Originally Posted by Karen 3rd October 2006


Samarin, who is asked to tell his story, does just that. He tells a story of the river and the White Garden.

Did you believe him?

If you did, why? what made his story believable to you?

If you didn't, somewhere along the telling of the tale you decided you did not believe him, why not?

Did you see any signs or hints in retrospect?

Karen


I bought it....but I was confused about how the Mohican would fit in....

Herestoyou


I bought it but then went back and read some earlier pages where he buries the hand and strips off flesh from the horse. I then began thinking that in fact he was the Mohican. Plus, he stole the liquor from Balashov and that's what helped to kill the Shaman. However, I really thought he was an actual prisoner at the White Garden, and then I found out at the end that this wasn't true either.

Nurseanne8


Samarin is a very adroit lier and he had me convinced from the beginning that his story was true. His physical description of the land surrounding the camp and the camp itself-sounded like he had been their for years . He added credibility to his tale with the description of conditions at the camp pre and post revolution. He related the tale of cannabalism and made it appear as a natural step due to severe shortages of food. He was cunning enough to create a villin that he claimed had followed him and therefore was a possible threat to the people of Yazyk. I was convinced that the Mochian was the man who had murdered the Shaman. Red flags began to appear while reading the chapter describing the conservation between Anna and Samarin at Anna's home. Anne r

Herestoyou


The chapter with Anna/Samarin was one of my favorites, too. Yes, it really started coming together in this chapter. I'll have to check the book again, but was it before this chapter that Mutz made the discovery about Samarin, too?

Nurseanne8


No Mutz learns the truth about Samarin on page 324-before "The Locomotive".

Deppraved

I bought it too, and had forgotten all about the hand burying incident, which was so odd it seemed arbitrary, and the the stealing of the alcohol. The only thing that seemd odd to me at the time was why he took Anna's photo?

None of what he was doing in the beginning made me wonder, and now I'm wondering why? Why didn't any of that make me think something wasn't right with Samarin? I just go along, dum de dum, reading the words, dum de dum, till the story plays out, smacks me around and calls me Susan.

Nurseanne8


Deppraved-do not be so hard on yourself-Meek accomplished what few authors can do-had us convinced of one theme and then did a 360 degree turn to add suspense to the book-which why it is so fascinating-I was convinced also that Samarin was a prisoner-he made me feel uneasy but convicts tend to do that anyway.

Herestoyou

Exactly! I'll be honest, after the first couple of chapters, I didn't think I would make it through the book as I was just confused. I kept plugging through and now look at all of the interesting discussions we're having! It wasn't the easiest book to read, but it definitely is very thought provoking.

Nurseanne8


agreed-it was hard to read and I had to read it twice and reread many parts a few more times to understand all the themes but I am glad I did it!!

Karen


This WAS a hard read, and re-read...and still I find myself referencing quotes and things that get triggered in my memory. I am so glad that we all persevered with this book.

Herestoyou


Yes, I've dog eared several passages in the book mainly because of the way Meek has written the words. Reading it a second time really helped and even now going back while we discuss the book, has helped too.