Part Five Discussion
- On page 281-282, Jack talks about layers. There seem to be many layers in this book: there are worlds within worlds, stories inside of stories, the past trapped in the present, and monsters inside of people. What examples of these layers can you identify?
- In the beginning of the book, Jack mentions that the things that happen turn him into a monster. In fact, the only people Jack finds in Marbury that he knows from this world are monsters. Do you think Jack became monster by the end of the story?
- On page 284, Conner tells Jack that he never saw Henry at the pub that night Jack snuck out, yet Conner can see Marbury through the lens. What do you make of this?
- Nickie has The Wooden Horse! Do you think Seth intended the wooden horse to be a message? What’s it’s significance?
- Jack endures so many profoundly powerful events through the course of the novel. How does he change by the novel’s end? How does Jack mature over the course of the story?
- And of course, my final questions is: would you visit Marbury?
King of Marbuy is a short story that was released by Tor. It’s from Conner’s perspective right after The Marbury Lens. It was wacky and I’m still not sure what I thought about it. I will review it next Saturday. You can read it here for free or download it for $.99 to read on your Kindle. Passenger was released on 10/2. I still don’t have my copy from Amazon – those asshats! Of course, I am dying to devour it!
Schedule
Please feel free to visit past discussions and continue on!
- 9/8: Part One: The Amethyst Hour, Chapters 1-17
- 9/15: Part Two: The Strange Boys, Chapters 18-30
- 9/22: Part Three: Blackpool, Chapters 21-42
- 9/29: Part Four: The Marbury Lens, Chapters 43-48
- 10/6: Part Five: Seth, Chapters 49-59
THANK YOU FOR THE WILD RIDE!
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The layers have me pulling my hair out!!! Henry not being there, but Connor seeing throughthe lens makes me crazy. I think whatever is going on with Jack may be improving. His ability to not give into his urge everytime he gets the itch to go and being able to be friends with Connor in Marbury has to mark some kind of positive change.
Seth’s story was my favorite, but I still haven’t pieced together the connection other than being related.
I never felt like he was a monster. But I think Nikkie telling him to deal with the angry, scared boy and him crying may have led to that break through.
So does the horse mark Nikkie as the one? But will their story be equally beautiful and tragic?
Layers… yep, there were layers but I don’t know if I can even begin to intelligently tell you what they were. Everything was so interwoven by the end I’m still reeling. Wow!
As for Jack being evil, I never saw that. He thought he was evil, but he was judging himself harshly. I think he was still recovering from the kidnapping and as some victims do, blamed himself for the outcome. He was recovering by the end, but by a thread.
It seemed to me like Jack handled his existence in Marbury a lot better than Conner did. Not that Jack didn’t freak out at first, but he just kind of went with it. Conner came close to freaking out. Maybe that was because Conner was evil to begin with in Marbury but was transformed. Yet, just like the rest of the book, who knows.
I have no doubt that the horse was a message. It may have been to Jack. To let him know that he approved of his choice or it may have been to Nickie as a thank you for believing and trying to help Jack. I don’t know if Seth will ever be around again. His story is obviously over, but I think he might have been my favorite character.
By the end it seemed that Jack and Conner’s roles had reversed. Conner’s acceptance of Marbury being real gave him a whole new perspective and where Conner always seemed to be more in control, suddenly Jack was in the driver seat. That in itself showed growth.
And I think I can honestly say that a trip to Marbury would not be in my future. Yikes!
Those are all really hard questions and I’m not sure I can answer any of them. I tend to be a what you see is what you get kind of reader so I have trouble reading into what things might mean or symbolize. I just find it tedious. Maybe that makes me a bad reader. Anyway, I did enjoy all the layers. The stories within stories and all the connections. I don’t think Jack has become a monster. i think Marbury has certainly changed him, but once he and Connor became friends there I felt a little more optimistic. The horse worries me. Things didn’t go well for Seth and Hannah and I hope that they go better for Jack and Nikki. In the end, it blew my mind and I’m glad I read it. It’s not my usual kind of book and it’s nice to branch out sometimes.
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