Thursday, March 8, 2007
Missing May by Cynthia Rylant
What a sad story! As I read this book about a girl, who's suffered so much loss in her life already, who's beloved aunt and guardian dies, I was struck over and over with the injustice of life. How is it that a child could face loss after loss and still keep going? Having read Rylant's memoir, But I'll Be Back Again, I was not surprised to see the parallels to Rylant's own life. While her story was very different, her experience of loss and her expectations of life after that loss were very similar. I wonder how universal the belief that the "happily ever after" is not for you is among those who suffer trajic losses in childhood. Summer refers again and again to her inability to believe everything will be ok just as Rylant says she would never learn that "it would be all right for me to have a house that smelled like chocolate-covered marshmallow cookies." (p. 32) Rylant suggests that "Children who suffer great loss often grow up believing deep inside that life is suppoed to be hard for them." (p. 54) I felt like this was a theme in Missing May. Summer marvels at Cletus's lack of concern about his parent's age and ailments, as she fights her doubts and fears about Ob's health. She just can't believe that it will all be ok. The innocence of childhood is so fragile. Once a child has seen the truth of loss and injustice, there is no going back. You can't recreate that innocence. But there is always hope - as Cinderella reminds us: it's never too late for happily ever after.
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4 comments:
I agree....The book was a sad story, and almost alarming in it's truth of death. From the beginning, I felt sorry for Summer as she dealt with being passed around like a "homework assignment" between relatives after her mother's death. Whether it be May, or one of our students, my heart goes out to children who battle tradegies and problems that seem as if they should only be saved for adult life. I definitely agree, those events of our childhood shape us as people. The Missing May book I read had an AfterWords section. In it, Rylant referenced a few life events that spoke of parallels between her life and Summer's. Thanks to your blog, I am definitely anxious to read her memoir!
You are so right, what a sad story. Maybe that is why I had such a difficult time getting into this book. Still, the characters with their quirky little ways, had me at the beginning. I don't like saddness, but we do have to face it at sometimes in our lives. This book makes me look at my students who have dealt with a greater amount of loss in their young lives that I have in my "aged" one, and my heart goes out to them. Can we teach them that "happily ever after" can still be possible in some since, or is that all gone for them?
This was a sad story. However, I laughed a lot during the story. The character of Cletus really lightened things up for me. What you said about kids who suffer great loss in their lives at an early age makes a lot of sense. I always think of people who have suffered a lot in their lives as some how stronger than me. I always think "I could never survive that." But, maybe, it's like you said, they just expect the bad things to happen to them. They are used to tragedy. Boy how sad. Thanks for your insight.
I agree that our experiences as children shape our lives in a very profound way. This was a difficult read for me and I often found my mind wandering to other things. The characters were indeed engaging but I would have like the same level of resolution for Ob at the end of the book that we had for Summer.
I too look forward to reading the memoir.
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