A Family Daughter (Finis)

Filed under: Books — purplehsiaoling at 5:17 pm on Saturday, March 31, 2007

     I have a confession to make.  After writing the last blog entry, I got down to finishing the book instead of, well, doing something more constructive, e.g., work-related.  Haha..  Anyway, I am really glad I did. 

     There are definitely more joys than complications in the second half of the book.  But still, there were moments when I went like, oh, no, don’t do that!  Instances were when Abby resumed her relationship with Jamie despite him really being her uncle and not cousin as suspected, Margot (the perfect older sister) having an affair with her ex-lover and.. hmm, can’t think of anymore. 

     The point is I want to list down the joys of the book and here goes:-

1.  Peter remained faithful and attached to Abby till the very last page.  He asked, "Are you coming home?" and after much pondering by Abby on whether Peter’s apartment was home, she said, "Yes."  And then, he said, "Good.  Come soon."  Aww..  Bless that guy.  Having Abby and Peter together in the end makes braving through the complications in the book worthwhile.  What joy!  Hehe..

2.  Abby’s mother finally found joy and happiness and meaning in her life with a childhood sweetheart.  What happened between her and Abby’s father was very sad but this is still a consolation nonetheless.

3.  Jamie still bugged Abby towards the end of the book after Katya left (she was probably disgusted by her suspicions that there was something on between her husband and her niece but she merely said that she felt suffocated in a marriage life) but hurrah!  Dear Peter won the fair damsel in the end.  Jamie still had TJ and maybe that was his calling in life - to be a good father albeit in an incomplete family.

4.  Saffron actually married her high school boyfriend, Martin, who had been with her throughout all her flings and even when she was engaged to Jamie.  Their conversations after marriage, at their son’s birth et cetera were really comical.  I have always wanted them to be together (I really do not like Jamie even though he wasn’t that bad a person but still, he was bad influence on Abby) and thus, their union and child were a high point in the book.

5.  Abby and Peter got together in the end.  Oops..  Said that as point #1 but I want to say it again as the final point.  Haha..

     My verdict on the book?  It did not disappoint.  It was engaging, it was insightful.  It promised joys and complications, it delivered.  Abby and Peter got together.  What more can I ask for?  Haha..

     I learnt a couple of things from the book.  People do make mistakes and it’s up to us to forgive and forget and perhaps, accept.  To err is human, to forgive divine.  The characters in the books were far from being perfect (dear Abby and Peter included) but still you cannot help liking them, imperfections and all.  Perhaps this is what being human is all about.

     Margot said that what happened to all of them (in the course of the book) was how they were finding their way in life.  I guess everyone had their own lives to lead and the course of it does not run smoothly or can be in anyway similar to another’s.  It really is up to us to make the best of our lives just like what the characters in the book had done.

     Conclusion:  A Family Daughter has made it into my list of favourite books.