I felt it was a sad story but other people pointed out that their was hope in their too which is important and I think why it is so easy to read, you can get drawn into these peoples lives and cling to the suggestion of hope. Very early on we find out that Matthews brother Simon has learning difficulties but it wasn't until quite a way through that I realised that he had down syndrome. We also knew straight away that Simon dies at a young age but the story doesn't finish setting that scene until nearer the end of the book so you are constantly trying to decide a scenario in your mind. Because Matthew blames himself there is an uncertainty of whether he really did do something terrible or whether it was a tragic accident.
We had a lot of discussions about all the themes this book presented but one particular debate was what people thought about whether Matthews mental health problems were a direct result of the death of his brother and his families reactions to such a traumatic situation or whether they were just a catalyst in an illness that would have found its way to him of its own accord regardless. I think one of the saddest things for me was that to leave care Matthew had to prove he was better and so he pretended, even though we knew he could still see his brother as if he was right there with him and talked to him when no one else was there. But there definitely is hope in there and strength from family love and support particularly from his nan and his dad who were both great characters. There were definitely echo's of other mental health issues throughout the family though mentioned briefly it demonstrated that there are so many different types of mental health problems of varying degrees of seriousness and that there are unfortunately also quite a lot of stigmas attached to these by those who don't understand.
Interestingly there was a key point in the book which all of us overlooked apart from Charlotte and that was the dates on the letters and the chapters throughout the story. Realising that events did not actually occur in the order written in the book actually gave different meaning to parts of the story and to the ending really, and I thought it was quite clever of the author to do this in such a subtle way. Although maybe we were just not observant enough ;)
I enjoyed reading this book, it made me think about life and about other peoples lives, I'd recommend others to read it. We did do a half hearted score which I think probably came out at about a 6-7 out of 10, which is not bad at all!
So to start the new year we decided to go with a book that Jenny recommended having read before called 'Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet' by Jamie Ford. Having already started it I can say its going to be good one, so I hope you all have time to pick it up and get going :)
The old Seattle landmark has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made a startling discovery in the basement: personal belongings stored away by Japanese families sent to internments camps during World War 2.
Among the fascinated crowd stands Henry Lee who, as the owner unfurls a distinctive parasol is flooded by memories of childhood. He wonders if by some miracle in amongst the boxes of dusty treasures lies a link to the Okabe family, and the girl he lost his heart to so many years ago.'
The next Book club...
Date: 4th March 2015
Location: Matthews Yard
Time: 7.30pm
Be there or be square :)
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