Natalya Gornopolskaya

These last few chapters are very elusive and vague in terms of bringing a true ending to the story. It starts off with a very long and detailed series of journal entries by Johnny Truant. They contain an entire years worth of events involving some outrageous and questionable facts. The journal entries are written out of chronological order, and are somewhat misleading. Lude has died as a result of his deadly encounter with Gdansk man, along with the help of a few too many painkillers. It appears as though Johnny has somehow managed to avenge his friend Lude by savagely attacking and murdering the Gdansk man and Kyrie. Johnny now travels all over the country, seemingly following a trail that will lead him to discovering the mysteries behind the house on Ash Tree Lane. However, finding the path he seeks out is meaningless; he simply wishes to find his mother. Johnny reveals to us how he got the scars on his arms; it was at the hands of his mother. She accidentally spilled sizzling cooking oil on his forearms when he was very young, marking him for life. Johnny remembers her and how he last saw her at the age of seven, when she was taken away to a mental institution. These entries close on an eerie story of a baby born with holes in his brain. The child is badly brain damaged and needs machines in order to stay alive. His mother stays with him, taking care of him for four days straight. She then decides it is time to unplug the machines, and her child dies. At the end of the Navidson Record, Karen conquers her claustrophobia in an effort to save Navidson. She enters the hallway to find him lying down, cold and out of breath. At the hospital Karen stays with Navy, nursing him back to health with love. Navidson does indeed recover, though he is left substantially deformed. He loses his right hand, left eye, patches of skin on his face and ear, and he is confined to a crutch for the rest of his life. However, the Navidson record ends on a bright note, with Karen and Will exchanging vows in Vermont and settling down in a new house with Chad and Daisy. The next section of the book contains personal notes from Zampanò, along with his poems, photographs and collages. There is also a section of Pelican Poems that bear some insight into the life of Zampanò. The very last and most cryptic section is the Whalestoe Institute Letters, from Johnny’s mother, Pelafina. Through her letters we see not only how brilliant and thoughtful she was, but also how much she truly loved Johnny. She even writes her letters in a special code that reveals a horrible secret. As Pelafina’s mental state deteriorates she is driven to the point at which she kills herself. Though this story ends far better for some than it does for others, it is an ending that leaves me frightened and bewildered.

Questions:

1. Are there more hidden messages throughout the book, other than within the Whalestoe letters?

2. Is the story of the baby significant towards Johnny and Pelafina?

3. Why do Pelafina and Johnny slightly differ in the memories they recount of one another