tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-692078096036391380.comments2015-10-01T06:35:52.132-07:00My Owl's LibraryAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15105383410427182918noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-692078096036391380.post-83550374191927553552015-09-30T09:15:55.248-07:002015-09-30T09:15:55.248-07:00Lou’s got vices, that’s for sure. And she’s slow t...Lou’s got vices, that’s for sure. And she’s slow to grapple with what she’s seeing, learning. She’s out of her depth. She just soaks it all up. By the end, she still hasn’t seen the light, she’s no hero; she’s just excited about her new boyfriend and driving the V8. Understanding will have to wait for tomorrow. The whole story happens in 24 hours, and Lou’s young, she has time yet to grow, develop, change, and she does (next book). Her lack of common sense, her tendency to make you face palm, as you so nicely put it, is intentional. It’s a didactic novel, aimed at upper high school youth, intended to teach readers about the world they live in but also to make them ask why, and then to ask, what is to be done? You see it in old Mary at the end, when she sadly concludes ‘we should have done something a long time ago’. <br />Thanks again for reading ‘A Death in Custody’, and for this discussion.Sandy Meredithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11973655795888611942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-692078096036391380.post-88401299365798308322015-09-18T09:05:53.978-07:002015-09-18T09:05:53.978-07:00First things first Sam Spade is a 1930's detec...First things first Sam Spade is a 1930's detective and is not 19, which makes his smoking and drinking believable, unlike your character. In addition, me describing you character as bipolar is not an insult but a description of how she acts in your book. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15105383410427182918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-692078096036391380.post-20811001749760212762015-09-18T01:07:28.586-07:002015-09-18T01:07:28.586-07:00Ah, you don't like the drinking and smoking! G...Ah, you don't like the drinking and smoking! Guess you don't like Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade character either. By the way, you shouldn't use bipolar as an insult. It's a disease that makes life very hard for those who suffer from it.Sandy Meredithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11973655795888611942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-692078096036391380.post-73647133881020695712015-09-17T11:56:53.800-07:002015-09-17T11:56:53.800-07:00It's not her ignorance of the Aboriginals that...It's not her ignorance of the Aboriginals that makes me face palm it's her lack of comment sense. I also think it's all the smoking and drinking that she does that really doesn't help me sympathize with this character. I really had a hard time seeing her as a 19 yr old, I read her more as a 25 yr old. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15105383410427182918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-692078096036391380.post-68027797373497181042015-09-17T09:55:24.117-07:002015-09-17T09:55:24.117-07:00Thanks for the review! The question is, why doesn&...Thanks for the review! The question is, why doesn't Lou Williams already know what the situation is for Aborigines in Australia? Why doesn't she know the history? She's been living there in Australia all her life (she's 19 years old). She's supposed to make you face palm, but also to make you ask why Australians allow the abusive treatment of Aborigines to continue. Lou's ignorant and naïve, but she's tough, she's open. She learns more in 24 hours than she's learnt in her whole life, and she will grow from the experience (see my next book). But in Australia, for Aborigines, 2015 is no better than the 1980s. Why?Sandy Meredithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11973655795888611942noreply@blogger.com