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What do you think happened to George and Irene in the end?

Created: 06/22/14

Replies: 12

Posted Jun. 22, 2014 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
davinamw

Join Date: 10/15/10

Posts: 3442

What do you think happened to George and Irene in the end?

What do you think happened to George and Irene in the end? Do you think there are multiple ways to read this ending?


Posted Jun. 26, 2014 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
deeh

Join Date: 03/03/12

Posts: 239

RE: What do you think happened to George and Irene in the end?

I like to believe that they are going to have a long and happy life together.


Posted Jun. 26, 2014 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
kimk

Join Date: 10/16/10

Posts: 889

RE: What do you think happened to George and Irene in the end?

I like the second half of this question - "Do you think there are multiple ways to read this ending?" Because my thought was that it was certainly possible Irene truly did die in a plane crash and George never recovered from surgery, that their reunion was all his coma-dream. Part of me really did wonder if that's what the author intended -- for the ending to be ambiguous. But then there was that last part where he proposed using tulips planted in binary code, which kind of steered me back to the literal reading of the end.


Posted Jun. 27, 2014 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Retired Reader, NE

Join Date: 09/16/11

Posts: 165

RE: What do you think happened to George and Irene in the end?

I like books with endings that can be read on multiple levels. Yes, they both could have died. Could their souls have re-united? These are good points for discussion at book groups.


Posted Jun. 28, 2014 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
lynnw

Join Date: 09/01/11

Posts: 166

RE: What do you think happened to George and Irene in the end?

At first I thought it might be a dream for either or both of them. But when Irene was talking about her work and the fact that she didn't get the flowers right away, I really hoped that it was that fairy tale ending. It seems like they had gone through so much in their fairly young lives that a happy ending was called for.


Posted Jun. 28, 2014 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
mal

Join Date: 09/09/13

Posts: 164

RE: What do you think happened to George and Irene in the end?

No doubt they will have a HEA


Posted Jun. 30, 2014 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
kate

Join Date: 01/22/11

Posts: 95

RE: What do you think happened to George and Irene in the end?

I thought they ended up together; but I liked kimk's idea that it was all a dream in Georges coma state. That seemed to fit better with the authors style of writing and theme of dreams.


Posted Jul. 02, 2014 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
lindah

Join Date: 04/17/14

Posts: 90

RE: What do you think happened to George and Irene in the end?

They will live an active, engaged and long and happy life together. Their marriage is written in the stars. :)


Posted Jul. 02, 2014 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
lbellg

Join Date: 02/23/14

Posts: 46

RE: What do you think happened to George and Irene in the end?

It is certainly a curious literary convention - almost as if the author is giving us a choice. The pragmatic side of me sees the hard reality of the facts. The hopeful, romantic side of me sees them together forever. We just don't know, but in some ways we are given permission to write our own ending.


Posted Jul. 05, 2014 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
juliaa

Join Date: 12/03/11

Posts: 276

RE: What do you think happened to George and Irene in the end?

I like the fact that the reader is set free to choose an ending, but personally, i was ready for the novel to have a happy ending, so that's the one I chose.


Posted Jul. 09, 2014 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
alycet

Join Date: 04/23/12

Posts: 182

RE: What do you think happened to George and Irene in the end?

They had a happy ever after life. The big question is was it because of their mothers' manipulations and astrology? I like to think that they would have turned on to each other without their mothers' actions. Life and love are far more complex than a few shared interests.


Posted Jul. 25, 2014 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
barbarak

Join Date: 04/22/11

Posts: 24

RE: What do you think happened to George and Irene in the end?

I would like to think that they had a nice life together.


Posted Aug. 22, 2014 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
cb

Join Date: 03/19/14

Posts: 26

RE: What do you think happened to George and Irene in the end?

As did others, I feel the novel's ending was somewhat open ended; allowing the reader to choose a more traditional happy ending, or, perhaps, a more mystic ending -one, I feel, was more in tune with the tone of the book.


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