The mind is like an iceberg…the conscious mind is the visible part above water, while the unconscious mind is submerged and hidden. Sigmund Freud
18 Bookers gathered at the home of Debbie Yarger to discuss this month’s selection anticipating a lively conversation about this novel and especially deciphering the ending, and our group did not disappoint. Although we all read the same book, many offered a different take on the storyline and the characters and often we saw parts of ourselves or our experiences inside the pages.
Sadly, we are losing one of our great friends and Bookers’ member, Judy Koslo, who will be moving to Kiawah Island, South Carolina soon. We wish her the best on her new journey. Wouldn’t a Bookers’ road trip to visit be a fun outing! She has asked to remain on our email list so she can keep up with what we are reading.
The author has written fifteen books, mostly in his Dr. Sean Nolan Mysteries series and two standalone novels. He has an author page on Facebook, but very little information is available about him. Is he an enigma or use an alias when writing….? I’ll let you know if he responds to my message on his page…don’t hold your breath.
Synopsis:
Flying home from a book tour to be with his wife and daughter over the holidays, Kian Atwood's life seems perfect. With his third novel on top of the New York Times best-seller list, his future is filled with endless possibilities. In a few hours his family will be gone, most of his memories will be erased, and the world he wakes up in will only be defined by what others tell him. Of all the unanswered questions that plague him, two are the most haunting: How can he rebuild his life, and is there really any reason to try?
Opening Poem:
The author chose to open the novel with “If I Could Tell You” by W.H. Auden, a poet known for writing a blend of contemporary events with everyday language covering a variety of themes. It explores unspoken truths and the limitations of language in the face of time’s inevitable march. A central theme is the inability to express the depth of love… “Because I love you more than I can say, If I could tell you, I would let you know.” The relentless presence of time – an unyielding judge – saying “I told you so” suggests regardless of our actions or emotions, time will ultimately validate its own grim prophecies.
From a dog’s perspective:
I hadn’t planned on saving a man’s life in the chill of sunrise that morning, but I did, and he saved mine at the same time. Before that day on the beach my Golden Retriever’s life revolved around dancing in and out of the surf. I saw a man floating in the water…his feet were not touching, and the waves were beginning to wash over his head. I thought he wanted to play, so I leaped in the water with my driftwood stick and began swimming around him. Back on the beach I dropped my stick at his feet and smiled at him; he named me Wilson as a nod to Tom Hank’s movie “Cast Away” about a FedEx bigwig who befriends a volleyball named Wilson while stranded on a deserted island. I proved that I have so much more personality than a rubber ball.
I learned my new friend turns out to be a famous author who’s trying to hide from life and write a new novel. His family died in a car accident, but he survived. The doctor said he had retrograde amnesia – with no recollection of anything including the accident – except a recurring dream of a car traveling along a mountain road, first snow falling lightly, his wife behind the wheel, and his daughter in her car seat next to her. In slow motion he saw the rear tires lose traction, wheels locked up, and the back of the car slid over the bank…he heard his wife scream and the car flipped on its side somersaulting over a rock cliff…a silence… then an explosion when the gas tank ignited.
I became his therapy dog. He told me about his headaches, and we had many discussions about whether I saw him as a friend, an entertaining human, a playmate, or a source of food. Multiple choice questions were never my forte, so I just listened while he explained his life as a money-making machine. Dr. Os said he wasn’t a nihilist – I had to look that up – one who rejected all religions and moral principles…often believing life is meaningless – how could he be one of those when I was a big part of his life?... at least during the day. He also wanted my perspective on a philosophical point as a member of the canine community saying my world is viewed through a dichromatic lens – I looked that up too – we only perceive shades of blue, yellow, brown, and gray – so his question was if he gave me a book with answers to every unknown in the universe bound in a flaming red cover, how would I describe it to other canines? I pondered, but he furnished the answer…I’d say what it wasn’t rather than what it was…gaining the same value as a doorstop. Belly rubs were more interesting, and I followed him up the steps to his house, shared a bowl of Rice Krispies, and curled up on the floor next to him. Our relationship sealed with a common interest – we needed each other. After Kian’s new book was complete, he teased he might put me on the dedication page, which I thought was very fitting as my role in this process deserved recognition.
The Ending:
Dr. Os exclaimed Kian was “writing us” – the dog, the little girl and her mother next door – all fiction or at least it started that way. He had no memories to keep him grounded in real time, so he built his own reality from his childhood…the dog was first saving him from committing suicide and was the only one real to him and was the key to the rest of the story. After hearing the accident report, Kian started rewriting it over and over, each time changing the scenario and sequence of events…when he finally managed to save his daughter, the little girl from next door appeared…when he found a way to save his wife, the girl’s mother arrived who was an OB nurse as was Kian’s wife…when Paul had the heart attack, he was bringing back the father he lost as a teenager. He couldn’t change his past, but he could find a way to save them from the same fate. The book became a way to rewrite his life – he was looking at the “footprints of a man and woman walking on the sand with a child between them” … Kian found his way home.
And then we have Chapter 26:
Set in Evergreen Neuropsychiatric Hospital near Seattle, in an exclusive twenty-two-room clinic monitored by televisions housed one celebrity – best-selling author Kian Atwood – who had been there for eight weeks care flighted to the Neuro Trauma Ward to evacuate a subdural hematoma (bleeding near the brain) after his car went off and over a cliff. He was still in a coma but taking small steps toward recovery. His wife, daughter and dog visited every day at nine a.m. When the visitor bell rang, a golden retriever named Wilson bounded into the hall at full speed, jumping on Kian’s bed, followed by a young girl named Skylar, and her mom, Shay Atwood. Skylar was reading “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” her dad’s favorite part about Tweedledum and Tweedledee – then her voice fell silent - he had just squeezed her hand.
The wind just shifted – you could have knocked me over with a feather!
Our discussion:
The title should have spoken volumes – Editorial License – an editor has full control over design, layout, deadlines, and all words, sentences, paragraphs and opinions. Dr. Johnson used not only his medical license but his editorial one as well. Barbara Creach commented in an email to me, “Oh Crap…we have another “Life of Pi.” Good analogy.
Using the rating system (1-don’t bother) (2-borrow, don’t buy) (3-good beach read) (4-borders on your favorite) and (5-order now, include in your will) our group’s evaluations ranged from 2 (a bit messy) to 4-1/2 (loved it!) In between these ratings were a couple of typos; rereading parts to understand what was really happening – some to no avail; an easy read but complicated storyline; discussion of the ending seen as a culmination of a dream with all the characters in the protagonists life reassigned in the dream…the presence of Wilson was reinforced by the mention of dog hair on his bed; and a discussion of the levels of consciousness which refers to the different states of awareness, conscious (all thoughts, memories, feelings and wishes that we are currently aware of; preconscious (thoughts and memories not currently in awareness, but can be easily brought to consciousness; and unconscious (the largest part of the mind containing feelings, thoughts, urges, and memories that are outside of our conscious awareness which influences our behavior and experiences although we are not directly aware of it.) Our resident doctor, Ms. Carla, pointed out how comatose patients can experience varying degrees of awareness and memory, some remembering conversations between the medical staff while being treated and being able to recall them after they regain consciousness.
Happy Reading!
JoDee
