the ending-- poor Liga?

[C&C Library]

this book brought me back to goodreads—after being away for awhile—because i want to talk to someone who read it. maybe others saw it coming (spoiler alert!) but i was kind of floored when Davit asks for Branza's hand in marriage. then i kept looking for something that made it alright for Liga after suffering such embarrassment from this request, not to mention what she has suffered early in the book. but it didn't come (right?)! Liga, then, has sacrificed yet again for her daughters, who are in all their splendor at the book's last pages. i closed the book and thought: who among my ancestors suffered so the rest of us could go forth and prosper? my questions: is this a sad ending for Liga? an inevitable one?

[Andrea]

YES! I totally felt the same way. I loved the Bear part earlier in the novel between Liga and Davit and I thought for sure - even though she was older - that he would want her. When I read the proposal scene I thought for sure that he was joking. I must have re-read that section three times before I realized that it wasn't a joke. I think that Lanagan did what she always does here - which is break expectations. But I do think that it was warranted upon reflection. Liga got her own personal heaven to live in for most of her life, right? To give her Davit would be for her to be doubly rewarded. I was still sad when it happened though.

[C&C Library]

i see what you mean about the double reward but it's hard to see her heaven as a reward. it was certainly a relief and an escape from hell, but in the end Liga will never know any kind of love outside of what she has with her daughters and friends like annie. the "heaven" came with it's own set of sacrifices (a concept we don't usually associate with heaven) so i don't think giving her a romantic interest after 40+ years of life is a double reward. i'm not saying it wasn't the right ending, it was just hard to accept that the only redemption Liga will see is the members of the gang bang finally getting what they deserve, and of course her daughters' happiness. it's hard to fathom that she will find ever find love if Davit didn't come through.

[Emm Bee]

I am so grateful to find this discussion! The proposal was such a huge shock to me, I had to reread it to be sure that I understood what was happening--probably much like what Liga was doing in her mind as the proposal swept by her and alighted on Branza. I did think it a bit forced; there was no real foreshadowing of a budding love between Davit and Branza, but then again, the text does let you know that several months have passed(from early autumn to mid-winter), so I suppose that we are to be satisfied with that as explanation for the romance. I took it to mean that Liga was now, truly, in the real world. I do have to admit that she seemed willing to continue living a sheltered life, whereas her daughters seemed to--each in her own way--come to a realization that life goes on...

That aside, I absolutely loved the book.

On a final note, I am surprised that it is being filed as a YA novel(I read somewhere that it is considered adult fiction in Lanagan's Australia).

[Emm Bee]

You know, I just did a re-read of the original Snow White and Rose Red story, and it is indeed Snow White who marries the Bear! So I guess I should not have been so surprised!

[Catherine]

I was sad for Liga, but upon reflection, I feel the ending is just. If she had followed Bear right when he disappeared, introducing her girls to the real world as she should have, then she could have lived happily ever after with Bear. Instead, she looked for love and affection in her fake world, and when she felt threatened, even for a moment, she consciencly decided she'd rather be safe than risk anything for happiness. Whether or not remaining in that world was truly a conscience decision before then, is up for arguement, I think. But at that point she made a decision that had one consequence of her having to give up romantic love - at least with that man. Who's to say she couldn't find another nice man in time?
I think the ending is bittersweet but just.

[Andrea]

I don't know that Liga would have followed Bear after he disappeared anyway. It seemed in the book that Liga didn't notice right away that Bear was gone. She noticed his absence in their lives, but she seemed to think he would come back. Also, I would argue that the connection that Liga and Bear(Davit) had wasn't necessarily an overtly romantic relationship. We know as readers that Davit felt romantically toward Liga, but I don't know that Liga ever felt that was toward Davit. (It's been a little while since I've read the book, so feel free to point something out that I'm missing). Liga seems stilted in her emotional development as well. I think it would've taken more than Bear disappearing to make her leave her safety.

[LibraryGirl2008]

Catherine wrote: "I was sad for Liga, but upon reflection, I feel the ending is just. If she had followed Bear right when he disappeared, introducing her girls to the real world as she should have, then she could ha..."

I like to think that she does meet someone, just maybe a few years in the future, who's closer to her age.