Reader's Ink discussion

In the end, Anders is found, Easter is lost, Marina has returned a very different person. Was this ending surprising? Expected? What worked and didn’t work for you?

I absolutely loved little Easter. He won a very tender place in my heart, so to trade him for Anders, was something I pondered and reasoned with for quite a while. Then I came to the realization that Easter was their child, not Annick's and those that had come to take such care and love of him. What a difficult decision, but with the culture of the people, to me it was the right thing to do. They left it some open so that the boy could escape and come back up the river. You all have mentioned that you like books that keep you thinking after you've finished. This one sure did that for me. So many "what if's."

The ending felt a little rushed (and I didn't quite buy Marina is a different person - everyone always says they've changed after big trips / adventures, but you can't really know that until months later)... but I am glad Ms. Patchett didn't drag it out.

I didn't see the twist coming with Easter, but I liked it. The entire book, I couldn't escape the feeling that no one saw him as a person: he was a possession upon whom they could project their own feelings and needs. He was entertaining and seemed sweet, but everything we know about him is what other people assumed about him. Was he truly happy, or did he play the role his kidnappers wanted from him (see: Holmes, Katie)?

I both loved and hated the retrieval of Anders: on the one hand, it was straight out of way too many science fiction stories, where no one ever really dies. On the other hand, I was a complete sucker for Karen's gut feeling being proven right. And how it was discovered - brilliant.

Here's my big question: How likely is it that Marina is pregnant? The whole book is based around the idea of this magical bark that makes women uber fertile, and she's been eating it daily for weeks.

One more thing I just remembered: Their last morning, Marina avoids the bark and laughs at the idea that she ever thought to take some back with her. In an earlier chapter, one of the scientists comments that pregnancies seemed to take forever because they knew almost immediately when a woman becomes pregnant because the bark repulses her.

Given Ms. Patchett's repeated commentary on how Anders and Marina's sleeping together was the one thing they would not discuss, I'm learning even more towards Marina being pregnant.

For me, the question becomes: Does Marina know?

Like Lauren, I found the ending a tad rushed. I was sure Patchett hadn't really killed off Anders, but I didn't see his big reveal coming at all.

As for Easter, my views are again sort of in line with Lauren's. He was sweet and all, but his entire being, identity, and voice were colonized by whoever happened to "need" him at the time. Perhaps Easter is Patchett's way of showing how the utterly voiceless--in this case, literally voiceless--and disenfranchised end up just serving whoever takes them. Going one further, he's used as a bargaining chip--chattel--to get back Anders.

However, I thought it was interesting how Dr. Swenson had that maternal rite of passage of caring for a very sick young child when Easter was brought to her, how attached she got, and how that attachment kept her caring for him.

And yes, Lauren, I agree. All that bark munching, plus the one-night stand with Anders, plus the sudden bark repulsion? Oh yes. That girl is knocked up.

Chattel - what a great word. That perfectly describes his use to Marina.

I never felt any sort of maternal connection between Dr. Swenson and Easter. It hit me as more of an ownership issue with her. Everything seems to come down to what's easiest for Dr. Swenson: in the case of Easter, keeping him was easier than explaining that he was still sick.