How I Live Now

How I Live Now

There were a couple things I struggled with reading this book. Certain things did not seem believable to me - for example, the way the children lived on a regular basis (before the war and initially after it began) seemed very false/odd. I couldn’t buy into it - not sure why but I struggled. It just seemed like someone would have been very bothered that children were living on their own and want to intervene somehow. Also, the swiftness of Daisy’s retrieval after the phone call seemed unbelievable. Here her father is, several thousands of miles away, and even if he had people there working for him, it would take a bit longer to get to Daisy and she could have fled by then. Plus - it was so sudden, so abrupt, and without the slightest warning Daisy and the readers were torn away from that life then and thrown into her other life in the States - and neither Daisy, nor myself as the reader, wanted to be there. I hated that part and because of that I had a hard time accepting that scene as believable. At the same time - I had no problem with the idea that Edmund could read minds, that the two of them communicated while apart, and that all the cousins had some “special” skills. Not sure if it is the author’s style, lack of details, or what that leads me to buy into the nearly impossible and question the quite probable.
Another area I had issues with was the relationship between Daisy and Edmund. Perhaps it is that our time period and culture (in most areas in the US) are not in favor of cousins becoming romantic. More than likely it is because I have grown up with over 30 cousins and have NEVER thought of any of them in a way other than family. I realize she had not grown up with them and they were all strangers until they met - but still - they are cousins and I struggle with that. Also, their ages at the onset of their relationship seems way too young for such a relationship to develop. I am quite aware that kids are physical at younger and younger ages, but this just threw me for a loop. If it was just their ages I may not have rejected their relationship like I did - but when you combine their age with the fact they are cousins...couldn’t get past it. On one level I liked them and very much wanted them both to live and be happy; on the other hand I kept waiting for one or both of them to acknowledge their wrong doings and feel guilt or regret.
When I read the last page, the last line, I found myself thinking, “That’s it?” I put the book down and just thought for a bit. The last line is the title - which is a perfectly wonderful title for the book and life; still, I wanted answers. I wanted to know what was really wrong with Edmund? What happened next? Why didn’t she come back sooner? Contact him/them in some way? Why did the author write this? What was the intent? Is there some bigger message here I am totally missing? How would my students react to this? Would the details of the war be too much for them? Why doesn’t that bother me more? Is anyone else bothered by their relationship? Am I a huge prude that their age shocks me?
The more questions I asked, the more I respected the book. I wasn’t asking the questions because it was poorly written, I was asking the questions because it made me think about a lot - I thought about the story, the author, myself and I am still thinking. I guess that impresses me. Like The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, this books leaves many loose ends, many things to consider about others and yourself. For that, I have to admit, I liked reading this book and think it would spark a number of conversations on a variety of topics.