Part 2
The second part of this novel was definitely a lot more revealing. We found out important information about the characters and their history, so let me get into it.
Michel comes to the restaurant that his two parents are located at and gets his phone from his father, Paul. As I said, this section of the novel is revealing towards the personalities of the novel. Paul says, “I was hoping, in fact, that it would blow over, that with the passing of time the interest would fade, that people would be occupied by other, newer news, and that the exploding jerrycan would be erased from their memory. A war needed to break out somewhere; a terrorist attack might be even better, plenty of fatalities, lots of civilian casualties over whom people could shake their heads in dismay.”() This was extremely revealing to me because of what Paul says. He basically mentions that he would rather many people die or for something extremely terrible to happen to the world so that he could keep his son’s secret safe. This shows how selfish, and potentially mentally unstable Paul is. In the first section of the novel, I was convinced that Serge was the worse brother out of the two, however at this point, my opinion drastically changed.
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Something important we discovered in this section is that Beau, (Serge and Babette’s adopted son) is the person who had uploaded the videos of the murder online. I thought this was pretty shocking. Beau had been blackmailing the two boys, saying that if they did not give him 3000 dollars, that he would post the full videos, which would reveal their identities. I found it extremely weird that his reaction to finding out his brother and cousin murdered someone, was to blackmail them to get money for a scooter ??? This part of the novel reminded me of a time when someone I know found out something very bad that should have been reported to authorities, but instead the person took the opportunity to blackmail the person involved for money instead of doing the right thing. It is crazy to see how people react in a situation, and how greedy people can become when they want something.
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This section of the novel also has many flashbacks. The flashbacks are a series of events in Paul’s life, mostly about his violent thoughts and anger issues. He recalls one memory of himself having to meet with the principal of the school he taught at, because of the way the way that Paul had talked to a female student. “‘She came in here crying, Paul.’ ‘I’d cry too if I turned in garbage like that.’” He does not think what he did was wrong in anyway.. Which reminds me of Michel, since he seems to have no remorse for his actions either. Instead of reflecting on his actions, he considers assaulting him, he had a plan drawn out and everything, he wanted to kill the principal for calling him out on his negative actions.. “I could beat him to death. With my bare fists. It would be a dirty job, admittedly, but no dirtier than field- dressing a wild animal. […] He had a wife at home, I knew that, and some older children. Who knows, maybe I would be doing them a service.” He has no remorse for any of his actions, in my opinion he is one of the most messed up character I have ever seen in any novel I've read. So now it’s clear that mental illness runs in the family.
After this had all occurred, I was anticipating the moment we found out what type of illness Paul had, since it is clear it is something serious. Would the illness explain why Michel and maybe even Rick’s reasons for doing this? Paul is suggested by his principal to see a psychiatrist, and to take time off of work, which he does reluctantly. The psychiatrist reveals some not so surprising information, "a German sounding name. It was the surname of the neurologist who'd had this particular disorder named after him" (185) This is Paul’s explanation of the severe mental illness that he is diagnosed with (That is hereditary!!)
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The final storyline I found important in this section of the novel, is Claire’s illness. The readers do not find out the name of the illness she has, however it is not a mental illness like her husband, but a psychical illness that lands her in the hospital and having to have many surgeries. These events occurred in the past, near the time that Paul and Claire were discussing the possibility of having more children, the question is, why does Paul want more kids so bad when he knows about his hereditary illness and how his child is already mentally unstable. We also finally get to look back at the previous history of Paul and Serge’s relationship!! While Claire is in the hospital, Babette and Serge come over to Paul’s house to look after Michel, this ends with Paul lashing out at his brother and almost killing him. These events could have caused Michel to be the way he is. Every child’s parents actions reflect who they become, in my opinion.
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We also know now that Claire has been covering for Michel, and has known since the beginning about this event. I have many questions after this section, such as What illnesses do Claire and Paul have? Why have they not been revealed yet? What will the shocking twist be at the end of the novel? This book is probably one of the most interesting books I have ever read, and I am really looking forward to finding out all the truths that are soon to come.
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The Real Man Behind the Success of the Ice Bucket Challenge. (n.d.). Retrieved May 14, 2017, from https://www.selfishgiving.com/blog/real-man-behind-success-ice-bucket-challenge
WHI | Get lost in what you love. "Spencer Hasting | pretty little liars, troian bellisario and spencer hastings." We Heart It. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2017. From http://weheartit.com/entry/127761042
A. (n.d.). Psychiatrist Jobs. Retrieved May 14, 2017, from https://www.mommd.com/psychiatry-jobs.shtml
