~Unfaithful~

I don't know if he could ever be "humanized" with the brutal way that he killed Susie...

keep the starlight

^ Agreed. I don't think she was necessarily trying to humanize him, but maybe just not make him a character with no layers to be seen, you know? I think those are two different things. Nothing was going to excuse what he did to Susie, IMO. Maybe she just felt compelled to get inside his mind a bit.

Gabriela

I agree that she may just be trying to give the character more depth, but I think it's interesting that she does this by showing the specific memories from his childhood that she does. It's like she wants us to get to know this character that really feels quite detached from the reality in the book. He lives in a house that really doesn't have much in it apart from his doll houses and the items he has taken from his victims.

On another note, I was wondering who everyone's favorite character(s) is/are. I really like Hal even though he seems kind of like the odd character out in that he doesn't really fit into the Salmon family (like Samuel does b/c of Lindsey or the grandmother) but he's present and connects with Bucky

keep the starlight

My favorite character is Susie. I feel like so much rests on connecting with that character, especially being the book is from her POV. Outside of her, I really enjoyed Lindsey, Buckley, and Jack.

xxstACEyxx

I think my favorite character will have to be Lindsey, Jack and Buckley too

I also liked the Ruth/Ray duo. I was completely excited when they were near the sinkhole and was positive that they were going to find her body...but they didn't I always though if they found her body, it would be easier for them to move on, than to know that she's lost forever, and it makes her death even more unbearable to her loved ones.

I have a question:
Why do you think Susie used Ruth's body to have sex with Ray, when she could have used that small amount of time to show everyone where her bones were, and somehow bring peace?

~Unfaithful~

Because she wanted to experience that feeling of love and being loved that way, to erase the feeling of rape?

keep the starlight

^ I agree. I've read some reviews that criticized that decision by the character, but I feel like it was such a human reaction, you know? Maybe she wanted to connect to another person in that way, in a way she would've never known otherwise.

One of my absolute favorite lines in the book is, "In the walls of my sex there was horror and blood, in the walls of hers there were windows." I think, in the moment, Susie wanted that experience, that freedom, because so much was taken from her. She had been robbed of that opportunity and countless others.

I do understand why some feel that way, though, I just personally didn't have a problem with it.

Gabriela

It was frustrating to me when Susie used Ruth's body to have sex instead of doing things like giving messages to her family or leading Ray to her bones, etc, but I agree that sex/making love is to Susie the ultimate act of love, and she wanted to experience that as she never did while alive, and the rape kind of destroyed that for her while she was alive.

I also think just logistically it wouldn't have worked b/c had Susie led Ray to her bones and had he shown the police or the family, so many questions would have been raised within the narrative as far as the police, how he knew they were there, etc. I think it would have taken a lot to resolve that within the story itself b/c even though perhaps susie's family would have believed Ray, the police would not have accepted the answer that Susie had led Ray there, and then there would have been a whole storyline involving clearing Ray of suspicion again and then getting back on the track of Mr. Harvey and whether he actually was the killer, etc.

CityGal

I read this one, and it really bothered me. I couldn't even keep the book in the house and donated it to the library - immediately!

Stay to the Lights

Oh wow. What bothered you about it?

CityGal

The subject matter describing how she was murdered and dismembered....it creeped me out.

Stay to the Lights

That was creepy! I was disturbed by it when I read it, and he was never caught! At least I don't think so..

CityGal

No he wasn't, but met his demise by novel's end. The imagery of the girl disturbed me too much.

Stay to the Lights

You mean when she was killed? That imagery?

LilMouse

I found this thread and thought we could talk about Emma either here OR I can start a brand new thread.