her favorite.

What makes this re-read even more special (besides the classic content) is that we’re joined by another childhood friend, LindszerWest. LindszerWest doesn’t have a blog so I’ll be posting her responses. But you may be asking yourself why we allowed her into this exclusive club for the re-read…Well, I’ll explain…

LindszerWest is not only a lifelong reader, she is a nook owning, bad-boy lover who saw the post announcing Wuthering Wednesdays and just had to jump in! Seriously, she was blasting my Facebook page with Heathcliff quotes *very fangirl*.

And while I’m making all these exceptions…I’ve decided to be nice to everyone for this re-read and instead of posting embarrassing pictures of awkward high school years I’m including pictures of us on our most beautiful day…Our wedding days 😉

But before we jump to the Q&A in honor of our last Wuthering Wednesday I’m including a poem written by another HS friend’s husband. Apparently Jackie Baker’s man has some serious literary chops…Just look at this bad-boy of a poem!

I’ll tell you a tale of events long ago
Where faces of marriage and death did show.
This is a story of life on the range,
And begins with a tenant in Threshold Grange.

Visiting the owner of the place where he stays,
Mr. Lockwood visits Heathcliff on two different days.
He sees the lady of the house as quite rude,
And the way he is treated by the servants is crude.

He travels back to his home in the midst of a storm,
To find his house very cheery and warm.
And as he eats some food for his belly,
He listens to the tale of Heathcliff by Nelly.

It starts when Mr. Earnshaw goes into town,
and returns to show all just what he has found.
It’s an orphan boy of the gypsy variety,
And Catherine and Hindley want none of his society.

Mr. Earnshaw dies and Hindley chances,
To return with a wife by the name of Frances.
Hindley hates Heathcliff, but much to dismay,
The little gypsy simply won’t go away.

Hindley and Frances soon have a son,
But Hindley’s love for him is zero to none.
Poor little Hareton, though heir in name,
When Hindley is drunk, beating him is a game.

Heathcliff and Catherine go out to play,
And they are gone for most of the day.
Heathcliff then returns to the house all alone,
Because the Linton’s dog thought Cathy was a bone.

Catherine comes back to the Heights like a lady,
And Heathcliff believes that something is shady.
He hears Cathy say that he is low in caste,
So he turns and runs away with great haste.

Linton and Cathy’s love is so strange,
And soon they get married and live in the Grange.
Heathcliff returns to Wuthering Heights,
And causes Linton and Cathy many fights.

Edgar Linton’s sister is Isabella,
And she thinks that Heathcliff is a mighty fine fella.
She runs off with him and they soon do marry,
But she quickly finds out that he is quite scary.

Linton and Cathy had a small child,
And to say there were problems is putting it mild.
Catherine died shortly after giving birth,
And she was laid to rest in the earth.

Catherine was dead and Edgar was sad,
And Heathcliff’s appearance caused him to be mad.
Of Edgar’s love for Cathy Heathcliff did not care,
And when no one was looking he replaced lockets of hair.

Isabella left her husband and moved away,
But she soon had Heathcliff’s child one day.
Linton she called him to raise Heathcliff’s spite,
And Heathcliff did not like him try as he might.

One day young Catherine went out on her own,
Which was something her father did not condone.
She discovered young Hareton who was robbed of his wealth,
And with him young Linton in very poor health.

She visits Linton often and writes to him too,
And guess what? she marries, that’s right, you know who!
But her father is dying and she is not there,
And Heathcliff knows that she is his heir.

Edgar dies before his will he can change,
And that gives Heathcliff control of the Grange.
Now Nelly Dean’s story is finally through,
But more of the story lies in wait for you.

Lockwood decides to find a new home,
And so throughout London he does roam.
When he comes back to pay his rent,
He finds to the Heights, Nelly has been sent.

Hareton and Catherine are happily wed,
Now that Heathcliff is finally dead.
Lockwood hears about it from Nelly Dean,
And he hides from the lovers, not wanting to be seen.

They all lived happily and had a good time,
And thus comes the ending of this rhyme.
Now that my tale has come to an end,
I thank you for reading, now goodbye my friend.

Without Further Ado…The Questions…

TheLibrarian Answers

RachelKiwi’s Questions

The moors play a major role. Could this book have taken place elsewhere? The South of France, Jamaica, the rolling hills of Western Pennsylvania?

I think the point is that the book needs to take place somewhere secluded. I’m thinking the hills of West Virginia would be a good place. Lots of inbreeding and crazy mountain people…Sounds about right, No? lol. But I think what really makes the book click is the mystery of the moors. You need a Celtic place for the magic to happen…

In Chapter 34 Nelly wonders if Heathcliff is not human after all, but a supernatural creature: “Is he a ghoul, or a vampire?” Do you think there is evidence in the text that Heathcliff may indeed be something other than human?

I think the point is that Heathcliff is very human. He operates on base human instinct. Think about it…he’s led by passion, by jealousy, by revenge. A paranormal creature isn’t directed by such human emotions.

Also, I think the fact that Heathcliff holds such hope for ghosts proves how human he is. He’s so tied to his humanity that he needs the paranormal to exist for Catherine to come back to him. I don’t think he holds much stock in the reality of a heaven or hell. He only wishes to live an afterlife on earth with his lost love.

P.S. This all sounds so romantic till you remember what an arse this guy was…

There’s a new movie version of WH in the works and the casting director wants you. What character would you want to play?

Hmm…I’d like to have the acting chops to play Catherine (1). How fun would it be to boss all those guys around, and you’d get to go crazy and die in your lovers’ [both of them!] arms? *Sigh* The power you’d get to feel, even vicariously. But I’d probably get cast as Isabella. The small side character with two total scenes of import…then I’d die off stage, lol.

TheLibrarian’s Questions

1. We’ve oft discussed Nelly Dean. In this section of our read Zillah, the housekeeper of the Heights, gives us her take on the role of a servant in a household: “…it was no concern of mine either to advise or complain, and I always refused to meddle.” (329, Barnes and Noble Classic ed.)

Do you think Bronte is giving us her opinion of how Nelly Dean handles a household? And/or Why set Zillah up as a perfect opposite to our narrator Nelly?

I think Zillah is perhaps meant to be the sanest character on the moors. Completely uninvolved; seemingly not intelligent enough to take in the whole of the situation. I think it was also important to see how far gone Catherine (2) was. That she really was being mean…and that it was in a lot of ways unnecessary. There was such terror in the marriage situation between her and Linton I think Nelly and the reader would have forgiven her everything. Zillah paints a different and reliable picture of a mean girl. This paves the way for the pay off in the final chapters of the book.

1.5 Bonus Question: If it was you tending house on the Heights…Would you meddle, or not?

Duh, except I would have made a few different choices. And maybe not given up on all of those children so easily…

2. Looking at all of the couples in this book; after reading all of the crazy in this book…Do you still believe that Love redeems? Does it make up for the rest of their lives?

To be honest before this read I would have said that love could redeem all. Isn’t that why people like Wuthering Heights? The passion and undying love of the characters? It’s def. not because of their personalities. Each is annoying in their own very personal way…

I think this is my biggest problem in actually “enjoying” the book. I don’t think that their love redeems the lives they lead. It doesn’t make up for all of their actions in life. Sure, as we answer some of these questions it seems romantic out of context…or when analytically broken down. But in reality…during the read…I just don’t feel it. Love does not redeem for me.

3. Final answer…Reflect on your re-read of this classic…What changed? Notice something new? How do you currently feel about the Heights?

So finally, in like, chapter 32 I was finally sucked in. I found myself much more involved in the second generation on the Heights. I think I connected with them better. In this read I couldn’t stand Linton…seriously, I was like how is Catherine falling for this?! I would have punched him out myself.

I’m sorry to say that my final verdict is still: Not Loving It. Sorry Hareton and Heacliff…your bad boy antics just didn’t cut it for me.

LindzerWest Answers

RachelKiwi’s Questions

The moors play a major role. Could this book have taken place elsewhere? The South of France, Jamaica, the rolling hills of Western Pennsylvania?

The only other conceivable place for this book’s setting would be the steppes of Siberia or Alaska. Except then they wouldn’t be able to flit back and forth between the houses, so that might be out. Having lived in England for more than a year, I can confidently say that there is no more dark and gloomy place than northern England in the winter. Beautiful, yes — but gloomy!

In Chapter 34 Nelly wonders if Heathcliff is not human after all, but a supernatural creature: “Is he a ghoul, or a vampire?” Do you think there is evidence in the text that Heathcliff may indeed be something other than human?

He’s certainly very nonhuman in Chapter 34, with his blood-shot eyes,  ghostly paleness, glittering, restless eyes and moanings and groanings. Bronte reinforces it with her frequent mentions of goblins, ghosts, unearthly visions and vampires — and his “soul’s bliss kills my body, but does not satisfy itself…?!” She’s tapping into some heady vampire visions here.

There’s a new movie version of WH in the works and the casting director wants you. What character would you want to play?

ANYBODY but Nelly Dean! She lives through it all, and unlike the others, is sane enough that she can’t retreat into madness. Horrible. No, but really, I’d probably want to play Cathy Linton. She has a little dalliance into willful disobedience, has some brief unhappiness to give her perspective, then ends up with the now-refined-but-still-smoldering former bad-boy Hareton. Not such a bad end!

TheLibrarian’s Questions

1. We’ve oft discussed Nelly Dean. In this section of our read Zillah, the housekeeper of the Heights, gives us her take on the role of a servant in a household: “…it was no concern of mine either to advise or complain, and I always refused to meddle.” (329, Barnes and Noble Classic ed.)

Do you think Bronte is giving us her opinion of how Nelly Dean handles a household? And/or Why set Zillah up as a perfect opposite to our narrator Nelly?

I think Bronte loves Nelly’s meddling because it proves she’s actually human as opposed to the robotic Zillah, who is totally detached (unless she’s grumbling about something). It’s a lot easier to care about all of Nelly’s crazy charges when we see them through her eyes too, whereas I found myself less sympathetic when I heard from Zillah.

1.5 Bonus Question: If it was you tending house on the Heights…Would you meddle, or not?

Yes!! Of course! It’d be hard to resist at least dipping a toe in that sea of crazy.

2. Looking at all of the couples in this book; after reading all of the crazy in this book…Do you still believe that Love redeems? Does it make up for the rest of their lives?

Well, in the case of the majority of the characters, love actually causes all of the strife, with very little (dare I say ANY?) happiness to compensate. I even doubt that Hareton and Cathy will be truly happy for long, and while Lockwood rhapsodizes about how serene Catherine and Heathcliff’s graves are, knowing that Heathcliff has long dreamed of being buried next to Catherine with an open casket makes it feel more morbid than romantic. At the same time, I’d argue that passion redeems — there’s never any doubt of anyone’s feelings, whether lusty or bent on revenge, and that is very romantic…not exactly fodder for a pleasant life, but certainly romantic.

3. Final answer…Reflect on your re-read of this classic…What changed? Notice something new? How do you currently feel about the Heights?

I don’t think I’d ever read it with Emily Bronte’s elderly spinsterdom in mind. She writes some amazingly passionate scenes filled with incredibly juicy language, whether it’s describing some character’s derangement, or his/her passion. Definitely turns the elderly spinster stereotype on its head! And the Heights still scares me to death. In fact, I think it scares me even more than in previous readings.

Remember to Check Out RachelKiwi’s blog for her thoughts…she’s always much funnier 😉

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Wuthering Wednesdays (1)…Ch. 1-8

The Book Club of Two Presents:

Welcome! We’ve got an extra-special Book Club of Two this month. We’ve decided to be all literary and take on a re-read of Wuthering Heights. A book that I disliked the first 2 times around and RachelKiwi enjoyed but found it wasn’t her favorite.

Now we’re breaking it down 8 chapters at a time and asking all the tough questions like “Why is Lockwood such an idiot?!” Yep. The good stuff.

What makes this re-read even more special (besides the classic content) is that we’re joined by another childhood friend, LindszerWest. LindszerWest doesn’t have a blog so I’ll be posting her responses. But you may be asking yourself why we allowed her into this exclusive club for the re-read…Well, I’ll explain…

LindszerWest is not only a lifelong reader, she is a nook owning, bad-boy lover who saw the post announcing Wuthering Wednesdays and just had to jump in! Seriously, she was blasting my Facebook page with Heathcliff quotes *very fangirl*.

And while I’m making all these exceptions…I’ve decided to be nice to everyone for this re-read and instead of posting embarrassing pictures of awkward high school years I’m including pictures of us on our most beautiful day…Our wedding days 😉

RachelKiwi and Mr. Kiwi

LindszerWest and Mr. West

TheLibrarian and Mr. Librarian

This way you also have a visual of all the men who bought us our Nooks; and who love us enough to sit through hours of reading time while we completely ignore them in favor of the bad-boys of literature…Like Heathcliff…

So, Without Further Ado…The Responses

TheLibrarian’s Responses

RachelKiwi’s Questions

1. Why do you think Bronte uses Lockwood as the narrator of the story and then (narrator-within-narrator) Nelly Dean instead of Heathcliff or Catherine?

I think there needed to be a reason to use Nelly as a narrator. We needed to introduce the Grange as a location, and given all of the surviving members of the cast are living at Wuthering Heights we needed a current view of the Grange as well. Bringing a curious and complete outsider into the tale gave excuses to question and experience all sides of the history. I don’t know that Nelly herself has a reason to recount the story without being asked.

2. At this point–through Chapter 8–what are your feelings toward Heathcliff? We already see him as the haughty and gruff man he has become, but we also see him as the bedraggled and abandoned boy he once was.

I hate Heathcliff. Baring that one moment of pure emotion when he chases Cathy’s ghost, I dislike the man. I know people love him as a bad boy…but right now I just see bad and miserable. I think later I might see a more passionate side…but right now I just want to slam the door in his face.

However, when I think of that poor child. The one brought into a foreign home, raised above his station, and then thrown back into servitude and hatred…I do feel for him. Not that he makes an overly sympathetic character. Heathcliff’s reactions have always been so defensive! He never gave anyone an opening to care for him. But still, you have to weep for that child.

3. Lockwood is a bumbling idiot! I never realized that until this read. Heathcliff clearly doesn’t want him to come back after his first visit, but he does! As Heathcliff’s tenant, would you have ventured back to Wuthering Heights after his initial chilly reception? Out of curiosity? Fascination with your dark and stormy landlord? Social ineptitude?

Oh my gosh, Lockwood doesn’t have a clue!!! But I think that’s the point. Anyone with half a brain would have kept their distance from Wuthering Heights and it’s band of grumps. Lol, Lockwood is such an idiot he keeps returning! And not just returning, he projects rational upon each character forgiving and explaining their faults. Needless to say of our two narrators Lockwood is the least reliable. His existence is only a way to flesh out the story…not to add to it.

TheLibrarian’s Questions:

1. In this section we see explanation for Heathcliff’s personality…But what about Cathy? How was her mean girl attitude formed? Does the lack of explanation point toward Joseph’s religious belief of women’s innate wickedness? Or do you see circumstances that caused Cathy to be such a b*tch?

I’m inclined to see a bit of the time’s religious view. Cathy was just a bad apple. Sinful and wicked from the start. True, losing her parents at a young age probably didn’t help. The way her brother finished raising her, in such a strict and irrational manner made insolence an easy way out. Maybe we can even say that her natural beauty and wit caused her to be spoiled…

But it’s obviously more than that. Cathy has meanness inside her and it’s been there from the start. I think an argument could be made for the religion factor…but without delving too deep I’d say that it’s important to note that Cathy’s wickedness is a natural trait.

2. The names, woe is me…the names! Lockwood being stuck in that medieval torture chamber of a bed surrounded by all those names *shiver* You’d think out alone on the moors they’d want some variety in their names! Are we supposed to be confused? To see them all as one person? Too early to tell?

Ok, one of the reasons why I dislike this book…beyond all the miserable people…is the names. EVERYONE is named the same thing! So hard to keep track. I’m never sure if it’s supposed to be all about seeing them as one person, as a genetic family…am I supposed to follow personality traits through the generations? Or is it just a mode of gothic writing…making everything a little creepier and a little more complex.

*blah*

I just know it’s my least favorite part. Seriously, my mind get so mixed up even poor Hareton Earnshaw becomes confusing…everyone is someone’s father/mother/sister/in-law/cousin/child. Any book that needs a family tree to keep everyone straight needs to be revised!

3. How do you feel about the narrator within the narrator Nelly? Like her? Trust her? Wonder how long this woman has been talking? Thoughts…

Ok, I like Nelly the best of everyone I’ve met. But it always bothers me that she is so whishy-washy. She likes Catherine, she hates Catherine. She hates Heathcliff, she feels for him, she hates him again. While I trust that what she’s telling me is close to the truth…I don’t know that I’m lining up to use her as a character witness. I just wish she seemed a little more steadfast…not like a servant who poked her head where it didn’t belong…

LindszerWest’s Responses

RachelKiwi’s Questions:

1. Why do you think Bronte uses Lockwood as the narrator of the story and then (narrator-within-narrator) Nelly Dean instead of Heathcliff or Catherine?

While the use of Lockwood and Nelly as narrators is one of my biggest frustrations about the beginning of Wuthering Heights (when I just want to jump into the action and become immersed in the story,) I can appreciate the usefulness of employing a narrator who keeps us at arm’s distance — particularly because the characters of Catherine and Healthcliff are so very passionate, and we also change our sympathies toward each several times. In the first eight chapters, I went from detesting Heathcliff, to feeling sorry for him, to understanding him a bit more… whereas my feelings for Cathy were exactly opposite.

2. At this point–through Chapter 8–what are your feelings toward Heathcliff? We already see him as the haughty and gruff man he has become, but we also see him as the bedraggled and abandoned boy he once was.

Heathcliff is so amazingly larger-than-life in the first chapter (“…his black eyes withdraw so suspiciously under their brow, as I rode up, and when his fingers sheltered themselves, with a jealous resolution, still further in his waistcoat…”) that I couldn’t help but feel that a description of such Dickensian proportions would have to hide something a bit more nuanced underneath. I’m pleasantly undecided about how I feel about him right now though – I WANT to like him and understand better why he’s so sulky (particularly now I know about his childhood), but still can’t completely justify his behavior toward his household

3. Lockwood is a bumbling idiot! I never realized that until this read. Heathcliff clearly doesn’t want him to come back after his first visit, but he does! As Heathcliff’s tenant, would you have ventured back to Wuthering Heights after his initial chilly reception? Out of curiosity? Fascination with your dark and stormy landlord? Social ineptitude?

Perhaps because he IS a bumbling idiot?! He also likes to flatter himself by thinking he and his bad-boy landlord have something in common, in that he’s fascinated with the magnified parts of his own personality – he admires the part of Heathcliff who is “more exaggeratedly reserved than myself” and later says “…I bestow my own attributes over-liberally on him.” I think he has a slight crush on the amplified character traits he see in Heathcliff (which are just so much more bad-boy on the dark and stormy landlord than on Lockwood, who I see as a fat and pasty meddling Englishman).

TheLibrarian’s Questions:

1. In this section we see explanation for Heathcliff’s personality…But what about Cathy? How was her mean girl attitude formed? Does the lack of explanation point toward Joseph’s religious belief of women’s innate wickedness? Or do you see circumstances that caused Cathy to be such a b*tch?

Cathy has those inclinations in her from the beginning, as she is described as an impish and mischievous child — it’s just more endearing when she’s running around like a wild child on the moors with her equally wild Heathcliff, thwarting the dour Joseph or her imperious brother. When she gets older, her “high spirits” turn into teenaged petulance and conceit – not nearly so forgivable, particularly when she has less of an inclination to help and include the now-banished Heathcliff.

2. The names, woe is me…the names! Lockwood being stuck in that medieval torture chamber of a bed surrounded by all those names *shiver* You’d think out alone on the moors they’d want some variety in their names! Are we supposed to be confused? To see them all as one person? Too early to tell?

Ugh – this is one of the reasons I didn’t like the book my first time through – and probably one of the reasons I don’t remember it well either — I got so sick of the names that I skipped through them! (Thank goodness for my Kindle – I literally bookmarked that page to go back and reread). Bronte is obviously playing on the romantic notion that Catherine is scrawling all of the possible iterations of her name in the book in some kind of romantic reverie – and it works in that it makes us realize that she’s torn between them, even in the early days, but not entirely necessary. I’m actually not sure how I feel about it yet – beyond the fact that it irritates me.. *** (PS – that bed is WEIRD! I read that description several times and still didn’t quite get it)…

3. How do you feel about the narrator within the narrator Nelly? Like her? Trust her? Wonder how long this woman has been talking? Thoughts…

I suppose she is the most unbiased narrator possible in the household at this time (except for maybe Hindley’s wife, had she lived longer), but I find her pretty dull and unoriginal. She tells the story, yes, but puts a filter on it that I’d rather have been removed in a first-person telling.

Remember to Check Out RachelKiwi’s blog for her thoughts…she’s always much funnier 😉

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Book Club of Two…Wuthering Wednesdays Intro

Book Club of Two

One of my best friends from High School (RachelKiwi…the one on the left) happens to share my own addictive love of reading…She even owns a Nook and everything so we share and trade and do lots of texting about bookish things while we should be working. Every so many weeks we get an itch and decide to do a book together. Our reading abilities are about the same so there’s no problem with finishing the text in a day or two…we both read that fast. Since RachelKiwi is a great gal I thought I’d give you guys a little peek into our exclusive club 😉

Now it’s time to introduce you to our next venture…

The Book Club of Two ain’t afraid of no book. This is why after a few adult titles, fairly easy chick-lit types, we thought we’d show off our reading chops. Yep, we’re finally going to put to use all those literary degrees we have. Our parents will be so proud.

If you haven’t guessed from the picture above we’re heading off to the moors of England for Wuthering Heights. We’re going to be posting every Wednesday for the rest of November. I for one say that I’ve never enjoyed this book. RachelKiwi claims that while she does in fact enjoy the novel…she prefers Jane Eyre, just like me.

So shelving our favorite Bronte sister we both decided it was time to try out Emily. We’re going to be asking those in depth questions like “why the heck is everyone named Catherine or Heathcliff?!” yep, real literary stuff like that.

Feel free to join us in this little re-read. Try out a classic that you may have loved or hated in your previous reads. Find some love along the moors…

Here’s the Reading Breakdown:

11/9: Chapters 1-8

11/16: Chapters 9-17

11/23: Chapters 18-26

11/30: Chapters 27-34

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Book Club of Two…The Winter Sea *Spoilers*

Book Club of Two

(Anyone else digging the French Braids? Maybe that blue eyeshadow? We’re totally posing on the Band Bus btw…Yes, this picture confirms it…We’ve always been this cool)

One of my best friends from High School (RachelKiwi…the one on the right) happens to share my own addictive love of reading…She even owns a Nook and everything so we share and trade and do lots of texting about bookish things while we should be working. Every so many weeks we get an itch and decide to do a book together. Our reading abilities are about the same so there’s no problem with finishing the text in a day or two…we both read that fast. Since RachelKiwi is a great gal I thought I’d give you guys a little peek into our exclusive club 😉

This time we’re tackling The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley. If you’ve read the book as well I’m sure you’re dying to break this book down with some friends…We couldn’t even contain ourselves to our 5 question format. We definitely cheated with some added-extra-super-special Bonus Questions. Oh, and we totally spill the beans on that major *Spoiler* everyone is buzzing about across the internet…

If you haven’t read the book yet checkout our reviews instead:

RachelKiwi

TheLibrarian

Without Further Ado…The Breakdown

*Spoilers*

TheLibrarian Asks RachelKiwi…

1. Give this book a 5 star rating. And give a one-line reason for each star (3 stars = 3 good reasons and 2 fails)

STAR:  In parts, it was really great writing. The introduction sucked me in.

STAR:  Hello, it’s a love story… I mean TWO love stories!

STAR:  Great conclusion. Had me on the edge of my seat!

FAIL:  In the 1708 story line, the way that history was presented was too tedious.

FAIL:  Lack of character development/relationship development.

2. This book was kinda like a two for one…Two stories that were seemingly connected but really ran parallel for most of the book. Which story did you like better? Or did you feel as though they really intertwined to become one?

I liked Sophia’s story better. It’s more compelling (to me) to read about a historical period of political intrigues and rebellions, as opposed to the life of a writer wintering in Scotland. In the 18^th century story line, life and love were heightened because the danger was so real to their lives. Sophia was an orphan who was taken in by a Countess and then found a beautiful tragic love. That beats Carrie’s story, even if she is experiencing the phenomenon of genetic memory. I liked the segues into Sophia’s story, and the “voices” that Carrie hears, luring her back to writing, but I still felt like they were two separate stories. I didn’t feel like Carrie’s life, future, or happiness were contingent on her finding out the truth about what happened to her ancestor… I just felt like they were two separate stories with some overlap and parallel themes. The truth revealed by Sophia’s story informs Carrie’s life, but I still didn’t feel an overwhelming sense of intertwin-age.

3. The Villain: Who was the villain of this book in your eyes? We had the Duke of Hamilton, the Gardener, dead cousin Drummond? heck even Stuie and Captain Gordon threw a wrench or two into the plan. Do you think any of these Villains was a real threat in the book? Who do you think takes the cake as our lead villian?

I think the biggest villain presented was the Duke of Hamilton. Moray is a fearless type of guy; nothing phased him. But when he said to Sophia, “He must never know that you are mine,” referring to the Duke of H, it almost gave me tingles. For him to warn Sophia, with the possibility that the Duke would use HER to get to HIM, made me feel very wary of that old dude. Some people, as you said, threw a wrench into the stories, but that’s life… not necessarily villainy. A lot of people lurked in the background with ill intentions, but they were either vague or finished off easily, so that they didn’t strike me as real threats. Even the Duke of H disappeared quickly right when my adrenaline started pumping!

4. The baby, ahh the baby. I feel like from the reviews online that a lot of people had trouble with this plot point. Thoughts? Did you have trouble with this plot thread? Did you understand? Could you have seen a different ending for this plot thread? This is an open-ended question…

YES. I hated this. It almost made me hate Sophia. And I would have if not for the line that this was “leaving her wat all at once the bravest and the worst thing” that she had ever done. What kind of mother willingly relinquishes her BABY for no reason? If I’m feeling charitable, I can concede that it was selfless for her to consider Anna’s happiness more than anything else. But she’s two and I think she would quickly adapt to being away from her foster family. At the point in the story when Sophia gives Anna up, there is no good reason for her to do so (other than the previously mentioned dubious “selflessness” reason.) She could have easily taken the baby with her and sought out the support of Moray’s family, who sound like great people. The more I think about this, the more I want to tear my hair out in frustration. Sophia really had so many options for her future, yet she chose none that would enable her to be with Anna. At the very least, she could have stayed at Slains and visited Anna occasionally. And Anna is the product of Sophia’s marriage to her great love… the only earthly thing left of him. Why doesn’t Sophia fight for her?

5. Were you surprised by the ending? Did you take a moment to gush over Graham’s final words? Tears? Do tell 😉

No… this was what I was hoping for all along…. that Moray, because of the price on his head, would assume another identity and become David McClelland. But I dismissed these ideas as romantic fanciful whims and probably not what was gonna happen. But when everything pointed in that direction, I was delighted! But I was surprised that Graham is the descendant of Anna. That was a cool ending. So basically Graham and Carrie and cousins-many-times-removed. No tears, I had no real emotional attachment to them. But I liked Graham and I liked the feeling of completion in his words “We’ll have warmth enough,” that echoed the words that Carrie had “heard” early in the story and that Moray also said.

 I’m cheating with a few bonus questions…So keep your answers short and sweet 😉 Bonus: Are you into genealogy? If you could share memories with any ancestor who would it be? I for one don’t know anyone past my great grandparents…how bad is that?!

The generations are long in my family and I’m the youngest grandchild on both sides, so I never even got to meet any of my great grandparents! But I love learning about my ancestors and my heritage. I would pick old great-great-great-grandma Bathilda (great name, huh?) who came through Ellis Island from Sweden in the 1800s. Apparently she sewed sausages into her coat for the passage. I have her Swedish Bible, and I have held it, imagining the previous owner turning the pages… maybe reading it for comfort on a storm on the ship? bringing it as one of her few possessions from her old life to her new one? I’d love to know more of her story.

Bonus Bonus: This book has been compared to Gabaldon’s Outlander Series…I know you have thoughts on that! But you only have 10 words in which to express them 🙂

I am offended by these comparisons! I read that too. (that is not part of my 10 words.) Here they are:

In setting, not caliber. That’s like comparing TheNannyDiaries to JaneEyre.

RachelKiwi Asks TheLibrarian…

1. The book explores the idea of genetic memory. Dr. Weir in the story readily accepts this theory as scientific fact. Carrie’s dad is more skeptical. What do you think about this idea? Where do you fall on the spectrum from believer to skeptic?

Ok, Dr. Weir totally fell into agreement with genetic memory too easily. I’ll give you that people def. inherit mannerisms and traits from family members. I can see it all over the place with my family…I look more like my cousin Sam than anyone else; even my parents! So weird twists and turns in DNA could result in Carrie inheriting a lot of Sophia’s genes…But actual “memories” via genetic memory? Detailed, wake you up at night, memories? I’d’a sent her off to the loony bin. Can anyone say multiple personality disorder?

haha, does this make me a skeptic 😉 Only in reality. I’m totally all in when reading fiction.

2. Both Carrie and Sophia are engaged in secret relationships. Do you think one of them has a more compelling reason for the secrecy? (Pretending you haven’t already met and married the man of your dreams) Does the idea of secrecy in a romantic relationship appeal to you?

Oh my gosh, why do you even ask! Sophia for sure had better reasons…Don’t worry, I’ll list them:

• She had to protect her reputation. In Sophia’s day and age modesty was key…making out on the beach would have been beyond frowned upon, lol.
• Moray was beneath her socially. Honestly, it never would have worked out in reality.
• He was a wanted man! Everything he did had to be a secret including his love for Sophia. If people found out they could have used her against him (hint: The Duke!)

Carrie’s reasons:

• She wanted to keep it special

This is me officially boo-ing Carrie’s secret love. I think we would have seen more character development had they been out in the open. Which is why Sophia’s story is so much better. Better developed, better secret, better love, hotter man 😉

3. Female characters in some of the world’s best-loved novels are often represented as “ahead of the times.” Sassy and feisty and independent when that wasn’t typical female behavior. Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. Jane in Jane Eyre. Jo in Little Women. Claire in Outlander. Did you think Sophia fits this common mold?

No, I don’t actually think she did too much that was out of the norm. The Countess brought out some zip in her. And obviously the girl could keep a secret. But the riskiest thing she did was hand-fast to Moray and we know from the text that a ceremony such as that would have been totally acceptable.

Besides her few other little asides like having a bff that was a maid, or secretly making-out on the beach she never really feisty-ed it up. She wasn’t even passionate about the Scottish rebellion…she was just into that because its success meant Moray could come home and live in the open again.

4. Did you get more into one story–Carrie’s or Sophia’s–than the other? (I guess this is a duplicate of your Q, but that’s OK.)

For sure Sophia’s. I was a little disappointed in Carrie’s story. I felt like the author was capable of creating a stronger storyline, obviously Sophia’s tale was full of intrigue and love…Carrie’s story had so much potential I just thought it could have been filled out more…more developed.

5. I thought this book was too long/tedious at times. Cut out a scene or a character or a plot point that you felt was superfluous.

I’m cutting out Stuie. I think had she just fallen for Graham we would have gotten a fuller love story. Also I’m cutting The Duke. Even though he was supposed to be the villain I’m not sure why he was all worked in. I could have had less of him in the story.

It’s just hard to cut too much of the history that bogged it down…because I think her whole point was to stay as true to history as possible.

BONUS:

*Both brothers were appealing. So…Stuie or Graham?

Graham all the way…I’ve never been attracted to a player…

*The memories Carrie inherits reveals a secret about the past. If you could inherit a historical person’s memories to discover the TRUTH about an event/person/conspiracy/mystery from the past… whose memories would you want to inherit? What secret from history would you want revealed to you? (Whether or not you write a best-selling novel about it is up to you!)

I’m totally copping out for this question. I think what I love about books like this, is that they deal with unknown people witnessing famous events. You can’t expect me to know about an unknown person! lol.

I think I’d like to be around during the American Revolution…I’d say I’d like to be part of the Mayflower settlement but I bet that was a really sucky time to be around, lots of hard work, death, and dying. Just imagine building all those buildings in skirts! lol…very romanticized in my mind…kinda like the Salem witch trials. I’d love to know more about it, but again…super scary!!!

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The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley

BookTalk

Carrie McClelland is a bestselling author of historical fiction. She’s made enough off her writing to travel the world, living in the locations where her books are set. Carrie begins her journey at a French Castle. She’s decided to track Nathaniel Hooke, an Irishman deeply involved in the failed Scottish uprising of 1708. But, Carrie is finding that in addition to a mostly forgotten plan to reinstate the Scottish King Mr. Hooke is giving her very dry writing material.

What Carrie needs is a change of scene…Drawn to Slains Castle, ruins of a stronghold perilously close to the sea, Carrie begins to feel the whispers of a story. Her tale changes shape. Carrie is being led not by Nathaniel Hooke but instead by a young woman. Carrie believes she names this girl after her own ancestor Sophia Paterson for sentimental reasons. But as Carrie’s Scottish nights grow thick with the voices of her characters, her writing takes on a life of its own. And Carrie begins to have the sneaking suspicious that it is not her imagination creating the heart-breaking love…Instead it looks as though Carrie is remembering ghosts of her past…

Review

This book came with some mixed reviews. Some people were 5/5 star in love with the book…others hung-up on an ending plot choice that not only didn’t ring true, it also incited anger and fury amongst readers.

I’ll admit I fall into the middle of this group. If you’d like a *Spoiler* as to the plot choice (or you’d just really like to see myself and RachelKiwi debate the point) check out the Book Club of Two breakdown tomorrow.

So without mention of the *Spoiler* I’ll let you know what I thought of the book as a whole. It’s why your reading this right? Just checking, lol…

Know that the book is extremely addictive. Told in alternating chapters of modern-day Carrie, the woman writing the historical fiction novel, and Sophia, Carrie’s main character and ancestor. While Carrie has action enough on both the paranormal and romantic front it is Sophia’s love-story that sings.

You see, the premise of this tale is that Carrie has genetic memory of Sophia’s life. It’s rationalized much in the same way that we explain how our baby has the exact same smile or mannerism as our dead grandfather. That somewhere in our strands of DNA in addition to deciding the color of our eyes and the size of our feet we also inherit physical movements and skills from past generations. While this theory is completely legit Kearsley stretches science to include actual memories of the past. Like…remembering an entire year of another persons life.

Kearsley weaves past and present together fluidly. Carrie’s own life begins to reflect Sophia’s past. In the beginning this is what Carrie blames her story on. Later it simply becomes a nice plot point. I will note that Carrie’s modern romance didn’t have the spark that Sophia’s did. I think had more time been given to the modern couple. Or had Stuie been cut from the story. Carrie and Graham’s romance would have been fleshed out a bit better. This is sad, not because this tale lacks love…nope, Sophia provides that in spades…more so because I liked Carrie and Graham and would have enjoyed a bit more time with them as full characters and not as a mode to view Sophia’s story.

Another problem some had with the text was its historical component. Be Warned my bookish friends…Kearsley knows her history, and doesn’t deviate for a minute. I think this also muddied up the plot a bit. It was a lot to wade through at times, and some characters/schemes could have been cut altogether. But still, I maintain the camp of a happy historical reader. I have a lot of admiration for Kearsley’s ability to stick so stringently to fact and make history work for her. Just always sad to watch the Scottish uprisings…You know they all end poorly…and yet those strong Scottish men are always so sexy and stalwart. I just wish they would have caught a break every now and then.

Know that this is a great read. Plot *Spoiler* or not, it’s a well told tale that is both addictive and different.

Rating: 4/5 Perfect for a snowy winter’s day…remember the warm coffee and a box of tissues!

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Book Club of 2, Breakdown…The Last Letter From Your Lover by Jojo Moyes

Welcome to the Book Club of Two

One of my best friends from High School (RachelKiwi…the one on the right) happens to share my own addictive love of reading…She even owns a Nook and everything so we share and trade and do lots of texting about bookish things while we should be working. Every so many weeks we get an itch and decide to do a book together. Our reading abilities are about the same so there’s no problem with finishing the text in a day or two…we both read that fast. Since RachelKiwi is a great gal I thought I’d give you guys a little peek into our exclusive club 😉

We did The Last Letter from your Lover awhile back and had this massive rambling conversation about it…feel free to follow along. As a warning there are *SPOILERS* because it’s not a good breakdown unless you’re spilling the dirt!

If you’d like to read a review instead you can find RachelKiwi’s Here and Mine Here.

Without further Ado…The Convo…

*Spoilers*

The Librarian: This book’s plot had so many twists and turns…missed chances…did you ever guess correctly? Was there a time when you were way off?

RachelKiwi: The missed chances killed me! I was breathing erratically half the time I read this, wanting to jump into the book and intervene to bring the lovers together. My guesses were off… probably because I’m always swept along on the wings of romance, because I’m basically a hopeless-romantic-on-steroids. I hoped that Jennifer’s child was Anthony’s… even though the dates were way off for that to be the case! But I was totally blown away by the fact that there was a child. I didn’t see that coming and being the reason she couldn’t run off with Anthony. I thought that maybe Jennifer and Laurence couldn’t have children, because the issue of kids came up several times.

The things I suspected: I knew there was something fishy about the car crash, because of Laurence’s reaction to it every time they discussed it. I don’t think I ever really believed Anthony had died in it, though. And I wondered what Moira’s role was in the story. She seemed like such a peripheral character, until she reappeared to provide the means for Jennifer to leave her husband.

What about you? Were you surprised or did you have some things figured out? What did you think about the entrance of the new storyline/characters in Part III? At first I was distracted by it, but then I ended up liking what it added.

The Librarian: I was constantly surprised by the twists! The baby surprised me, that she followed him to Africa got me. Though I wasn’t shocked that Anthony wasn’t in The Congo…I thought the secretary at the news room gave that away. Also, I guessed that Anthony was the librarian…it was odd that Ellie didn’t know his name after she mentions not knowing the staff names and begins to pay more attention. Oh, my other shock was that Anthony’s ex-wife died, I though the cancer was a little rushed. Even a quick cancer death still would have been weeks in the making, Anthony would have been informed earlier. Moyes should have gone with some type of accident.

Ok, part 3 came out of NOWHERE for me! Lol, I swear I thought the synopsis said that a modern-day writer finds the letter and through all the first part of the book I kept waiting for one of those time changes to hit 2003…I was distracted by the expectation of it..Then , BAM Part 3. When it finally hit I was almost annoyed. Ellie’s love seemed shallow and annoying and why she didn’t just hit up Rory was beyond me. But then I did grow to like her and I loved meeting Jennifer again, hearing the rest of the story… *sigh* …cried at the park scene…

Have you ever been totally distracted by love like Ellie and Jennifer? And have you ever received a love letter? (dear John letter perhaps, lol)

RachelKiwi: I totally didn’t see that the librarian was Anthony. I just wondered why they kept making references to the fact that she didn’t know names and that he was such a great guy. So yeah, I was really surprised when his son said that Anthony still worked there… and had for 40 years.  Oops!

Yes, i loved Rory. he sounded great! Did you notice she didn’t do much with physical descriptions for anyone? I wanted to know what Ellie and Rory looked like. She didn’t describe Anthony either. Jennifer got the most description, we know she’s beautiful with blonde hair and “deliquescent” eyes. I looked that word up. I thought it was interesting how she threw herself into going after her lover and thought it was Reggie. And that word was what made her realize that he couldn’t possibly be her lover.

I thought Jennifer aged so well… so dignified. I loved the park scene too. anyway…

Distracted by love? of course! I blame Nathan for my lowest GPA of my life… the semester we started dating in college. And of course, I did have the raging hormones and obsessive crushes in high school. A relationship can consume you completely if you let it, and Ellie let it happen to her in a bad way. The beginning of love is always intoxicating, but I think you have to stay grounded, which Anthony and Jennifer managed to do even in the wake of passion and devastation. Ellie lost herself to her relationship, whereas A and J found themselves and got stronger, even through pain. I was almost out of patience with Ellie for her pathetic devotion to an idiot.

And I remember the first letter Nathan ever sent me, I practically memorized it and almost slept with it under my pillow. And read between the lines, just as Jennifer and Ellie do. Although Jennifer didn’t really need to read between the lines… Anthony laid his heart bare. I can’t imagine getting a “last letter” though.

i was gonna ask you this next:

What was the impact of Anthony’s  letters on Jennifer’s life? On Anthony’s life?

I was intrigued by the fact that even though she had amnesia, in reading the letters, she yearned for the writer of them. They made her believe in love, that someone out there loved her, and that she allowed to herself to be loved in a beautiful way.

It was interesting how she “couldn’t find words” for so much of their relationship, and then at the end, he lost his. Symbolizing her strength, that she found herself and her words? And that he had lost so much, felt so much pain at not being able to be with the woman he loved that he lost his faculty with writing?

The Librarian: The fast progression of the relationship didn’t bother me. I think that both of them were wounded by their choices in life, and in love. Both characters seemed to be floating through their lives…not really happy with anything. So when they found that connection they jumped on it. Plus I think there’s always something to be said about the forbidden aspect of the love. That always pushes things along faster. Like latching on to a crush in high school (you really did have a few major crushes!) it seems so enormously part of your mind, your thoughts because you really can’t have it so you begin to obsess over it. I suppose this rule goes for Ellie too. She can’t let John go because he’s what she can’t have. She knows she can have Rory so she lets him sit on the side untouched…kind of like a second choice.

As for the impact of the letters on Jennifer’s life. I think that their love had a better chance after the accident than before. Seeing her options, either stay with her husband or move onto Anthony, without the filter of her previous life choices just throws onto display how bad a match Larry is for her. I think when you’ve played a role for so long…faking the marriage with Larry till they make it, it’s hard to let go of the weight of it. With the amnesia Jennifer can clearly see the right choice and go for it. Had she not had the accident I think their love affair would have ended.

So after a book-long quest for love…Do you think Moyes ended it well? Did the end live up to the letter’s expectations?

RachelKiwi: no comment on the adolescent crushes. I claim insanity.

I don’t know. she clearly was trying to leave larry to be with Anthony when the accident happened. i mean, larry humiliated her and berated her. she knew she wasn’t happy with larry–amnesia or no. but you’re right, i think the years of separation that the accident caused made both of them realize the importance of that relationship. to Anthony, Jennifer was irreplaceable, and Jennifer was mourning the loss of a man she loved and barely remembered. so when they were reunited, it was that much more powerful of an experience.

the ending:

the last reunion: i liked how the reader doesn’t hear what the two lovers are saying… we see it through Ellie’s eyes, so we see only a touch. it’s too private a moment for us to “eavesdrop” on.  it was a very satisfying ending, everything wrapped up neatly and happily-ever-after for all those involved. after years of missed chances, they finally connect.  sometimes there is something secretly pleasurable in an ending where the lovers are torn apart by life and never get their happily-ever-after. sometimes it seems that to be real, a book has to end with that kind of sundering. but in this case, their entire adult lives had been lived separately, so a happy ending was very satisfying.

I kinda love the story of a playboy who never thinks he’ll settle down, until he meets the one woman who cures him of his philandering ways. i was nervous at first to read Anthony’s letters, knowing Jennifer was falling hook-line-and-sinker for the flowery words of a notorious womanizer. but he meant them. His love and longing for her survived distance and separation. The story’s happily-ever-after lived up to the letter’s promises. 

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Book Club of Two…The Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnelly *Spoilers*

Welcome to The Book Club of Two!

One of my best friends from High School (RachelKiwi…the one on the left) happens to share my own addictive love of reading…She even owns a Nook and everything so we share and trade and do lots of texting about bookish things while we should be working. Every so many weeks we get an itch and decide to do a book together. Our reading abilities are about the same so there’s no problem with finishing the text in a day or two…we both read that fast. Since RachelKiwi is a great gal I thought I’d give you guys a little peek into our exclusive club 😉

We’ve been waiting for The Wild Rose FOR EVER, lol. We did the first two in the series together and you couldn’t stop us from tackling this one together either. When we were finished we traded 4 questions…RachelKiwi asked me 4 and I asked her 4. Watch out these answers contain MAJOR *Spoilers*. But if you’ve done The Wild Rose you’re gonna love our breakdown…We covered all those nagging questions you’ve been dying to talk to someone about!

With out further ado…The Questions…

RachelKiwi Asks, TheLibrarian Answers…

1. I read on Donnelly’s blog that Willa is the character that she has created that she identifies most with, because she isn’t perfect, she’s damaged and broken. of the heroines of this series, Fiona, India, and Willa, who do you identify with most and why?

I’ve always been a Fiona girl. I think the way that she responds to the trials in her life is the same way I would. I mean, I suppose I’m probably not starting a worldwide tea industry or anything. But the way she picks herself up. Fiona doesn’t wallow in her losses, she makes the best out of her situations…she remains happy with what the world has given her. I like that response better than India’s resignation and Willa’s depression and addiction. I’m more of a deal with it and move on kinda gal. 

2. I don’t think either of us were satisfied with Wild Rose, compared to the way we passionately adored the other two books. What do you think Donnelly did differently this time? what would you have changed to make this a 10/10 read for you?

I think it was huge that Donnelly started Willa and Seamie’s story in The Winter Rose. The beginning of The Wild Rose felt like we were halfway through a story. A single book didn’t start with the love that the other two had. So for 99% of the book we were stuck in that lost period where each character lives their separate life. In the other two stories only about a third of the book was spent apart. Because we saw the two characters fall in love in the beginning. It just made The Wild Rose a little more depressing for the bulk of the book. 

To make it a 10/10 I would have like to either see Donnelly mix up her plot patterns or given her main characters a few more happy breakthroughs. Maybe they could have come together (not in an illicit affair) for a bit during Part 1 before losing each other again. They could have found a happy relationship, or more happiness in their accomplishments. Even the beautiful photos Willa takes, or the achievements Seamie makes in the Navy are brushed over in a way that makes them seem meaningless to the characters. Like a shoulder shrug instead of a huge grin. There just needed to be a little more “happy” in this book. Even the ending is a quiet coming together. No big, hug/love/kiss/shebang. 

3. what do you think of the ending with Max von Brandt’s 11th hour confession that he was a double-agent working for the British? satisfying? believable? unforgivable? or no?

This felt very rushed to me. It was almost like I was waiting for someone to jump out of the closet and disprove his innocence. NOTHING in the rest of the book gave any merit to his double-agent status. There wasn’t one scene that proved he was good…not even a situation where his actions could have been for the good. I kinda felt like Donnelly pulled that out of her you-know-what. Wouldn’t the ending have been smoother if Albie had saved the day and taken in Max for the war criminal he was? Why did they even let him go?…heck, Joe and the head of the Navy were arrested earlier in the novel and they had identification on them. It seemed a little too easy and made me feel worse about loosing Gladys, Maud, and Jennie under the circumstances we did. Their deaths are now in vain! None of them had to die. Even Maud could have been dealt with had Max explained himself. Jennie died thinking she was righting a wrong, now we find that in those last moments she was actually hindering a good spy. Poor Gladys had a horrible life alone because of Max, who sent the picture that caused her to commit suicide? Then who was this spy master we searched the whole book for? Why did Donnelly drop that hint that Max was back in town to mend his chain?

UGH!!!!! The more I think about it, the more I really needed Max to be a villain to right all of these wrongs…and these plot points! What was the point of him if he really wasn’t a bad guy…

4. Seamie and Willa’s love is defined by several people in the book as being destructive… destroying everything and everyone it touches. do you think that is true?

I don’t know that their love destroys. Honestly, I think Willa was the destructive person. There I said it. Had she been more in tune with her feelings; Had she stayed and had a conversation with Seamie all could have been righted. I think the difference from the first two books was that these two didn’t have to lose each other. No one was escaping a murderer or the law like in the last two books. They were pushed apart by Willa’s stubbornness. And held in that position because Willa is a depressive addict. She really did wrong them as a couple and the repercussions of her inability to accept a lost leg rippled and ruined how many lives?! Jennie, Albie, Max…etc. Willa is a little too prideful for my taste, and selfish, there I said it. I just didn’t agree with her viewpoint on life. Had she softened a bit think of how many more good years she and Seamie would have had…

xxx

TheLibrarian Asks, RachelKiwi Answers…

1. How do you feel about the Seamie/Jennie relationship? Neither was honest – but they didn’t have the success of Fiona and Nick or the tragedy of India and Freddie…Do you think Seamie and Jennie’s marriage was a working plot point or a fail on the part of Donnelly?

It was hard to see Seamie pick such a sweet girl to marry. It’s easy to condone adultery in characters when they are married to horrible people. But for him to cheat on Jennie was hard to watch. Even though she wasn’t honest with him, either, it was out of love for him. She was scared of rejection, and rightfully so, cause she ended up being rejected anyway when he turned to Willa. I think their marriage was a device to keep Willa and Seamie apart… again. If she was gonna use it, which she did, obviously, I think she needed to develop it more. Pretty much as soon as Willa came back, Jennie disappeared from all plots involving Seamie. I wanted to see inside their marriage… see it deteriorate, or see the tension there. Seamie didn’t love Jennie at the beginning, but he respected her and liked her and was attracted to her. Next we know he’s thinking about how he doesn’t love his wife and what a horrible man he is. How did we get there? I would have loved to see Seamie and Jennie fighting… or giving each other the silent treatment, or whatever. We don’t know what happened there, because Donnelly didn’t show us and I think that was a mistake. 

2. Did you think there was a moment in the end of the book where Max could have been the better choice for Willa?

Oh I hate your question, because yes. Seamie never felt “wild” to me like Willa was. They talk about how they are such a destructive force together, but they weren’t… they just shared a common passion. Max, however, is as broken and wild and untamed as Willa is. Life has hardened both him and Willa. I don’t know if that makes for a better choice for her, though. Maybe Seamie can gentle her, free her from everything that torments her. But I do think Max and Willa could have had a good connection if Seamie had really died. I wanted the ending to be where Max saved them, not because he was a double agent and a “good guy” after all, but just out of selfless love for Willa and still be the “bad guy.” I thought that might be more compelling than throwing in this espionage twist at the end.  

3. Why do you think Donnelly chose to make this tale so much darker than the two previous? Yes, the other couples had hardships but they were allowed moments of happiness as well…Why do you think Seamie and Willa had none? Or do you disagree…did you see happiness in their lives?

I don’t think Seamie and Willa had moments of happiness after the accident on Kilimanjaro. Even when they were reunited in London 8 years later, those hours together were tainted by guilt and secrecy. Even at the end, when they are together with no more obstacles, it isn’t a joyous ending like the endings of the previous two books. It’s like a tentative happiness… one where they know that at least they are together, but there is this “terrible love” and life to be conquered. But I appreciated this grimmer book. The other two, though I loved them to death, were like unbelievable fairy tales: people coming back from the dead multiple times, secret love children, rags to riches. The Wild Rose felt more like real life. There were still the close brushes with death and the improbable encounters in the deserts, but there was loss and pain and addiction and selfishness… on the part of the good guys. So maybe she was just going for a harsher dose of reality this time. Maybe she wanted to make characters that weren’t so perfect and courageousness and right all the time. And I think the books before had themes of perseverance and redemption and forgiveness and all this mushy good stuff. This theme is something grittier. I don’t know. Survival? That’s what I felt at the end. That I could finally just exhale, that everyone had survived.  

4. Of all the side plots did you have a favorite? Which one and why…

I loved anything with India and Sid. I miss them and wanted to see more of them. I absolutely adore Sid. I like seeing him further into his transformation from head gangster  into loving husband and father. And I loved Fiona and Joe’s feisty daughter, Katie. Her own book, please, Jennifer? 

RachelKiwi’s review of The Wild Rose Here

TheLibrarian’s review of The Wild Rose Here

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