"The book is a film that takes place in the mind of the reader." ~ Paulo Coelho

Friday, November 15, 2019

Christy Read-Along: The End!

Hello, everybody!

Today is time for the last day in Amber's, who blogs at Seasons of Humility, Christy Read-Along!
I am excited because I am on schedule and caught up, just in time for it to be over. Oh well. I had a ton of fun reading this and discussing it with the other participants!

Check out Amber's thoughts HERE, Julie's HERE, and Carissa's HERE.

Spoiler Alert! I will be talking about the ending of the book Christy - by Catherine Marshall and there will be major spoilers, so don't read any further unless you want the ending completed ruined for you!

Christy - by Catherine Marshall: Chapters 40-36
Discussion format: your favorite quotes, general impressions, and three questions to answer for each week's reading

Favorite Quotes:

1.
'Now circumstances were forcing knowledge on me.'

2.
'She's learned the secret all the way, hasn't she? How to love other people.'

3.
"I'd long since learned that no difference in viewpoint should ever be allowed to cause the least break in love. Indeed, it cannot it it's real love."

4.
'Did people always have to wait for pestilence or war or tragedy to be shocked into forgetting about themselves?"

5.
'The grass was dotted with flowers -- I spotted buttercups and the orchid of fairy fringe and the vermilion of fire pinks, and mountain bluets like patches of sky fallen into the grass -- all of such intense coloration that they were not like flowers at all: they were explosions of color.'

General Impressions:

It was scary that Typhoid fever came to Cutter Gap! Miss Alice and Christy were so caring as they helped Ruby Mae, Bessie's mother, Zady, and Lundy. They both went through such hard times, but they pulled through. It was so brave of them to do all they did and help in so many ways. They are truly great role models.

Lundy: man, I don't even know what to say. I guess, 'What goes around comes around'? I couldn't believe that it was him who shot Tom. I still feel bad that he died, if only he had listened to Dr. MacNeill! I'm glad that Bird's-Eye came back to be with him. When he got his nose bleed Christy told him to pinch it and tilt his head back, not forward. I have been around a lot of nose bleeds (rarely my own), and I have taken a basic first aid course and the most important thing is to always tip your head forward. Never back. It was showing the thoughts of the time because of the use of the opposite. I am proud of all that Dr. MacNeill did to emphasize sanitation.

It was interesting to hear Miss Alice tell Christy about Margaret her daughter and Dr. MacNeill's wife. She laughs at everything, like me.

Now, in this next bit I'm going to try to not sound victorious, but it probably won't work. We'll see.

I was glad that David and Christy got things sorted out. I had been wondering if he actually had any relationship with God. Miss Alice's comparison of him to Jonah was really accurate and I'm glad that he figured things out.

I was a little scared when Christy got sick and had bad dreams. We were so close to the end of the book that I thought she was going to die, but then I remembered the prologue and was fine. Her one dream of telling "I love you" to Little Burl made me so happy because it was so cute!!

The final chapter was amazing. The dreams and thoughts on life and death were so poignant. I am so victorious because I was right all along about Neil! I had a feeling in the last discussion chapters that he had feelings towards Christy and I love it when I'm right.

It's funny, I always think that I'm not going to think of anything to say for the general impressions, but I always have a long post!

Discussion Questions:

1. Which story of sickness, whether hopeful or heartbreaking, affected you the most?

I love that Christy went to help take care of Ruby Mae. She had always thought of her as a tag along, but she realized that she needed to help this girl who looks up to her. It made my heart warm and fuzzy.

2. Were you satisfied with the conclusion of the story? If so, what did you like most about these last chapters? If not, what do you wish might have been different?

I am pretty satisfied with the ending. The last chapter was really beautiful to me. I had no idea of where it was going, but it was done nicely. The ending seemed really sudden (I'm talking about Neil), but it was okay.

3. What was your favorite part about Christy? Do you plan to read other books by Catherine Marshall, either fiction or nonfiction?

My favorite part was probably seeing all of the interactions with the kids in the school room! So cute! Catherine Marshall also had some really lovely descriptions. This is the first book of hers that I've heard about, so I don't know. Maybe once I've done some more research on what her other books are about I'd be interested.


A huge, huge, huge thank you to Amber for hosting this! I had a good time reading this book!

Thanks to all of you for reading! If you've read this book, what do you think of it?

MovieCritic

6 comments:

  1. Love your post! I love that you were excited that Neil and Christy ended up together. I'm glad you enjoyed the book. It has always been a favorite of mine. I too look forward to the next read along. They are so fun!

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    1. Thank you, Julie! Yeah, I thought that they were a bit more suited than Christy and David. It's so fun that you were able to participate in a read-along with a favorite book! Yes, I look forward to it, too!

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  2. Hey, MovieCritic! We've tagged you in our Sunshine Award post- https://maidensofgreengables.blogspot.com
    What a fun read along choice! :)

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    1. Hey, Katherine! Thank you so much for tagging me! And thanks for letting me know because I've been terrible at reading blogs lately. Fun questions! :)

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  3. You picked some compelling quotes! I so agree that Catherine Marshall wrote some great descriptions, like the fifth quote you shared with the flowers. :)

    Always so fun to read your thoughts! I think you're right that Miss Alice picked a good example when she compared David to Jonah. He wanted so much to be right and seemed to favor justice over seeing the people of the Cove experience God's grace.

    That was really sweet how Christy's relationship with Ruby Mae came full circle, and she felt compelled to be there to help her and show her she's loved. ♥

    I'm really glad you participated in the read-along and enjoyed it! It's been a blast to discuss different classics with you and others over the past years. :) It makes the reading experience that much more rewarding and thoughtful!

    ~Amber

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    1. Yes! I filled several pages of notes with quotes when I was reading this. Every chapter had something so great! :)

      Yeah, she really knew him and could tell him that. David wanted results right away and didn't want to wait for the people's faith to grow slowly but steadily. And I can understand that.

      I loved it! Even though she was tired of caring for the sick, she convinced Miss Alice to let her help and it was so kind of her. <3

      Oh, yes! I love reading books that I might not have otherwise, or seeing what everone else has to say about my old favorites! I'm always up for whatever you want to do next. Thank you so much for hosting, Amber!!!

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"If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, where you stop your story." -Orson Welles