Questions About Eight Months on Ghazzah Street

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This book begins with a memo from an administrator of the company the protag's husband is working for. Although it's the first thing we read, it postdates all the action in the book. Are we to believe that this letter refers to the death of Frances and her husband AFTER the novel is over? No reviews mention this letter, but I think it's very eerie.

Mark Not an answer, but kudos on your sharp eyes! I assumed it was boilerplate THEY were given before traveling. (Note to self: ALWAYS read the dates!) Eee…moreNot an answer, but kudos on your sharp eyes! I assumed it was boilerplate THEY were given before traveling. (Note to self: ALWAYS read the dates!) Eeeuuw...(less)

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Were many of the events Frances describes in the latter part of the book coloured by paranoid delusions caused by a mental breakdown?

Birgitt Krumboeck I feel like they were. She seemed to have reached Stage 3...

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Birgitt Krumboeck I know. I am just as confused...

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Megan Elkins I do not think that the Shores left the Kingdom in July. The memo that begins the book is the key clue. Fairfax was not an employee of the company, on…moreI do not think that the Shores left the Kingdom in July. The memo that begins the book is the key clue. Fairfax was not an employee of the company, only Andrew worked for Turadup. There are other clues regarding the dates--the last chapter seems to be from a new diary that Frances has started in the new home--the date says Shaban (and Mantel gave us the order of the Hijra calendar)--the memo post-dates the last chapter (and Fairfax was killed two or three months prior to the memo). Earlier, Eric Parsons warned Frances: "Once past a certain point, you see, you become an undesirable person, and then who knows what happens? Because there comes a certain point where they don't want you here, and if you see what I mean, they don't want you to leave either." Mantel spared us the actual details, but I am convinced that they were the the victims of the "tragic events" alluded to in the memo. (less)

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Marina

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