Sorry for posting a day late. I had an unexpected One Piece chat last night that has complicated all my plans and I'm getting sick. Excuses over now on to the discussion.
I love the way Andreeson is suddenly made to be more human in the last chapter. No one likes him but he's not an evil person. I can just picture him I think. It's easy to see how his ingratiating manner would bother everyone. At the same time, he's just trying to do his job. Jeremiah is not going to lie. Andreeson knows this and takes advantage of it when asking if Davy had contacted August and Birdie. Jeremiah is not going to compromise his principles and is assuming that God will take care of August and Birdie. Yet even though Andreeson knows that Jeremiah won't lie, he still hopes that Jeremiah knows more than he's saying.
Just a mention of the language in this section...I like the way Rueben compares his style of writing as the witness with Swede's much more romantic style.
We are introduced to a new character. Roxanna is such a real person. Once again Rueben is painfully honest when he admits that he didn't think she was really pretty the first time they saw her. That is the reality of life. Very few people are truly beautiful in the popular culture sense and Enger doesn't waste his time populating his novel with them. These are characters that live and breathe and with whom we can identify. Roxanna is a brave soul, allowing a strange man into her house like that. On the other hand we have gotten the impression that Jeremiah is little more than a skeleton at this point and he has these two kids to support so I suppose that he looked much safer than most.
I love the sense of relief we get in this section. The family has finally reached a safe harbor. We don't know what's going to happen next but at least they now have the necessities of life. Now, what's up with Davy?
Edit: Had to add labels and what to read next.
Read through Boy Ready, p. 274 in my edition.
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This section had it's share of highs and lows for me. Swede's sabotage of Andreeson's car, while amusing, made me wonder if it would come back to hit them later, a simple act of vandalism by a romantic child, sending the family really and truly on the run. A low, I will admit, was the decision to stop at Roxana's house, and how taken everyone is with her. As likable a person as she is, and I'm sure she's a comfort to all three weary travelers, it very much felt as though they were getting settled there, that the adventure was over. Her stories of adventure are obviously enough to keep Swede happy, but I think Reuben, whatever his selfish thoughts, is more worried about Davy right now than she is. The late night picnic and the appearance of Andreeson made me sure that Roxana snitched, but Jeremiah doesn't seem to think so, and I guess we'll have to wait and see whether I guessed true.
As for the differences in telling tales between Reuben and Swede, I can't say that I find him less skilled than she, more like skilled in a different, more realistic style. It's like comparing Tolkien, a master of old and forgotten tongues and engrossed in describing the details of a new world, to Hemmingway, writing short, sharp, and concise to meet the deadlines and space allowances. Swede is carried away in her flights of fantasy, drinking in stories of Butch Cassidy. Reuben's mind and views focus more on the reality of things.
I enjoyed the chapters involving their stay with Roxanna. I am the type of person that does not like the unknown. I am not very spontaneous, so I like to know where I'm going and when I'll get there. As I've read these chapters with their travels, I find myself thinking how I would feel in their position. I think I would feel anxious and bewildered, especially with the inhospitable elements and the knowledge that my family was being watched, even tailed. These children definitely are of the more adventurous sort, where their love of adventure doesn't stop at the pages on the books they read, but continues in their own lives. I think I'd like to be more like that and not worry so much about running out of gas, being stranded on the road, running into a deadend...and maybe I wouldn't be so worried if I had someone like Jeremiah leading me. I love Reuben's faith in his father.
Jeremiah's headaches concern me. Yet, I can't help but feel like they are part of what enables Jeremiah to know where they should go, do what they should do. It's probably not connected, but thinking that it is makes me not worry as much about him.
It concerned me that when Jeremiah introduced Roxanna, he did not mention her last name, yet Andresson used her last name when he responded to the introduction. Perhaps he's done his research in the surrounding settlements, or maybe Angela's right and Roxanna tipped him off. Time will tell.
Finally, I enjoy Reuben's story telling. I find him a trustworthy source as well, where with Swede sometimes I wonder if she would tend to remember things the way she wanted to remember them and not always as how they happened.
I agree with your assessment of Swede's storytelling ability. Rueben is definitely more faithful to the story.
Istari, I was really surprised to read about your fears of Roxanne. You can probably tell that I like Roxanne. I didn't think of her as a dangerous element. I just thought Andreeson had done his homework.
Now that I think about it though, I wonder if Jeremiah thought about it your way Istari.
It just makes me nervous, like what Kate mentioned about him knowing her last name without having asked or being told that we know of. Possibly he asked someone else, if there's a neighbor who saw them stop there, but I still wonder if she called the feds. We know Davy's story was published far and wide. I just don't know her motives yet. I don't dislike her as a character, I just don't trust her yet.
Angela's bringing up the possibility that Roxanna snitched on them surprised me too, but when thinking about it seemed quite plausible. The thing that I don't get is how Andreeson found them in the first place unless Roxanna told him. It made me really mad when he interrupted their picnic. Does anyone know if such a place really exists or did Enger come up with it?
I loved the phrase "The Transfiguration of Roxanne" that Reuben uses when she suddenly became beautiful to her. I've experienced something like that. I've felt like someone wasn't particularly blessed in the good looks arena, but as I got to know them I totally forgot that I'd felt that way when I first met them. It's neat that Enger acknowledges that this can happen by including it in the story.
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