Queries

[Bill]

I've not reread this book & don't plan to but there are some questions that haunt me, maybe because I read it carelessly &/or the narratives are very confusing, esp. as Jake and Mary don't relate the same events from the same time. Principally I wonder: (1) who is Jake's real father & how is he related to Mary's sister's child who looks just like him? (2) what happened on the Isle of Wight? Did Mary & her sister get impregnated by the same rock star or what? (3) why the suicide? Of course killing themselves is something alcoholics do, but did something particular make her decide to drive off the cliff? Don't be afraid to tell me I missed the obvious.

[Lara]

Bill, the way I read it is that Billy is Jakes father due to the photograph of his father looking so alike to Jake. It would appear that Mary (Jakes mother) thought Jake was fathered at the IOW festival, and its not until she sees the photo whilst on holiday in France does she realise that Billy is Jakes father. However, it also dawns on her that Billy is also Georges father so he had slept with Rachel, her sister. (When Mary comes back from the IOW festival Rachel is at her house with Billy and soon after that Rachel made herself estranged from Mary) A number of references are made during the book as to how alike the two boys are and the fact they are born on same day - so conceived round about the same time!
So the suicide is down to the betrayal of her husband and sister.
This is what I think, and hope this makes sense.

[Bill]

Thank you. You really helped me a lot, Lara.

[Helen]

Yes Lara, I agree; Billy is both George's and Jake's father. So, another question....what about the little girl in the blue shift dress, who holds the red ribbon? We first encounter her when young Mary is celebrating her birthday with a family picnic. Her own mother clearly has "issues" and later in the book Rachel tells Mary that she has discovered that their mother lost a baby boy at some point. At the picnic, Mary spots her mother crying and suggests that the little mystery girl, who Mary says "looks like me" is seen for the first time. She is mentioned again when Mary, as a teenager, has her first sexual encounter (with Darren the gardener, her sister's ex-boyfriend). Mary is wearing a shift dress at the time.....is it blue, like the little girl's? Shortly after giving birth to Jake, Mary haemorrhages, and whilst Billy leaves her side temporarily to alert the medical staff, the little girl appears again. She clearly knows Mary, asking her about her "other little boy" (Matthew) and when the medics rush to Mary's assistance, she feels the little girl squeeze her hand. Finally, we meet the little girl one last time as Mary drives off the cliff. In summary, the little girl who is possibly an image of Mary herself as a very small child, appears at times of stress. Is the red ribbon of any significance or is it there to make her more memorable? Finally, does anyone have any views about Matthew? I wanted him to come back into the story. Perhaps his lack of presence was more signifiant than I thought. For a child to leave home and cut off all communication (in the way that Mary's parents ceased to communicate with her), must have been very traumatic and probably helped to fuel Mary's dependence on alcohol.

[PrettyFlamingo]

I'd like to know how Billy, Andy and Jake watched Back to the Future in April 1985. It wasn't released until July.

[PrettyFlamingo]

Lara wrote: "Bill, the way I read it is that Billy is Jakes father due to the photograph of his father looking so alike to Jake. It would appear that Mary (Jakes mother) thought Jake was fathered at the IOW fes..."

I think you have it right!