Week two Discussion of Bereft

[dhaupt]

We've Learned much about Quinn, his past and his present, this week we meet someone new

Week Two
Bereft

1. Sadie Fox is introduced to us and we learn a great deal about her
Thoughts on Sadie

2. How relevant is the fact that Sadie is the same age as when Sarah was murdered
or is it

3. Trust between Quinn and Sadie is slow to develop and is at most tenuous
Do you like the way the author treats this relationship

4. Why do you think Quinn chose to tell Sadie things that he has never told anyone else

5. What is the significance of Mary’s telling her children the stories she did when they were small or is there one

6. What is the significance of the blood oath that Sadie made Quinn take

7. At the end of week two Quinn is caught in his mother’s sick room as his father stands outside the window when his mother asks his father to tell her what happened on the day Sarah died. Quinn thinks this may be a trap
do you

8. In chapter 15 Mary uses “Bereft” as the description of a parent loosing a child
Do you think the word fits

Thoughts on the novel so far

[Mountain_Muse]

Busy day today.....LOVE the dialogue for the week!!!!!!  Will be back tonight, loaded for bear. 

Muse

[elaine_hf]

Same as Muse, busy day here too.

Lots to think about, great questions Deb! Back soon....

[elaine_hf]

Okay, I have a break, thought I'd comment. You know it's hard for me to NOT comment... ;-)

1. Thoughts on Sadie - there are times when I wonder if she's real, if she's not just some fanciful bit of Quinn's imagination, drawn from his memories of Sarah. And in some ways, it feels like Sarah shared some of Sadie's magic. We don't get a really close look at Sarah, but it's hinted at a teeny bit when we get to hear Nathaniel's description of that last time he saw her, while Quinn is reminiscing. Quinn needs help, and Sadie appears. I suppose she is flesh and blood, but she has characteristics reminiscent of other-worldliness. I think she supplies some things that Quinn very much needs, and maybe part of that is being able to spend time with someone who is the same age, oddly, as Sarah was when she was murdered. You don't really mention it, but the small scars that start appearing on Quinn's body is another mystery that feels connected to Sadie. It would be hard to fathom having someone cut on your body and not wake up, but those scars and cuts have the feel of some kind of religious and/or mysterious event that Quinn is experiencing.

2. Oh, here's the age question - I think it's quite significant, and adds to the mystery we call Sadie. 

3. I think that this relationship has more credibility because it's slow to develop. Quinn has PTSD, it's natural to think that he might have some confusion when he wakes up, but that sometimes leads to unfortunate situations. And Sadie is suffering from her own version of PTSD, with the loss of her parents and most likely her brother. It would be totally not believable if they formed an instant bond.

4. You know how sometimes you'll tell a total stranger sitting next to you on the bus stuff that you'd never tell your family? I think there's a little of that going on here, at least at first. Quinn is doubtful that he's even staying, much less continuing to see Sadie for any length of time. She's mistrustful of the town people and in particular Robert Dalton, his secrets are safe with her. But I think that as things develop, he must feel at some level that she has an ability to help, to hear his story and understand. And really, what does he have to lose? His life is in danger as long as he stays, it's more therapeutic to share his problems and thoughts with someone he grows to trust and be somewhat dependent on.

5. The stories help form a bond with the children, and allow Mary to impart some information that they probably would never gain in the small Australian town that they live in. As we progress in the story, when Mary is aged and ill, it allows Quinn to assume the parental, caring role, by his being able to tell those stories to her. It's a nice way to illustrate that role reversal.

6. The blood oath. I think that for Sadie, it allowed her to trust Quinn, because he was willing to injure himself in order to gain that trust. What more could she ask of him?

7. I didn't think that was meant to be a trap, but after reading it and thinking about it some more, it feels like Mary might have set this up so that Quinn could hear for himself what his father's thoughts were. She knew that Nathaniel wouldn't enter the room, much less the house, unless it was a crisis, so it was a relatively safe way for her to allow Quinn this opportunity.

8. I can't think of a better word to describe that loss. Even the sound of the word is heavy, sad.

It took me a little while to really 'form a bond' with this book, but I am completely immersed in it now, and can't wait to read on! But no, I'll be good and hold off on the last part.

[dhaupt]

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elaine_hf wrote:

Okay, I have a break, thought I'd comment. You know it's hard for me to NOT comment... ;-)

1. Thoughts on Sadie - there are times when I wonder if she's real, if she's not just some fanciful bit of Quinn's imagination, drawn from his memories of Sarah. And in some ways, it feels like Sarah shared some of Sadie's magic. We don't get a really close look at Sarah, but it's hinted at a teeny bit when we get to hear Nathaniel's description of that last time he saw her, while Quinn is reminiscing. Quinn needs help, and Sadie appears. I suppose she is flesh and blood, but she has characteristics reminiscent of other-worldliness. I think she supplies some things that Quinn very much needs, and maybe part of that is being able to spend time with someone who is the same age, oddly, as Sarah was when she was murdered. You don't really mention it, but the small scars that start appearing on Quinn's body is another mystery that feels connected to Sadie. It would be hard to fathom having someone cut on your body and not wake up, but those scars and cuts have the feel of some kind of religious and/or mysterious event that Quinn is experiencing.

2. Oh, here's the age question - I think it's quite significant, and adds to the mystery we call Sadie. 

3. I think that this relationship has more credibility because it's slow to develop. Quinn has PTSD, it's natural to think that he might have some confusion when he wakes up, but that sometimes leads to unfortunate situations. And Sadie is suffering from her own version of PTSD, with the loss of her parents and most likely her brother. It would be totally not believable if they formed an instant bond.

4. You know how sometimes you'll tell a total stranger sitting next to you on the bus stuff that you'd never tell your family? I think there's a little of that going on here, at least at first. Quinn is doubtful that he's even staying, much less continuing to see Sadie for any length of time. She's mistrustful of the town people and in particular Robert Dalton, his secrets are safe with her. But I think that as things develop, he must feel at some level that she has an ability to help, to hear his story and understand. And really, what does he have to lose? His life is in danger as long as he stays, it's more therapeutic to share his problems and thoughts with someone he grows to trust and be somewhat dependent on.

5. The stories help form a bond with the children, and allow Mary to impart some information that they probably would never gain in the small Australian town that they live in. As we progress in the story, when Mary is aged and ill, it allows Quinn to assume the parental, caring role, by his being able to tell those stories to her. It's a nice way to illustrate that role reversal.

6. The blood oath. I think that for Sadie, it allowed her to trust Quinn, because he was willing to injure himself in order to gain that trust. What more could she ask of him?

7. I didn't think that was meant to be a trap, but after reading it and thinking about it some more, it feels like Mary might have set this up so that Quinn could hear for himself what his father's thoughts were. She knew that Nathaniel wouldn't enter the room, much less the house, unless it was a crisis, so it was a relatively safe way for her to allow Quinn this opportunity.

8. I can't think of a better word to describe that loss. Even the sound of the word is heavy, sad.

It took me a little while to really 'form a bond' with this book, but I am completely immersed in it now, and can't wait to read on! But no, I'll be good and hold off on the last part.

---

Elaine, I also wondered if she was made up in his mind.

and my opinion of why Mary confronted Quinn's dad about that day matches yours too. I guess it's hard to be as negative as Quinn when our lives couldn't compare.

We'll have to further explore reading by section vs reading it all sometime too.

[aprilh]

My first thoughts on Sadie were that she may be part of Quinn's imagination. She seemed to just materialize from nowhere. He was paranoid that someone was watching him and after checking his surroundings, he fell asleep, waking to find Sadie staring at him. The more I read of her however, I felt that she might have been Sarah reincarnated. Maybe it was all the talk of séances, but I had a feeling that Sadie might be Sarah in anther life. She was the age Sarah was when she died and had a way of knowing things that no one should have been able to know. She knew everything Quinn had said to the sheep, saying  the sheep had told her what he had said. Sadie has an otherworldly sense about her. When she and Quinn were running from Quinn's uncle, Quinn runs into a snake and Sadie appears from nowhere and wrestles with the snake. She flings it in the direction Robert Dalton was in. Quinn later hears his father telling his mother that Robert fell and cut his hand chasing some orphan girl (Sadie) and that he was convinced she turned into a snake. A part of me wondered if that might be true. Does Sadie possess the ability to change her form? There is so much about Sadie that still remains a mystery to me.

The author was right in making the relationship between Quinn and Sadie develop slowly. It would not have been believable if Quinn had decided to trust Sadie immediately. Quinn was not a trusting person. He was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder from both his sister's murder and from the war. His guard was constantly up. I felt if I were in his situation, I would have felt the same way. Why would he trust anyone when people he cared about, mainly his dad and his uncle, had accused him of murder?

I thought that Quinn felt he could tell Sadie things he had never told anyone before because she was also alone in the world and  that she wouldn't tell anyone what he had told her. I think all the years of being alone had taken a toll on Quinn and that he wanted to be able to talk to Sadie uncensored. I think he felt relief that she believed he wasn't a murderer and began to feel he could trust her.

Sadie was a little girl and being a little girl, her way of being able to trust a total stranger was by having them take a blood oath. When Quinn carves the ragged cross into his chest, I was reminded how young Sadie really was. She had been through so much, her father leaving their family, her brother leaving for the war, her mother's death and having to outrun Quinn's uncle, knowing what he wanted to do to her. Her experiences had left her untrusting and older than her years. When she wanted Quinn to take a blood oath though, I caught a glimpse of the little girl she was and the small amount of innocence she still had left.

I found Quinn's mother to be completely trustworthy, so when Quinn's father almost caught him in the house with his mother, I did not feel it was a trap. I felt that Quinn's mother was happy to see her son again and was glad she was able to hear from Quinn that he didn't kill Sarah. I think she wanted Quinn to hear what his father saw the night that Sarah was murdered and that's why she asked his father to tell her everything that happened that night. Since she already knew Quinn's side of the story, maybe now she could finally hear the details of what her husband saw and try to convince him that he didn't have any evidence that Quinn had murdered Sarah.

I don't think there is any word that can describe the way a parent would feel if they were to lose a child, but I think of any word, Bereft would be the best way to describe that loss. To me, the word itself has a deep feeling of emptiness, sadness and loss surrounding it.

I haven't read ahead in the novel, but I can't wait to finish it. After reading this week's section, it took all my willpower not to read on. Like many others, I have been slowly savoring this novel, taking my time reading, soaking up every last word. This novel grabbed my attention from the beginning and I can't wait to find out what happens next!

[optic_i]

Bereft, Question #1 - Sadie Fox

Sadie was an extraordinary twelve year old girl. She was evasive, vulnerable, and very brave. She had prayed someone would come to save her and was sure when she saw Quinn, that he was the one sent to her. Quinn, on the other hand, a returning soldier, disfigured and suffering from the effects of gas, was in a weakened mental state from all that had happened since his sister's murder. 

Sadie assumed the role of Quinn's protector. She helped Quinn flee his campsite from his uncle and saved him from a deadly snake with her bare hands and threw it in the direction of their pursuer, and gave him shelter in the shack she was living in. She fed him and fortified him so that he would be strong enough to do what she needed - his destiny. So, by initiating very strange rituals that she came up with, cuttings, and a blood oath, she felt he would bond with her and they could trust each other. This was all she knew to do, like a made up game, and Quinn, although not sure what she was doing, went along, just as he had done with his sister.

[whiteginger]

Week Two
Bereft

1-4 Sadie Fox

First, I was so afraid that the lamb was going to be one of those “hit the reader over the head with meaning” symbols; its appearance was so abrupt and startling in Part I.   But the lamb reenters the story quietly and subtly (when Quinn asks Sadie if the lost lamb is hers).  Then Sadie says that the lamb talked to her, told her what Quinn had said.  I began thinking that perhaps Sadie is/was the lamb, a spirit who took the form of the lamb, now in the form of a child.  (Later I made a mental connection of the body and the severed hand that Sadie has found and the young soldier’s body and hand Quinn sees just before the lamb appears.  And Quinn’s mother and Robert also mention Sadie’s mystical qualities.  [Since I had thought that Sadie might have turned herself into a lamb, I laughed when I read that Robert tells Nathaniel that she turned herself into a snake.] )   But wasn’t there a mention earlier, too, about Sarah’s being good with animals, trying to talk to them even?  And Sadie is the same age as Sarah when Sarah was murdered. So I switched gears and entertained the possibility that Sadie is Sarah’s spirit come back to guide Quinn.  I couldn’t, however, reconcile her mistrust of Quinn (sleeping with the knife, threatening to cut out his eyes if he ever touched her again) if she were Sarah’s spirit.  After much wavering, I have decided that she is real--very mystical and mysterious, but real.  So much to say—and I should read other’s comments before I continue.  Someone else may have already voiced my thoughts much more succinctly than I can. 

5. What is the significance of Mary’s telling her children the stories she did when they were small or is there one.

All Mary’s stories (Bible, myth, folk/fairy tales) seem to have universal, moral implications. Have these stories been Quinn’s moral instruction, steeling him for the trials he must now face (the real murderer, a father and town who don’t believe him)? Her reference to “The Lotus Eaters” from the Odyssey was especially thought provoking for me.  I couldn’t remember where in his epic journey Odysseus encountered Calypso and the lotus eaters. Is it after the “descent into hell”?  And which character is the forgetful Odysseus at this point--Mary?  Quinn?  Nathaniel? Also,  I’m still pondering the significance of Quinn’s memory of the first lines of Byron’s “Darkness.”

7. At the end of week two Quinn is caught in his mother’s sick room as his father stands outside the window when his mother asks his father to tell her what happened on the day Sarah died. Quinn thinks this may be a trap
do you 

Yes, but not a trap to "catch" him.  I think she "trapped" him so that he would overhear the conversation and she could judge his reaction.   I can’t decide if Mary needed to have the conversation with Nathaniel and judge Quinn's reaction so that she would have  the proof to be finally, completely satisfied herself; or if she wanted Quinn to hear his father admit that there was some uncertainty about the murder so Quinn would feel better; or if she wanted Quinn to understand that she is on his side and will try to soften the father's attitude  At any rate, I think Mary wanted Quinn to be there for the conversation.

Thoughts on the novel so far

Bereft engages me as an active reader.  I am constantly learning new information about characters and their situations, reevaluating previous assumptions and making new ones.  This is, for me, what makes reading really enjoyable and stories memorable.  In your interview with Deb, Chris, you stated that your ideal audience would be the 18-year-old version of yourself.  I can see Bereft having great appeal for that age group, but I’m three times that age and I love it too.

[thewanderingjew]

1. Sadie Fox is introduced to us and we learn a great deal about her
Thoughts on Sadie

Sadie reminded me of the child, Faina, in The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey, based on a Russian fairytale, and the Faigne in the YA novel, The Humming Room by Ellen Potter. All have mystic qualities which make you wonder if they are real or imaginary friends.

[thewanderingjew]

2. How relevant is the fact that Sadie is the same age as when Sarah was murdered
or is it?

I think, because Sadie has a mystical/magical aura about her, being the same age as Sarah makes her more of a mystery and a better character. We kind of wonder is she a figment of his imagination? He has nightmares; is she the other side of a nightmare, perhaps a dream to comfort him and offer him salvation? Is she Sarah's spirit returned in the body of Sadie; Is Sadie real?

At times, I did wonder about their relationship, in the context of the murder. Some scenes, like their spooning in the bed or her cat and mouse behavior, or her odd tenderness and caretaking of him, at times, made me wonder if the implication was that he had molested his sister and was working it out with his relationship with Sadie. Was this more than two lost souls helping each other survive? Was their relationship more than it appeared to be and was it meant to mimic his relationship with Sarah? I did wonder if there was something sinister about it?

If she was older, their relationship might not have had the mostly innocent tone that I thought prevailed, but would have perhaps been more suggestive of the erotic, incestuous relationship between the siblings that was implied and that I wondered about, at first.

[ReadingPatti]

Week Two
Bereft

1. Sadie Fox is introduced to us and we learn a great deal about her
Thoughts on Sadie- SHe is a very interesting character. I like her.

2. How relevant is the fact that Sadie is the same age as when Sarah was murdered
or is it-I thinkk that is very relevant. It gives a look into the past. She could have been murdered and raped also.

3. Trust between Quinn and Sadie is slow to develop and is at most tenuous
Do you like the way the author treats this relationship-Yes, They are both being very cautious and don't want to do any thing that might ruin this developing relationship. Under their circumtances I would be cautious too.

4. Why do you think Quinn chose to tell Sadie things that he has never told anyone else-He trusted her. She was the same age as his sister. He found something in her that he knew that he could trust with things he couldn't tell anyone else. Sometimes you meet someone you just know you can trust and confide in.

5. What is the significance of Mary’s telling her children the stories she did when they were small or is there one-Mothers just do that. These stories help child develop. Whether it is about their family members or history or read a story book. She wanted them to know. I think she thought that something in their future they would remember these stories and it would help them in their lifes.

6. What is the significance of the blood oath that Sadie made Quinn take- It should her that she could trust him. That they had a bond that would last forever.

7. At the end of week two Quinn is caught in his mother’s sick room as his father stands outside the window when his mother asks his father to tell her what happened on the day Sarah died. Quinn thinks this may be a trap-Not sure, It could have been. I think Quinn's Mom needed to know what really happened so she could die in peace.
do you

8. In chapter 15 Mary uses “Bereft” as the description of a parent loosing a child
Do you think the word fits-Yes, It is hard for a parent to lose a child. It is not suppose to happen this way. The parents are suppose to go first.

Thoughts on the novel so far-Very interesting and very enlightening. Shows us how one really devastating event can change so many lifes. That sometimes judice take years to get.

[christopherw]

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elaine_hf wrote:

Okay, I have a break, thought I'd comment. You know it's hard for me to NOT comment... ;-)

...

5. The stories help form a bond with the children, and allow Mary to impart some information that they probably would never gain in the small Australian town that they live in. As we progress in the story, when Mary is aged and ill, it allows Quinn to assume the parental, caring role, by his being able to tell those stories to her. It's a nice way to illustrate that role reversal.

...

It took me a little while to really 'form a bond' with this book, but I am completely immersed in it now, and can't wait to read on! But no, I'll be good and hold off on the last part.

---

Glad to see you are enjoying my novel! I particularly liked your comment on the role reversal betwen Quinn and his mother - you have been one of the few people to pick up on this.

[dhaupt]

Thanks to all of you for your comments and thoughts so far, and I didn't pick up on the role reversal between Quinn and Mary either, I saw it as more a giving back and a closure that Quinn knew the end was very near.

the mention of blood oath and trust makes more sense to me now as I read others comments on it

Also the mention of the relationship between Quinn and Sadie and Sarah, in my mind it was never in question but then I knew more about Quinn then the other characters being a fly on the wall and in my mind Quinn is very innocent in a way even after the war and I think that innocence really shines through with Sadie.

I'm really surprised that more of you haven't decided to read forward being as engaging as the novel is, it reminds me of those cliffhangers of a show or a movie when we couldn't wait for the next installation.

I learn so much more about the reader I am by your opinions and thoughts so thanks

[thewanderingjew]

Is there any way to float all of the threads pertaining to Bereft to one place?

[optic_i]

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thewanderingjew wrote:

Is there any way to float all of the threads pertaining to Bereft to one place?

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That would be great !  Can you open this one up Deb ?  There is so much to discuss in Bereft ! 

[dhaupt]

okay boys and girls the only thing I can do is to float these threads up.

remember that First Look devoted the whole forum to each read here we have to share

[whiteginger]

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elaine_hf wrote:

. . . You don't really mention it, but the small scars that start appearing on Quinn's body is another mystery that feels connected to Sadie. It would be hard to fathom having someone cut on your body and not wake up, but those scars and cuts have the feel of some kind of religious and/or mysterious event that Quinn is experiencing.

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april wrote:

. . .When Quinn carves the ragged cross into his chest, I was reminded how young Sadie really was . . .she wanted Quinn to take a blood oath though, I caught a glimpse of the little girl she was and the small amount of innocence she still had left. . . . 

---

It seems that yesterday was a long, busy Monday for many of us   I've finally had time to read others' first thoughts and come back to other points that made me wonder.  

The scars immediately made me think of stigmata, but, of course, Quinn's scars are specifically shaped like moons and stars and not on Quinn's hands, feet, and sides. ( And then--honest --I thought of Rosemary's Baby, and the scratches that Rosemary discovers on her body when she awakens in the morning.)   I had automatically read the lamb and snake as Christian symbols of good vs. evil and put Sadie on the side of "good"--as in Christian good. And although the Sadie's suggestion that Quinn murder Dalton is more along the lines of a mythological good vs. evil battle, I was still OK with my more Christian view of her when she made that suggestion; afterall, merciful God does tell us to smite evil--but, of course, that's more of an Old Testament view of God.  Then Sadie (Chris!) surprised me in her conversation  with Quinn:

Quinn:   . . . revenge is not our business.  It belongs to God

Sadie:  . . .God isn't even watching. . . . I prayed you here.  For someone to come and help me. . . . I brought you here.

Quinn: . . . I thought you said God didn't pay us any attention . . . . He was shocked to detect an unappealing, triumphant note in his voice.

Sadie: Yes.  But there are others that do.   (Echos of "Every angel is terrible" from the opening page?)

  Is Quinn going to be an epic hero in a mythic battle of good vs. evil? Are the carvings on his body magical protection/empowerment symbols?  

Is Quinn being seduced or tricked by evil to kill another human? (Are the carvings, like the scratches on Rosemary's body, signs that evil is invading him?)  

  I connected the above conversation with the markings which appear later on Quinn's body, but even if the two have no connection, I still find this conversation interesting.  Quinn has always contended that he is NOT brave, so is his first statement about revenge belonging to God simply his attempt to avoid doing what he MUST do? And who are the others Sadie mentions, a reference that makes Quinn shiver.

[Mountain_Muse]

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whiteginger wrote:

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elaine_hf wrote:

. . . You don't really mention it, but the small scars that start appearing on Quinn's body is another mystery that feels connected to Sadie. It would be hard to fathom having someone cut on your body and not wake up, but those scars and cuts have the feel of some kind of religious and/or mysterious event that Quinn is experiencing.

---

april wrote:

. . .When Quinn carves the ragged cross into his chest, I was reminded how young Sadie really was . . .she wanted Quinn to take a blood oath though, I caught a glimpse of the little girl she was and the small amount of innocence she still had left. . . . 

---

It seems that yesterday was a long, busy Monday for many of us   I've finally had time to read others' first thoughts and come back to other points that made me wonder.  

The scars immediately made me think of stigmata, but, of course, Quinn's scars are specifically shaped like moons and stars and not on Quinn's hands, feet, and sides. ( And then--honest --I thought of Rosemary's Baby, and the scratches that Rosemary discovers on her body when she awakens in the morning.)   I automatically read the lamb and snake as Christian symbols of good vs. evil and put Sadie on the side of "good"--as in Christian good. I was even OK with that view of her when she suggested that Quinn murder Dalton; afterall, merciful God does tell us to smite evil--but, of course, that's more of an Old Testament view of God.  Then Sadie surprised me in her conversation  with Quinn:

Quinn:   . . . revenge is not our business.  It belongs to God

Sadie:  . . .God isn't even watching. . . . I prayed you here.  For someone to come and help me. . . . I brought you here.

Quinn: . . . I thought you said God didn't pay us any attention . . . . He was shocked to detect an unappealing, triumphant note in his voice.

Sadie: Yes.  But there are others that do.   (Echos of "Every angel is terrible" from the opening page?)

Is Quinn going to be an epic hero in a mythic battle of good vs. evil?  Is Quinn being seduced by evil to kill another human? Quinn has always contended that he is NOT brave, so is his first statement about revenge belonging to God simply his attempt to avoid doing what he MUST do?  And who are the others Sadie mentions, a reference that makes Quinn shiver.

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GRrrr the last two days have not let up!  I have found the time to read through and love the discussion.  I would love to respond to the points and delve into my impressions, but time is precious today... so I am limited.

Two things that stood out to me.  One the use of the word bereft.  The last person I have heard use that word was my grandmother.  It is an old word.  I'm not going to go to Webster, but do remember how it was used by Gran.  It was a person who was inconsolable.  A person who had lost all and everything that had meaning to them in life, including the will to live.  I only heard her use it when refering to a mother losing a child or a husband.  

As I look at the central characters that we are becoming the most attached to in this story, each of them is bereft in their own way: Quinn, for losing his dearly loved sister, his family, his life --- everything.

Sadie, for losing her mother, her brother (for she knows in her heart of hearts that he isn't coming home), her home, her way of life and she is running for her life so she doesn't fall victim to Robert and lose her innocence too.  And finally Quinn's mother who has lost her children, her secure world as she knows it, and hope for tomorrow (until Quinn's return).

There is so much in this section that draws me to it, especially to the relationship between Quinn and SAdie,  which TWJ, I disagree with you (kindly), I do not feel the vibes of anything but innocence between the two even though I can see where it can be interpreted that way.  It just does not fit the personality of Quinn, nor the longing of Sadie.  

My question is:  Is Sadie Robert's by-blow?

Muse

[whiteginger]

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Mountain_Muse wrote:

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GRrrr the last two days have not let up!  I have found the time to read through and love the discussion.  I would love to respond to the points and delve into my impressions, but time is precious today... so I am limited.

Two things that stood out to me.  One the use of the word bereft.  . . . .

Muse

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At the risk of sounding corny, I think of bereft  as an onomatopoeic word:  its sound carries the chill and sense of being adrift I associate with the feeling of having just lost someone close.  

[elaine_hf]

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Mountain_Muse wrote:

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whiteginger wrote:

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elaine_hf wrote:

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april wrote:

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GRrrr the last two days have not let up!  I have found the time to read through and love the discussion.  I would love to respond to the points and delve into my impressions, but time is precious today... so I am limited.

Two things that stood out to me.  One the use of the word bereft.  The last person I have heard use that word was my grandmother.  It is an old word.  I'm not going to go to Webster, but do remember how it was used by Gran.  It was a person who was inconsolable.  A person who had lost all and everything that had meaning to them in life, including the will to live.  I only heard her use it when refering to a mother losing a child or a husband.  

As I look at the central characters that we are becoming the most attached to in this story, each of them is bereft in their own way: Quinn, for losing his dearly loved sister, his family, his life --- everything.

Sadie, for losing her mother, her brother (for she knows in her heart of hearts that he isn't coming home), her home, her way of life and she is running for her life so she doesn't fall victim to Robert and lose her innocence too.  And finally Quinn's mother who has lost her children, her secure world as she knows it, and hope for tomorrow (until Quinn's return).

There is so much in this section that draws me to it, especially to the relationship between Quinn and SAdie,  which TWJ, I disagree with you (kindly), I do not feel the vibes of anything but innocence between the two even though I can see where it can be interpreted that way.  It just does not fit the personality of Quinn, nor the longing of Sadie.  

My question is:  Is Sadie Robert's by-blow?

Muse

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Stigmata! That's the word that my old brain was fishing for! Yes, I also had an initial impression that the scars and wounds would be of that nature. There's no other discussion of them, at least through this part, so I'm reluctant to commit to that idea. But I feel like we're led to want to believe that they're stigmata, which adds to the mystical nature around Sadie.

And I have to agree with you Muse, I really don't get any incestuous vibes at all between Sadie and Quinn. Although I think we're certainly led to believing that, I also think it's a red herring. Something designed to make us question Quinn's innocence. 

I have been trying really hard to remember the name of a book I read maybe 2 years ago - about a young black-haired Jewish girl who was kept hidden from the Nazis, who also had mystical powers. My aging brain is once again failing me for the moment, but when I think of it I'll post the name. That book keeps coming to mind as I read about Sadie. Maybe more importantly, the concept of mystical children, wiser than their years, crops up frequently in literature. I was surprised, pleasantly, to see it here.