Mike has driven past to the little town on the coast that he visited with Miranda and where he thought he saw Anna. Because it's the very early morning, he doesn't go to Anna's house just yet. Instead he flashes back to his past again. Chris was scared of what he was doing. The new group he was part of was planning an assasssination and Chris wasn't comfortable with that. He took the money that was supposed to be used to get more weapons and ran away with it. Before he did though, Chris stopped to talk with Miles. "And then I told him. The names of the members of our group. The addresses of our safe houses. I gave him what details I had of the next action. I told him where to find our cache of arms" (Kunzru 255). After spilling his secret, which he knew Miles would share with the government, Chris took off and became Mike Framer. He traveled all around Europe and found out through the papers that Sean was dead and the rest of his group was arrested. Anna was the only one who got away, but she was later found killed at a protest.
Back in the present, Mike is being hounded by Miles. Pat Ellis refused to oblige to Miles' demands and instead spilled what she knew about Mike. Miles tells Mike that if he would just do one interview about his true past, then he could smuggle him out of the country to start over. Mike wasn't sure what he wanted to do. He finally knocked on Anna's door and found out that it really wasn't Anna, that she'd been dead this whole time. Right then he knew he wanted to come clean, and not just to the interviewer, but to Miranda too. "Miranda picks up on the third ring. It's me. Oh, God. MIke?Where are you? Chris, I tell her. My name's Chris" (Kunzru 277). THe sotry ends there, with Mike telling Miranda about his past.
7 comments:
It seems like your book has a similar theme that of In the Time of The Butterflies, in that when you experience something traumatic it is very hard to overcome it. But even harder to go back and think about it or tell the story to others. When you are finally able to do this, I believe you are further on your way to accepting what happened. You are ready to make sure that what happened to you or those around you doesn't happen to anyone else.
Whoa. I would enjoy reading this book, it sounds so interesting! I like how he felt indecision about his past not really knowing if he wanted to move on from it. THis really was the tiping point for if he was going to live in the past for the rest of his life or if he was going to move on and have a new life. I like that he came clean to Miranda in the end and I think that was his moment of acceptance, realizing it really happend to him and protecting others from it.
I completely agree, Callan. Similar to how Dede had a difficult time telling the interviewer about her and her sisters' pasts, Mike, or Chris has a tough time facing his past as well. This book intrigues me and it seems that the overall messages of this novel are very intense and interesting as well.
I'm glad that Mike/Chris finally turned in the assasination group to the government. It seemed like the right thing to do, even though he had to change his name to Mike and basically start over his life. I'm also glad that he came clean to Miranda, and like how that was the ending of the book. Great Job!
This book seems to tie up its loose ends fairly well. The Mike/Chris does what he believes is right and opens up to Miranda. Most of the characters seem to get some kind of closure at the end of the book, which I always think makes a great ending, though sometimes unresolved endings can be just as, if not more, thought inducing. Great job! All it needs now is a little bit of polishing.
I really appreciate Chris/Mike's strength in standing up to the group and not allowing the assasination. However, telling Miles about the group brings up the question of whistleblower or snitch. Chris is a whistleblower in that he is saving a life, but he is also ratting on people who are probably his friends and entrusted him with a big secret. I think Chris could have possibly told Miles that there was going to be an attempted assasination and. He also shouldn't have taken the group's money and run away with it. Even though the money was intended to go towards bad things, he is still stealing. He could have turned the money in to the police or something. One could justify both that Chris is a whistleblower or a snitch, but I suppose it depends on your opinion. I think Chris was a bit of both.
I disagree with all who would say that Chris/Mike selling out his group took strength. It was an act of selfish fear. These were people who he had grown with and bonded with, and because of him these people were either dead or in prison.
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