Poor Bill. I saw it coming. A reclusive writer somehow foreshadows his own death. I feel sorry for him, but I guess it was time: he didn't really have anything to lose, and plus, he hadn't published anything for a while.
I still don't understand Karen. Now that the intro makes sense and really did happen, I find that Karen doesn't take it that seriously. She got married to a man she just met who, after the marriage, became a missionary to England. It's interesting because Karen told Brita that she loves her husband, and yet this "love" is not loyal. I wonder if her commitment to the church is very important to her. She tells Brita, "'...I think about Kim too. He was husband-for-eternity'" (DeLillo 183). And her explanation for committing to the whole Moonie tradition was because she liked the idea: "I thought I honestly loved him even before he finished rising to his full height. I thought how great he's Korean because many Koreans have been church members for a long time and this would give us a deeper foundation to build on. And I liked the darkness and sleekness of his hair'" (DeLillo 183) and "'I thought it was perfectly lovely. I stood up when my name was called. I went to the front of this ballroom-type place. Master was way over at the other end of the stage with many people standing between us, officials and members of the blessing committee and so forth. So then he just pointed to a man in the audience'" (DeLillo 182). I thought, I thought. I don't really like this side of Karen.
However, the side I did like was when she encountered Omar and explored the life of what it looked to be, to me, a park where homeless people, crazy people hang out. She seemed to enjoy the "crowd" in the park or whatever place it was. It was hard to follow but the idea of Karen hanging out with a fourteen year old boy in a place like that was interesting.
Lastly, one final scene on page 205 that I really liked and made me laugh because it depicts Bill so well:
"'I wonder,' [Bill] said, 'if you might oblige a writer by answering a question or two.'
'A writer,' the woman said to the others.
'Would we have heard of you?' the bearded vet said with a trace of skepticism in his voice.
'No, no. I'm not that kind of writer.'" (DeLillo)
Of course. Bill is...a writer that no one hears about. I love that.
Mariana, I competely agree with you and the fact that Bill's death was bound to happen especially since he kept foreseeing it. I know when I read most books and someone dies I am sad because it feels like you have built a relationship with that character. However, with Bill I did not feel any remorse and I actually wanted him to die because I didn't really care for his character. I'm not sure if that was purposeful on the author's part or if I am just a cynical person. Either way I shed no tears saying good-bye to Bill.
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