I See You Everywhere!!

Title of Post

A Deathly Battle: I See You Everywhere

Bibliographic Details

Title - I See You Everywhere

Author – Julia Glass

Date of Publication - October 14, 2008

Publisher - Pantheon; 1 edition

Summary

            In the bildungsroman, I See You Everywhere by Julia Glass, there are two main characters in this book: Louisa and Clement. In this novel Louisa and Clement switched on and off telling the story from each of their perspectives. From each other’s perspective they talk about memories that involved each other. The setting in the book begins with the death of Louisa’s aunt and how she owned a cameo that Louisa wishes to inherit before her sister Clement can. Louisa is a type of person that dreads, when it comes for a family reunion or gathering scheduled and everyone is supposed to arrive. She only went to get that cameo and for other jewelries that her aunt just for herself because it was what she wanted. Louisa would call her sister, even though they don’t see or talk to each other in person often, to tell her about her cancer she got, how her life is going, or even just about things that may be on her mind and would want to tell someone but to only be between the two of them.

            Clement is Louisa’s sister and is better with friends and things that involve socializing. Clement isn’t rude to Louisa; in fact she helps Louisa in any serious hardships. When they both were young, their mother loved working with animals and signed them up in a camp program that worked with saving or helping an animal in any possible way. Clement worked with saving endangered bears and when up to the Attic Circle to learn and observe whales. They are sisters that have a lot of differences but still make time to communicate. A bildungsroman means be coming of age and this book presents it by illustrating how these two different sisters come together in the end and realizes it is not all about them but about those who you care about.

Quotation

“Family reunions are the worst – all that competition disguised as fellowship – and they’re also the hardest to avoid (Glass 1).”

Quotation Context

            This quote was presented in the very beginning of the book. It was during the time when Louisa was informed about her Great Aunt Lucy’s death. I thought this was to hint to the reader what the bildungsroman was going to be about. Since Louisa does not like family reunions, throughout the book that should of changed at least slightly and it did. Later on when she goes to meet her family she tries to impress those around her and would compete against her sister even though Clement was the favorite child. In the end Clement kills herself making Louisa realize that she had cherish every moment with her without knowing it until it was too late to enjoy it.

Her Last Death: A Memoir Reflection

Title of Post

Her Last Death: A Memoir

Bibliographic Details

Title - Her Last Death: A Memoir

Author - Susanna Sonnenberg

Date of Publication – January 1, 2008

Publisher – Scribner; 1^st Scribner Hardcover Ed edition

Summary

            In the biography, Her Last Death: A Memoir by Susanna Sonnenberg, Susy is known as the main character, Penelope as her sister, and Daphne as her mother. The setting in the beginning of the book starts off when Susy is all grown-up, who is married and have two sons. In the very first paragraph, Susy got a phone call from her Aunt Irene telling her that her mother, Daphne might not live and actually die this time from previous lies she had told her daughters. The beginning of the novel shows the ending of the story a little bit and then after chapter one, the story starts off when she was three years old. In other words, this book has a flashback. Susy’s parents are divorced and when Susy was a little child she would take care of Penelope as if she was the mother of her and while their real biological mother went out on dates, got drunk late at nights and had seizures.

            Throughout the book, Susy moves out of the house and started to stay in dorms at the schools she attended because she couldn’t stand being around her mother for certain reasons. Some of those reasons are because of her mother slept with the boys she liked, ruining Susy and her relationships with her friends, and couldn’t act properly and professionally around Susy and her boyfriend when out at dinner. Daphne would always leave her visit ruining Susy’s feelings and something that Susy cared about a lot. After her mother’s death, Penelope would not talk to Susy because she couldn’t even go to her own mother’s funeral even though they didn’t have a good mother-to-daughter relationship. In the end Susy had drifted away from her mother throughout her lifetime and felt happy about it after her mother’s death.

Quotation

“At home I guided my sister from toothbrush to hairbrush, tugged her tights on, scheduled our dental checkups, thawed peas, scrambled eggs (Sonnenberg 97).”

Quotation Context

            Before this quote is read in this biography, Susy’s mother had many seizures and “spasms” due to her health issue. Since Daphne is all focused and busy with her health issues and trying not to be addicted to drugs, Susy was the one that had to keep things right inside the house as in taking care of both her mother and her little sister. I thought that this was a good quote in the book because it shows that even little kids can be responsible from taking care of herself and her little sister to making sure there is food on the table at meals times and in the fridge.