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Reader's Paradise

What I Loved - Spoilers-Discussion

17 years ago

Siobhan,

Did you have any lingering thoughts re Bill's death? I know it was implied that it was due to natural causes. However, the author dropped a bit of ambivalence into the description by noting grease marks of an unknown substance on Bill's shirt. I recalled that one of the hallmark of the killings was the use of lipstick. I wonder if we readers were meant to make this connection. Did it occur to you that he could have been murdered?

Also, what did you make of the way the New York City art scene was portrayed? Did you think the author was making an indictment of that culture?

Was the complex painting done by Bill described near the beginning of the novel a foreshadowing?

Did you see the friendship of the two men as symbiotic?

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Comments (3)

J C
17 years ago
Sorry I have taken so long to respond, but a couple of 12-hour workdays have come my way suddenly. I felt the author wanted us to wonder if he was killed and deliberately suggested foul play but didn't give us enough information to decide one way or the other. For some subliminal reason, I felt he was murdered.

I thought the NY art scene was dead on. A world where perception is the most important thing, even more important than human life.

Also, I thought the book was deep in foreshadowing, starting from the very beginning. I would have to read it again to pick up everything.

I couldn't say what the friendship was symbolic of - do you have any ideas?

One thing I was expecting, that didn't occur - I thought it would be revealed that Mark had something to do with Matt's death. I certainly expected him to be involved in the disappearance of the Swiss Army knife, although I thought it was a bit clumsily revealed. (I can forgive the author for this).

Ithought a lot about the fact that the author ended up basically alone, that all the other characters but one relatively minor one had moved on.

That's enough for now, I must go to work -
woodnymph2_gw
Original Author
17 years ago
I'm so glad you had the same interpretation that I did re Bill's death. I also thought foul play was deliberately hinted at, and assumed he was murdered. (But was an autopsy done?)

By symbiotic (not symbolic) I meant that I thought the 2 mean were parallels in many ways and had a mutually dependent relationship.

I felt sorry for the protagonist because he has lost everything at the end, even the woman he had loved and helped so much for so many years. Everyone he had cared deeply for had left him, in one way or another.

And the fact that he is blind at the end seems ironic-- he finally sees clearly what had happened so his eyes are opened in another sense.

Thanks for your opinions -- any other comments?
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J C
17 years ago
Of course - symbiotic - not like me make an error like that - especially because I think that was a major point in the book - the men made each other in many ways. Profesionally, socially, familially. It's hard to think of Bill doing some of the things he did without the support of the protagonist, vice versa.

I wonder if there is any real-life inspiration behind this novel?

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