I found myself a little down the other day, and realized it was because of some choices the heroine in the current series I was reading aloud to my wife had made that I considered less than the best morally.
Let me digress a minute:
For a few months now, Mayre and I have been going through the Maisie Dobbs novels in our reading. We have finished the first 8 books, are currently reading no. 9, and have 1 more to bring the series up to ones published so far.
These novels have been fun to read so far, with the heroine, Maisie, solving crimes and living life in England in the aftermath of World War I. The exploits of this "30 something" young woman have been entertaining for us, as we watched her grow in her work and life.
Then in Book 8, she fell into a moral situation that, in my opinion, she did not handle properly. The author did not dwell on this episode, but it was clear that Maisie had crossed a line of moral behavior, and although it seemed inconsequential to the main story, it had bothered me, and, like she was a real person, it had disappointed me.
Facing a moral choice, Maisie, had opted for the world's way, and, all of a sudden, I wasn't sure I wanted to read more.
This was not a "Christian" book per se, but this young woman had been doing all the "right" things, then her private life took a turn.
But I kept reading on into Book 9, and Maisie is having some second thoughts. I'm not sure how she will handle what she has got herself into, but I hope she realizes the morality of her situation and the influence that she has with others in her story.
Now, she is not a real person even though her life is a symbol of others of her generation, so should a reader get so caught up in a life that he is disappointed with a novelist's creation? Is that becoming too much involved in what is fiction anyway?
Maybe, but when I find a character in a story that I can cheer along through 7 books, I want her to continue to the end.
Come on Maisie, get with the program...
No comments:
Post a Comment