Final Discussion Post - The Enchanted

Final discussion post! Whether this was a book you loved, or didn't, I really hope it was at least something outside the box for you. I would have never picked this up if it hadn't been chosen, and I'm thankful that it was.

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Discussion Questions:

Due to the short nature of this book, I'm going to keep the discussions very general, instead of giving you specific questions. This last chapter had a lot of revelations in it. A lot of things were wrapped up, the final pieces of the puzzle put into place. How do you feel about everything that happened? Were you happy with the ending?

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My Thoughts:

I'm honestly kind of at a loss as to what to say at this point. This last chapter left me breathless, and the last pages especially just kind of blew me away. I would never have picked up this book on my own. I don't read a lot of adult fiction, unless it's something specifically suggested to me, or it's horror. So to read this? Something so dreamlike and prosaic? It was a treat. Something outside the box for me. Something new. I loved every little minute of it.

First off, all the emotions flowing through this chapter floored me. I felt sad at the passing of the new female prison guard and of York. Anger at all the things that were going on every day in this prison, on the fringes of public knowledge. The description of the food they were given hit especially hard. I felt pity. Pity for the broken boy and all the other prisoners like him. Then, a bit of glee when he took his vengeance. It was a cold victory, but one nonetheless. No one deserved to die more than Conroy. The best part though? The fact that our Priest and our Lady were able to make a life together. I so hoped for that.

The ending bit at me. I'm a soft-hearted person at the best of times, but watching Arden die just did me in. Despite anything else, our narrator was an honest man. Maybe a little crazy, perhaps a shattered man, but always honest about the way things were for him. I was sad, but also happy that he could be free at last. What can I say? Nothing else, really. This book wasn't perfect, but it was definitely something I'm glad I read.

Discussion Post #3 - The Enchanted

Confession of the week? I totally teared up while reading this set of pages. There, I admitted it. I'm smitten, and I don't care who knows it.

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Discussion Questions:

Due to the short nature of this book, I'm going to keep the discussions very general, instead of giving you specific questions. This week we've been given a lot more information about our characters. We've seen into their pasts, and finally know more about how they are. What are your thoughts on these new revelations?

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My Thoughts:

So this set of chapters has cemented fully in my mind that this is a book I'm going to love. Unless the ending is horrible, which I doubt, this will rate highly on the "Jessica loved this" scale. All of the new things we've learned about our characters floored me. I don't even know where to start. From the quotes about life that glare at me off the page, to the fact that even the "good" characters in this story are so deeply flawed, this is nothing but interesting to me.

First off, it was startling to finally see names present on the page. Our Priest and our Lady still have no names, but it made me smile a bit that she knows all the names of the inmates. Perhaps even more than the guards around them do. I was also agape at the fact that the Lady has so many similarities to York. Up until now, I just assumed she was doing the same work for him as any other case she'd been assigned. Now that we've met her mother, and heard her story, I think there might be something more to it.

When it comes to the Priest, his story broke my heart. You can see the deep sorrow inside him. The fact that both he and the Lady are broken, and that they are now reaching out to one another, makes me feel a bit happier but also wary. Am I rambling? I'm rambling, I know. This book seems to do that to me. Even our still nameless inmate, and his story are so dark. I don't know what else to say. I just love this book.