Light on Snow discussion

[Karen]

Yeah, it could have had a more solid ending, it felt like one of those movies that ends with "Sequel Alert!" especially with her dad and the woman he helps with her stuck car, etc. It was kinda like "Where'd THAT come from?" and why do we get to know about that, but not about what is going on in the narrator's life now?

As for her age, page 4, third paragraph begins

"I am twelve on this mid-December afternoon (though I am thirty now),"

I did like the book, but still have my objections. But that's okay, I don;t have to love EVERY book I read, and it makes it more fun to discuss things when we all come at it with our own likes and dislikes.

Speaking of which ...

By the end, did you like or dislike

Nicky
Charlotte
Robert (Nicky's Dad)
Detective Warren

And why?

Discuss ...

[CagneyDog]

As for her age, page 4, third paragraph begins

"I am twelve on this mid-December afternoon (though I am thirty now),"

--
Nicky- I loved Nicky. I thought she was a really strong character. I think she had charater in the book, which made it really interesting.

Charlotte-I liked Charlotte from the moment she showed up at the door . I’m not sure why I felt so attached to her, I guess it was because she was so vulnerable and down, and I felt bad for her.

Robert (Nicky's Dad)I didn’t really like Robert from the beginning. I didn’t like how he handled things. I thought that he wasn’t a very interesting character in the story. He was dull.

[caseysmom]

I loved Nicky the best. I thought Robert was very selfish and couldn't really relate to him. I know he lost his wife and child and I should give him a break.

I liked the larger print on the book for my 40+ eyes too. It was a quick entertaining read.

[Nomilynn]

I think the ending was exactly right for that book. We aren't supposed to know what happened because it doesn't really matter.. for whatever reason that part of Nicky's life matters at the time the book is written and I think if we knew what happened beyond that it would change the way we felt about the entire situation. Imagine how different you would feel if you knew the baby got back to Charlotte.. would you hate her? Love her more? I think it's a good ending because it leaves you asking the same questions that Nicky has to ask herself at the end of the book.

[finn's mom]

By the end, did you like or dislike

Nicky
Charlotte
Robert (Nicky's Dad)
Detective Warren

And why?

Nicky - for some reason, she mostly bothered me. I couldn't place my finger on it while I was reading it, and, I can't, now. Maybe bratty? I don't know.

Charlotte - didn't really feel much either way towards her

Robert - I liked him. He was the only character that I actually felt anything distinct for. I felt he was troubled, but, strong and was going through his fight the only way he knew how. He dealt with his grief, even if it was in a jacked up way...and, by the end of the book, it seems as though he'd finally come through it.

Detective Warren - basically indifferent to him...I thought he was doing his job...and, I liked how he showed a thoughtful side at the end by going to see Baby Doris's new home.

[finn's mom]

I think it's a good ending because it leaves you asking the same questions that Nicky has to ask herself at the end of the book.

I pretty much agree with you. I thought it was appropriate, and, I don't know that I would want to know a whole lot more about what happened.

[finn's mom]

4. A great deal about Robert Dillon's pre–New Hampshire life as a successful architect in New York City is revealed when his former colleagues visit his new home. Discuss the distinctions that the author draws between the Dillons' past and their present life.

5. Several scenes in the novel are focused on the preparation and consumption of food. Discuss the significance of these meals to the story.

6. How does Charlotte's arrival affect Robert and Nicky's interaction with the rest of the world?

7. After meeting Charlotte, Nicky's father struggles with the decision of whether or not to turn her in. Does he make a good choice in the end? Why?

I can't give my answers right now, but, I will later! Thanks for participating you guys!

[caseysmom]

I don't know the signifigance of the food but it always made me hungry

[finn's mom]

4. A great deal about Robert Dillon's pre–New Hampshire life as a successful architect in New York City is revealed when his former colleagues visit his new home. Discuss the distinctions that the author draws between the Dillons' past and their present life.

I honestly don't remember much about that...just that they were wealthy and were socially active...had a lot of material things, if I remember correctly.


5. Several scenes in the novel are focused on the preparation and consumption of food. Discuss the significance of these meals to the story.

The only thing I can say about the food in the book is that at first, they just eat in the den or living room, then, with Charlotte, they eat again the kitchen, like they used to when the mother and sister were alive.

6. How does Charlotte's arrival affect Robert and Nicky's interaction with the rest of the world?

They seem to be even less interactive, because they don't want anyone to know that she's there...


7. After meeting Charlotte, Nicky's father struggles with the decision of whether or not to turn her in. Does he make a good choice in the end? Why?

I think he does. I think it doesn't necessarily show Nicky that he's breaking the law, so much as he's being compassionate towards another human being, and, I think that's something she needed to see in him.

Sorry my answers aren't that in detail...I wish I hadn't read the book so quickly! That's why November will be broken down!

[finn's mom]

8. Nicky's argument with her father after Charlotte leaves becomes a turning point in the novel. What does Nicky discover about herself in this passage? What does she learn about her father?

Nicky discovers a strength she didn't know she had. She's able to finally stand up to her father and tell him how she feels. She's grown up a lot, and, he realizes it, too. She learns that her father is not as cold and unfeeling as she'd thought, and, that he had been grieving. She realizes that he's not as strong as he seemed.

9. When Nicky overhears Charlotte's confession, she notes, "I want to believe that my father and I were meant to stumble across Baby Doris and give her a chance at life. But I'm not sure. I think about accidents and intersecting footsteps" (page 240). What does she mean by this observation? What role does fate or chance play in Light on Snow? Offer some examples.

I don't remember too many examples, really...but, I think she's just referring to the cliche "things happen for a reason." Just that they lost their family members, moved up to the north, and took that walk that day so that they could save that baby in the woods. But, then again, she's not sure if maybe all this was just chance, and, it was pure luck and coincidence that they found the newborn. I guess some examples of it are just the fact that they're taking the walk in the first place...that Charlotte and her boyfriend ended up in that hotel, in the middle of nowhere. That the detective was in the convenience store just as Nicky was buying the tampons. Hmmm...that's all I can think of right now.


10. The morning after the snowstorm, Nicky and Charlotte move a table into the kitchen. What does this action suggest? What exactly has changed?

This suggests that they both feel more comfortable now in this house, and, it's time that the house become more of a home. It changes the feeling in the kitchen, suggesting that it's time to move on.

[finn's mom]

bumping this up

[finn's mom]

bumping back up before I go to bed...

[lady_zana]

Speaking of which ...

By the end, did you like or dislike

Nicky
Charlotte
Robert (Nicky's Dad)
Detective Warren

And why?

Discuss ...

Nicky - I really didn't care for Nicky. She seemed....immature to me. However, I think this could be for two reasons. 1) I'm not a 'kid' person; I simply don't deal well with younger children. 2) I write for young adults so I read lots of YA books. When occassionally the protagonist is as young as Nicky, most of the time, YA portray them as being very mature since most kids at that age want to feel they are very grown up.

Charlotte - I didn't like Charlotte but I liked the author's portrayal of Charlotte. I'm twenty-three and that doesn't seem like much older than nineteen but I know I have a friend who is only nineteen going through some of the problems I did when I was his age and wow! - I feel so much older than him! I think at nineteen, you're pretty naive about the world - just out in the job force for the first time or in college. I'm alot more mature now that I've just graduated college than when I went in. I think the author's portrayal of Charlotte was pretty close to on the mark and I came away liking the character for that.

Robert - I feel the same way about Robert as Charlotte though I actual did like him a little better than her. I think Robert started out truly mourning for his wife but I got the feeling that by the time we met him, he was more simply feeling sorry for himself. There must be no pain like the pain of losing a wife and a daughter at the same time but Robert lost sight of fact that he had things to live for like Nicky.

I'll have to come back and talk about the Detective Warren and answer the other questions a little later as right now a vicious orange Weezie-monster is destroying the countryside since I'm not paying enough attention to her. (Okay, maybe not countryside but at least everything on my computer table. )

[Oggyflute]

Whilst reading the book I was quite captivated with the characters portrayed. The author had good prose and character definition. I felt that the story could have gone a lot further than the examination, of a girls younger life and relationship with her father. I would have liked to see how as a woman, the events had shaped her life in her decisions around a current situation that she was in. The book felt more like background, going on to a bigger involved plot.
I feel the author is selling herself short and should in fact be writing a more involved book plot wise, as she does have the talent to write a terrific novel if she ever get's the chance to do so. To me it simply felt that the book was about 30 chapters short. A nice easy read though I guess.

[finn's mom]

11. "I know, as one does at twelve or eleven or ten, that I have witnessed something I shouldn't have witnessed, seen something I shouldn't have seen" (page 198). What has Nicky witnessed in this passage and how does what she has seen affect her?

12. Discuss the relationship between Nicky and Charlotte. How does each influence the other?

13. Do you think Charlotte's behavior with respect to her newborn child is justified? Do you think she takes appropriate responsibility for her actions in the end?

14. Although the novel's action takes place when Nicky is twelve years old, she is thirty when she recounts it. Why do you think the author has chosen to have a grown-up Nicky tell the story?