Lowry brings her Giver quartet to its conclusion in Son, the story of Claire, Gabe's mother. (If you remember, Gabe is the baby with whom Jonas b escapes in The Giver.) Personally, I found the beginning to be the most interesting part. I just like it when everyone is on "the compound" as I call it (but since there is never rain, it isn't a natural place and I'm not sure what word I should be using). Very Handmaid's Tale. I'm not going to give you a synopsis here, just being the conclusion to The Giver really should be enough to recommend it (and I do!), but I found this New York Times book review podcast interview with Lois Lowry to be particularly enlightening. (she is the first interview on the podcast so, mercifully, you don't have to ff)
Apparently, Lowry's adult son died when training for the military in a routine exercise, due to a mechanic's error. Not in the line of duty. The case was brought to trial in Germany and Lowry was called to testify but refused. On the first day of trial, the accused shot himself in the head. As evidenced by this man's suicide, the accident had more than the direct victims. The ramifications of this error are manifold, and tragic. Lowry saw no good coming out of her testifying.
"I cannot kill someone, he thought."
In the above podcast, the interviewer makes a parallel between Lowry's personal passivity (as in, non-violence, not as in "no-action") and her characters'. Indeed, with its Faustian quid pro quo element, Lowry drives home the message that without something to feed on, evil dies. Love is more powerful than hate. Mercy, more powerful than revenge.
I suppose that to some extent, Lowry's personal views are reflected through her novels, and aren't most authors? I know that for me, listening to the interview added yet another layer to this quartet that has forever colored the way I view young adult literature.
And the ending? THE END says it all. Is it just me, or has the finality of an ending become pass?
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