I didn't relate to Kate at all in this story. I think I had the same disconnect with The Book Thief because Death was the narrator... not a happy soul. Same story in The Stranger. The narrator is so important to me. If I don't see eye to eye with the story teller, I have a hard time enjoying a book.
However I did relate to Aunt Annie, Matt, Luke and poor Marie. I was so proud of Marie for giving it to Kate at the end of the book. It was about time someone COMMUNICATED! I actually enjoyed Kate's shock and horror. It's really sad it took her so many years to re-think her attitude and open her heart.
Before I push "publish post" I need to mention a few quotes that I liked in the book:
"I remember it because both it (the juvenile wave) and her smile contrasted oddly with the fact that there were tears running down her cheeks. Take no notice of the tears, her smile and her fingers said. So we took no notice of them, as if they were nothing to do with Aunt Annie, and waved gravely back" (I saw myself as Annie in this scene... I'd be worried to death for those kids to be left on their own. I was releived that Kate actually wrote to Annie every week. I am sure it put her heart at ease.)
"Daniel is naive in some ways. He hasn't had to struggle for anything in life and that has made him easygoing. Undemanding. Not so much of himself as of other people. He is generous and fair and tolerant, all of which are qualities I admire, but sometimes I think he carries them too far. Sometimes he makes excuses for people in a way which almost denies them responsibility for themselves. ... The idea that we are carried along by fate, unable to resist or change direction, sound suspiciouly like an excues to me." (I loved this quote because Kate is my husband and I am Daniel in this situation. Just struck me interesting.)
"Because in an ideal world, effort, like virtue, is rewarded, and it simply makes no sense not to act as if it's an ideal world." (Beautifully written.)
2 comments:
I felt the same way when I read Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. I couldn't stand Pip or understand any of his motivations. I disliked him so much that I disliked the book.
Kate is very closed off. She threw me off a bit too. I loved the stories of her childhood so much though that that carried me through. I kept wanting to shake her. :) Her childhood endeared me to her and I felt sad that she was closing herself off from so much possibility. I'm glad that Marie did shake her verbally at the end. Poor Marie having to put up with the jealousy of a 9 year old for 20 years! I notice that most of our reviews discuss the family of Kate's youth and Kate's potential for change at the end of the book. None of us seem as interested in the present Kate part until she opens up a bit at the very end.
I love the quotes that you chose. They are very insightful.
It's interesting how different readers relate to the narrator of the book. I was upset at Kate for wasting precious time shutting herself off from Matt, but I didn't dislike her. I actually related to her.
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