Final Reflection Blog

Wow the last few chapters are wonky. There is one aspect I absolutely love, and one that I absolutely hate. I love what the author did with the Major. This was fantastic irony. Each of the characters has been manipulated in this way now, and they all served as a foil for each other. However, my absolute favorite part was how Hilde literally stated that this was irony. I really like that kind of next-level references and meta comedy. This all seemed believable too, and the last chapters really illustrated the beautiful relationship between Hilde and her father. They play games like that and love each other. I am fairly confident that I could play that same trick on my father, and I appreciate that amount of believability after this whirlwind of a book. However much I liked the Major, I really hate how Sophie and Alberto are still being referenced. I was frustrated by the dumb fairy-tale things this entire book, and these last chapters were the culmination of everything I despised. I hate the narration of the spirit-Hilde and spirit-Alberto, and I wish they had simply ceased to exist when the story ended. However, I saw what the author was trying to do. I noticed his efforts for next-leveling the reader by having Sophie and Alberto switch roles with Hilde and the Major. Before, Sophie was always watched by Hilde, but couldn’t see Hilde in return. Now, Sophie watches Hilde, without Hilde knowing in return. Furthermore, the callback to the rowboat is nice. However smart those lines are, the setup is so bad that I don’t think it’s worth it. I think the author worked way too hard with the whole fairyland to set up that one scene. This is completely tangential, but I really don’t like the abrupt romance in the garden party. Maybe it’s just me, but the book seemed to imply some level of sexual contact, which I’m not a fan of. First of all, it didn’t add anything to the plot other than showing the sheer absurdity of the scene. Secondly, this is a book about thinking about the world and questioning everything and thought above all else. That action was pure impulse without any thought as to the consequences. Also, I’m not cool with how chill the parents were with their 15-year old children having intercorse.