Michael Lampasona

I liked how the book ended on a good note, but still with some misery. Johnny Truant's story comes to an abrupt end, and the reader is left wondering whether it is a happy ending. Navidson and Karen finally get married, and even though they both have health issues, it seems like they are better off than in any other part of the story. I did not actually realize that Johnny's mother could be the author, however after reading the blog posts this does make sense, since Johnny's last passage in the novel involves the death of a newborn.

Overall, I liked the book. I did not like it at the beginning because I found some parts confusing. It was bothering me that I didn't know exactly how to interpret some of the footnotes and the ridiculously long lists that would be part of some chapters. Now I realize that these items were for effect, and do support the idea that Johnny's insane mother wrote the story. Anyway, I liked the book as it came to a close and I went from "having" to read the earlier chapters to "wanting" to read the later chapters. I would recommend this book to be taught in class because it was an interesting read and many parts of it can be analyzed and discussed during class in many different ways.

Discussion Questions:

1. Did Johnny's mother write the book?
2. Did going back to the house cause Karen's current condition?
3. What exactly is the house?