books 2006: Silver On The Tree, by Susan Cooper

[supercheesegirl]

This book makes me so sad. On one hand, it has a lot of my very favorite moments in the whole series: the Lady appearing to Jane, for instance. I love the entire Lost Land section so much. I love retrieving the Signs from the spell that hid them. Just little things. But I don't like the ending. Why must Bran choose right now whether he wants to give up his life on earth and go with Arthur or whether to forget everything and just be normal? Why does this choice seemingly negate his heritage and his actions in service of the Light? Because when he chooses to stay behind, Merriman says that he's giving up all chance of joining Arthur outside Time. Why does that have to be? Why can't he live out his normal life and then be rewarded with going to join Arthur after his death? I mean, in LotR, Sam got to live out his life and marry and have children, and then sail to the country beyond the sea as the last Ringbearer. There's fantastical precedent. Same with the Drews, they've done all this questing in service of the Light and now they not only don't get to remember it but don't get rewarded either (I know the point isn't the reward, it's doing it because it's right, but still). There are other "normal" people on the boat with Arthur, people who were great leaders. Why don't our kids rank up there with what they've done to stop the Dark in its last big rising? And what's Will supposed to do with himself for the next few eons? I understand he's the last Old One to be born and it's his world now, but he's the only one left. Will he live out a natural life span and then stop, or does he have to go all the ages of the world trying to support the goodness of humanity all by himself? I feel very dumb for getting upset about this, but I feel like a lot is left unanswered here.

Comments

[amedia.livejournal.com]

I feel very dumb for getting upset about this,

No - I don't think it's a sign of dumbness, but a sign of how well the author created engaging characters that the reader truly cares about, and also a sign of how awkwardly the author ended their stories. I remember being frustrated, too. And I think the Sam analogy is very a propos.

[supercheesegirl.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I'm glad you agree with me.

I thought the Sam analogy worked well too. The end of an age doesn't have to mean there's one day when it's one age and the next day it's another age--people live through things and there shouldn't be a cutoff date for heroism. Apparently there's still a living Civil War widow--her husband enlisted at a very young age, and she married him when she was 19 and he was 81, and she's still alive--so in a sense that era still isn't over, you know?