Part I, Chapters 1 Boy with Skull & 2 The Anatomy Lesson (spoilers)

[Almeta, co-moderator]

Put your comments for this Part I, Chapters 1 Boy with Skull & 2 The Anatomy Lesson here.

[Ann]

There is a lot going on in these first two chapters. The introduction to Theo in Amsterdam indicated he was very disturbed and has not recovered from an earlier trauma. We are drawn to his plight and want to know more about him.
Theo as a young boy caught in a school suspension, and forced to go to the principal's office with his Mother begins by revealing the events leading up her apparent death and in the process revealing his thoughtful introspection and mixture of child-like naivete and an analytic mind.
When Theo and his Mother enter the museum I was enthralled by her descriptions and apparent joy in the art. I was initially suspicious, fed by my understanding of the premise of the book in a superficial way; that suspicion initially fell on the older man and young girl shadowing them in the gallery.
Theo's experience in the aftermath of the bombing in the gallery was poignant, but paled in comparison to the panic he builds in his apartment alone, hoping for his mother's safe return. His saving her the "best" leftovers, cleaning up afterwards in the kitchen so she wouldn't have to when she came home, and rationalizing in his mind how she must have lost her phone, built up to reach a crescendo as he is unable to get any news from the authorities. Powerful, and yet as I listened, I wanted to know what had happened so badly that in my haste I felt the time in the apartment dragged while listening, and ended up by wanting to go back and read it again.

[Linda]

My feelings on this section is sorrow for Theo, he is such a "little" kid during this time and so very naïve. I don't know if this is from him being an only child, or being sheltered by his mom due to the craziness of his dad and his parents separation/divorce. His mother's love of art will definitely play a large roll in Theo's life as we move thru the book. I think the scary part for him was hoping that his mom was not dead, since he did and a few others made it out of the museum out alive. I think in hindsight he knew that she was dead and not coming back home.

[Ann]

Linda I still feel Theo's sorrow and pain from this section. I still haven't resolved whether his reaction was simply from the trauma of the event (which was certainly traumatic) or whether he has always or recently led such an isolated and insular life that his reactions are the only way to cope.
Deep down it seems he might have known his Mom wasn't coming back, but that reality is an adult reality so maybe not.

[Linda]

Yeah I agree with you Ann. This book has remained with me also, Theo had such a hard life as a kid and I often wonder how his life would have been different of his dad had not stepped back in it.