Favorite Character

[Stephanie]

Post your thoughts about your favorite character or characters here.

[Kat727]

i can't help myself, my fav character is Tom. i liked him from the very begining. without giving any spoilers i felt bad for him and then he did like the sweetest thing ever. i know he did some bad things and i wanted to dislike him for them, but i couldn't.

[Stephanie]

Kat,

I admit, I like Tom as well.  I think though, upon finishing, Carl ended up being my favorite. 

Also, without spoiling anything, I can honestly say I think Hank's contribution was without a doubt my favorite part of the novel.

[Librarian]

Hi------I haven't finished the book yet. But I'm starting to like Lynn. The others are cautious of her because she's a boss but she seems to be compassionate and reasonable so far when she needs to be.

Librarian

[Kat727]

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Stephanie wrote:

Kat,

I admit, I like Tom as well.  I think though, upon finishing, Carl ended up being my favorite. 

Also, without spoiling anything, I can honestly say I think Hank's contribution was without a doubt my favorite part of the novel.

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Stephanie,

without spoiling anything i was very proud of carl, and the part with hank's contribution was such a good part and i like how he kinda strung it out a little before you got the big revelation. i think the final sections was really good and i was really surprised by a lot of things that happened, but i thought it was pretty emotional for a mainly comedic book. i also loved the last line i thought it was so great i reread it a few times.

[Librarian]

Now that I have finished the book, I still like Lynn a lot. Without giving away anything for those not finished, my least favorite character is Larry!

Librarian

[Stephanie]

Librarian,

Dying to know- why was Larry your least favorite?  Just post a spoiler warning on your note if you think it's going to ruin something for anyone.

[Stephanie]

Marcia was an interesting personality as well- I liked her nastiness, it seemed to be she was the character that got to say what others were thinking, and I happen to know someone like that, who is utterly refreshing and hilarious. It doesn't hurt that this individual is highly intelligent - I think that actually makes all the difference. 

Group: Do you know anyone that says what they're thinking, without reservation?  How is it taken?

[Kat727]

i agree i didn't care for larry, his actions were very selfish and he took no responsibility for his actions. i have to say that i am like marcia, i usually just say what i what's on my mind without thinking. a lot of times people take it as rudeness, but the things i say are honestly not meant to be mean. also a lot of people come to me for advice because they know i will tell them the truth and not just what they want to hear. it got my in trouble a bit in school though, because this personality trait was not quieted by authority. 

[Stephanie]

Kat,
I knew I liked you! Perfect example, really, that you are that sort of person. I truly appreciate honesty, when it's something that matters, and I need to know. Suppose, for instance that I said something that needed to be rectified before it cost me friends, my job, etc. I would count on a friend like you to clue me in. If, however, you just didn't like my new haircut, I would understand your silence in the matter, and it wouldn't bother me a bit.

Message Edited by Stephanie on 04-08-2008 08:31 PM

[Kat727]

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Stephanie wrote:
Kat,
I knew I liked you! Perfect example, really, that you are that sort of person. I truly appreciate honesty, when it's something that matters, and I need to know. Suppose, for instance that I said something that needed to be rectified before it cost me friends, my job, etc. I would count on a friend like you to clue me in. If, however, you just didn't like my new haircut, I would understand your silence in the matter, and it wouldn't bother me a bit.

Message Edited by Stephanie on 04-08-2008 08:31 PM

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well over the years i have learned that sometimes silence and a smile are a nice way to get by, there are some things that people don't really need to know the truth about.

[Stephanie]

Kat,
I've learned that the hard way. Took me quite a few foot from mouth removals, though!

Ultimately, I found Marcia's transformation - or her relief at not having to be mean, very enlightening. It opened up all sorts of reasons for people's behavior. Group, your thoughts?

[Librarian]

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Stephanie wrote:

Librarian,

Dying to know- why was Larry your least favorite?  Just post a spoiler warning on your note if you think it's going to ruin something for anyone.

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POSSIBLE    SPOILER

Stephanie-----I didn't like the way he treated Amber and the thoughts going through his head during the Tom crisis, Responsibility is a two way street. I assume he's not involved with his daughter's life because he left Hank's reading and never went over to Amber and Becky. Although Amber also bears responsibility for their affair, I think Tom was just out for fun because he didn't want his marriage to get in trouble so he used both Amber and his wife and never gave a thought to the life of his daughter.

Librarian

[Melissa_W Moderator]

I agree - Larry was easily the most self serving of all the characters and seemed to have the least humanizing characteristics.  On the other hand, Tom Mota, for all the craziness, seemed to be the most self-sacrificing (he cared about Janine, about taking the billboard down, accepting responsibility for his antics, etc).

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Librarian wrote:

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Stephanie wrote:

Librarian,

Dying to know- why was Larry your least favorite?  Just post a spoiler warning on your note if you think it's going to ruin something for anyone.

---

POSSIBLE    SPOILER

Stephanie-----I didn't like the way he treated Amber and the thoughts going through his head during the Tom crisis, Responsibility is a two way street. I assume he's not involved with his daughter's life because he left Hank's reading and never went over to Amber and Becky. Although Amber also bears responsibility for their affair, I think Tom was just out for fun because he didn't want his marriage to get in trouble so he used both Amber and his wife and never gave a thought to the life of his daughter.

Librarian

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[Kat727]

*maybe spoiler*

talking about people's behavior makes me think of janine. i definitely felt terrible about the things she was going through. her behavior at the mcdonalds broke my heart and i was so disgusted that karen came back and told everyone and they all went and watched like it was a show and it never seemed to enter anyone's mind that she was grieving. i was so glad that joe(who is probably my 2nd fav character although i seemed to have forget about him until now) told them to stop. i like how joe just seemed to do his job and tried to say above the drama.

[Librarian]

POSSIBLE  SPOILER

Speaking of Joe------is the reason that he's not at Hank's reading, because after his crazy doings in high school, he resolved not to belong to a group? Also it seems he's not at the old agency anymore since when his number is called a different name is given on the voice mail. Any thoughts on this????

Librarian

[Stephanie]

Well, you're going to be mad at me, but I felt sorry for Larry! Yes, I thought he was selfish and something of a cad, but I did understand his feelings, his fears. I think that something I read in another story recently is very true-- pregnant woman says it's not like he doesn't have a choice, father of child-to-be says, I don
't have a choice- you hold all the cards. It's true, too. If the woman doesn't want to go through with it, she hardly needs the father's permission. If she does, he's bound by law to support the child. So Larry's thoughts and his freaking out and his lack of attention to Amber and the baby struck me as honest and real.

[Stephanie]

Yes, speaking of Joe was anyone else let down by the way we were left with nothing of Joe? He was an enigma, certainly, to the "group" but I hoped as the reader I would get some wrap-up on him. Truly, he had the right idea, and he was the only truly mature member... even Lynn.

[Kat727]

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Stephanie wrote:
Yes, speaking of Joe was anyone else let down by the way we were left with nothing of Joe? He was an enigma, certainly, to the "group" but I hoped as the reader I would get some wrap-up on him. Truly, he had the right idea, and he was the only truly mature member... even Lynn.

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even though joe was one of my fav characters, i think the way that it ended without us knowing anything about him was very fitting with the rest of the book. i think that since we were supposed to feel like we worked at the office he had to stay an enigma to us as well.

[Stephanie]

Kat,

I don't know about you, but if I'd worked at that office, Joe wouldn't have been an enigma to me! The rest of them might have been though, because I thought they were fairly bizarre.