Spoiler Alert - How did you feel about the ending of the book?

[Snowflake]

Do you think Amanda was acting in character at the very end of the book?

[bookowlie]

It didn't seem like Amanda was acting in character since her husband was away for most of the story. She normally kept things together while he was on deployment, for the sake of the kids; also, she never wanted to upset him when they would chat on the internet while he was away, since she didn't want to worry. Once he came home after his injury, she was walking on eggshells around him since he was experiencing PTSD. I think she was keeping everything inside in order to not "rock the boat." It was easier to run out of the house with an excuse that she had to get diapers even in the middle of a storm, rather than deal with him.

[Snowflake]

I can see where you're coming from bookowlie. A part of me just thinks it would have been enough for her to run outside in the storm. I think, that no matter how mad I might be with my husband, I would think twice before driving off angrily in a storm. Amanda seems like such a great mom that it makes me think that those thoughts would run through her head too....

[CommMayo]

Sometimes I'll be so made at my husband, the best thing I can do is get out of the house for a little while. I might not let hurricane stop me if I know I need to get away for a little while for the sake of my marriage!

[MrsCatInTheHat]

I think when we're that upset, a lot of us will act out of character.

[Snowflake]

Good point, CatinTheHat. I was just so surprised because as a mom, I'm always thinking about my kids - even if it's somewhere in the very back of my mind when I'm really mad. I think I was also just upset at what happened to a character I liked so much!

[CommMayo]

Good point, CatinTheHat. I was just so surprised because as a mom, I'm always thinking about my kids - even if it's somewhere in the very back of my mind when I'm really mad. I think I was also just upset at what happened to a character I liked so much!

I think it is great that you were able to get so emotionally invested in the character.

Sometimes I wish I was able to not worry about everything and everyone around me...

[ashley_claire]

I felt like she was acting a bit out of character to just take off like that. But despite being a mom and wife, she was also still very young. I think she was only 22 or 23. It's definitely not my way of dealing with things anymore, but I can remember being that age and just needing to go somewhere to clear my head.

[Jeyasivananth]

I think Amanda is shown to be in conflict throughout the book. She has to deal with the stress of being a mom of two kids and manage work all alone while her husband is away. There are so many things she has to deal with ...the kids, her job , the finance , chad , Mike at the war font, the predicament over Mike's fate at the war threatening her every moment and then the return of a shell shocked , war wounded Mike . She has been repressing all her emotions that a final blowout was inevitable; and all though she had the comfort and support of her friends Sophie and Rose our inner battles are always waged alone. Throughout the book she has been shown as a woman who handles herself in cool, calm collected manner. And it is this very nature that provokes her to leave the confrontation and go out for a drive to cool her off. The storm waging outside is an objective correlative , a dramatic manifestation of the storm waging within her mind. It was sad to have her end that way , but Rosie remarks Death is impartial and 'doesn't care your age'.

[bookowlie]

Good point, CatinTheHat. I was just so surprised because as a mom, I'm always thinking about my kids - even if it's somewhere in the very back of my mind when I'm really mad. I think I was also just upset at what happened to a character I liked so much!

I agree that it was surprising. As mad as I might get, I feel that my kids rule my actions and make me think more practically, even in the heat of the moment. While it's true that Amanda was very young, she still seemed to be a very caring mother.

[Manang Muyang]

The pressure of Mike's decision to go back to the fighting may have been too much. But I was really disappointed that Amanda's story had to end that way. I didn't like how the book ended for this character who is the most textured of the lot.

[Snowflake]

I know Miriam - it was quite a shock and rather disappointing...

[Kieran_Obrien]

I started to sense that something disastrous was going to happen during the storm.. and it was as contrived as I feared. Her death was wasted on the rest of the characters too; none of them learned anything from her death really (Rose opened up about her daughter but that's not much) and nothing interesting came after it either. Shock ending with no real purpose.

[CommMayo]

I started to sense that something disastrous was going to happen during the storm.. and it was as contrived as I feared. Her death was wasted on the rest of the characters too; none of them learned anything from her death really (Rose opened up about her daughter but that's not much) and nothing interesting came after it either. Shock ending with no real purpose.

Interesting. So you don't think there was any really plot purpose to her death other than to shock the reader?

[Yoli García]

Honestly, the end of the book took me by surprise and I did not like it. It was the only thing about the book that I did not like. Yes, one could argue that she acted out of her character because she was resilient during his deployment and afterwards. She was just mad because he was thinking about leaving again to the war. I thought it was weird that she would go out like that in the middle of a big storm. I would have preferred another end. The rest of the book is beautiful.