March 2013

We were all over the map on this one, and it was great to have special guest commentator Kath join us. 


Michelle – found this a beautifully written, thought provoking book filled with amazing words and themes of love, loss, and identity. She liked the idea of it being written as an apology to his ex-wife Laura, and the fact that we never hear from her.  She empathized with Laura, but could see things from Eric’s point of view.  She didn't think Laura ever accepted Eric for who he was, false identity not withstanding. Although he wasn't a traditional parent and didn't always do the right thing (she described him as a desperate man) he had good intentions and loved Meadow. Michelle had a lot to say, including: you can’t run away from yourself, you think the intense love you have at the beginning of a marriage will never go away but it does, over 200,000 kids are abducted by their parents a year, 68% of the perps are male, the book has been published in 14 different languages, this publishing company only publishes twelve books a ye... ALRIGHT I'M CUTTING YOU OFF - Sandy.

Letitia – is irritated when a book starts out, “I’m writing from prison," because she thinks, okay something bad happened, what was it? She began to like the story once Eric finally kidnapped Meadow. She thought he was an annoying husband, but a fun dad. He seemed to be constantly talking and this might have been due to the fact that he grew up with so much silence, so he was trying avoid the nervousness that silence brought. No wonder he studied 'pauses'. Given this, she thought it was weird that he took a vow of silence at the end of the book.  He always seemed to make the worst possible choices. She was often frustrated by his decisions, especially when his parenting was being evaluated by the state. She was sad that he wouldn't see his wife and daughter again.  She would recommend.

Carolyn – wasn't exactly sure why Eric lost time with his daughter. She thought he was a good dad and didn't think he was having a mental breakdown, but that he simply made a lot of bad decisions and experienced a series of misunderstandings. He shouldn't have taken off with Meadow, but his back was against the wall. She thought prison was a very harsh punishment.  She found it very sad that Laura and Eric couldn't sit down and talk with one another. Towards the end of the book she realized that she hadn't taken any notes! She always takes notes. 

K’lynn  – reiterated her need to like and identify with characters in order to enjoy a book. Eric's perpetuating the lie that he began as a teen made him pathological and unlikable, therefore she didn't enjoy the book. She wanted him to get caught. She understood his desire, especially since he was an immigrant, to fit in. And as a teenager, one's desire to fit in is often stronger than the desire for truth. But as we mature, fitting in and the desire for truth should shift, and it didn't in his case. She found it unbelievable that his deception wasn't caught when he applied for a marriage license. She also commented on the odd coincidence of reading two novels in a row with Plattsburgh, NY as part of the setting. When she discovered she was done with 91% showing on her Kindle, she was relived.

Artie – related to Eric as a father and had a good feel for his character. Eric's year-long stint as a stay at home dad tugged at his heartstrings, and he could see how Eric would feel, but thought he made very bad decisions. He didn't question Eric's sanity until he attempted to put Meadow in the trunk of his car. This was painful, and he began to wonder if Eric was a good dad, or a mentally ill person trying to be a good dad.  Eric loved his kid, but couldn't align his decision-making ability with the goals he had for the relationship. The author portrayed the pain that a dad would go through in such a situation well. Rockefeller Suite (suit?) was mentioned several times, but I never clarified what the connection here was. 

Kath – felt a lot of sympathy for Eric, but found the story disjointed. She thought Eric's relationship with his own father might explain some of the poor choices he made. Was he pathological? Maybe. He believed his own lies but had good intentions. His repeated poor choices were frustrating, but the good writing brought it all together. Kath had a hard time bringing the last chapter into focus with the rest of the story. She felt pity more than sympathy for him and thought the story was told from an interesting perspective.

Sandy – thought he was nuts and didn’t like him. He was crazy the whole way through. He wasn't quirky, he was crazy. There's a difference. Sandy hates it when people use the phrase, 'I did the best I could' to describe handling difficult situations because it's a cop out. She didn't think he loved his daughter at all because he didn't pay any attention to her until she was a cute toddler, and he didn't share himself with either of them; they were only there for his entertainment.  She didn’t like the book, but couldn’t put it down. Then she clarified and said she didn’t hate book but really disliked Eric.

Maggie - wondered if she read the same book as the rest of us. She thought it a bland monotone filled with unbelievably depressing, unsympathetic, one-dimensional characters. When she read that Eric had escaped from East Germany she placed him as Asian in her mind. She wondered why this was, and Miles offered, 'His driving?'  She found Schroder self-absorbed and thought he was trying to replace the mother who had abandoned him. She didn’t think he loved his wife or daughter but loved the idea of being in love.  He was cruel to his father, narcissistic, psychologically devoid of real connections with people, and she thought he mentally disintegrated as the story unfolded. The escape from East Berlin was the most moving part. When she read the reviews, she wondered what she had missed. 

Pat -  I liked Eric's voice and thought it told the story of a parent who abducts his own child in a very believable way. I would recommend. I kept wondering if he was a good dad. To which I would have to answer no, not in the long term. It's not all about being your child's best friend, and I think ultimately he was more interested in that and having a good time with Meadow than being a good parent to her. I was surprised to find the author was a woman. 

Miles –wouldn't recommend to anyone. He qualified this by saying he has no parental perspective.  Like Maggie, he thought Eric's mother's abandonment of him had a profound influence on his ineptness as an adult, but Miles had no sympathy for him despite this. He was disappointed to hear only from Eric. He found Meadow to be the most fully developed, likable character. Despite the extensive travel, there was no sense of setting; everything just slowly bothered him. Even as a road trip book it failed in the areas of scenery, characters, and events. He thought the story had an interesting premise, but long before the end he was ready for Eric to go home and hand off the kid.

Becky-  thought it interesting that it was written as an apology, but it never came off that way to her. She too found Eric self-centered, narcissistic and given his ability to make one incredibly dumb decision after the other, a dumbass.  She too was reminded of a character named Rockefeller, but I don't know what book this was from. She was pained by Eric's blatant disrespect of his father and found him a very frustrating character. She rooted for Eric's ex-wife even through we really didn’t know her. He was terrible to his father,  and that's what stuck with her.

Author Amity Gaige on inspiration for Schroder

Next book is:  A Dry White Season by Andre Brink

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