Brett calls Jake back to where she's staying through a desperate sounding wire. Classic love yet completely abstract at the same time. Their relationship is so complicated throughout this story, but it's one of the most compelling parts of the novel. As they drove down the street on the last page, I had a flashback to the nights in Paris where they rode close together to no particular place. It made me wonder how many previous times they've been in and out of each other's lives due to Brett's jumping around. "We sat close against each other. I put my arm around her and she rested against me comfortably" (pg 251). Here we go with the "comfortable" talk: the fiesta is over so Brett goes back to her normal ways with Jake. Brett goes on to say, "'Oh Jake we could have had such a damned good time together.'" I found this almost hurtful because she's the one who's choosing not to be with him! She either means they'd have a good time married or could have had a good time during the fiesta. Either way, it's her careless nature coming into play!
I hope Jake and Brett worked out their complicated love. I hope they settled down somewhere or continued to be "expatriates" and traveled. Even after I've finished the book and understand it's FICTION, I keep wondering what became of them. I guess that's the beauty of literature: we can escape the daily confusion of our own lives and make up happy endings for someone else. (:
Tim O'Brien, here I come!
No comments:
Post a Comment