During the last part of Hey Nostradamus! by Douglas Coupland, the last character Reg confesses and puts an end to many of our questions. Reg expresses his thoughts and feelings on certain aspects, many of which relate to Jason and his bad attitude towards him. While Reg is giving us and insight on his life and thoughts, he appears to be currently writing a letter for his son Jason hoping that one day he comes across it somewhere in the forest. First, Reg mentions events from his childhood, where we discover that the reason why he was so cold and harsh with Jason was because as a kid his father would treat him poorly as well. Though Reg tried to be completely opposite from his father he was just the same cold heartless man. However, Reg did change towards the end and realized how much his attitude hurt his loved one's. Next, Reg reminisces on the important people in his life like,his wife, Kent, Ruth and Jason and how because of his religion and stubbornness, he chased them away. He remembers how insane and weak he was when he received the news of Kent's death leading to one of the reason's he lost Ruth. He says that she left him because he was ashamed of being with her since he didn't want to take her to Kent's funeral and because he refused to divorced his wife. Furthermore, Reg goes in detail about his life and feelings and how he was affected by everything that he experienced in his life, especially knowing that he caused most of the pain. Hence, towards the end Reg says that though Jason remains missing he hopes one day he will appear and find his letter, also that when Jason appears he will go knocking door to door shouting, "Awake! Everyone listen, there has to be a miracle my son who once was dead is now alive. Rejoice! All of you! Rejoice! You must! My son is coming home!" (244) Reg was truly a great man with good intentions who unfortunately hurt many.
Sadly, the book is done! unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed by the ending because i would've liked to know what happened to Jason and whether he died or not. I also wanted to know if the secret of the twins was to be ever discovered. I did like this last chapter though, i felt it brought answers to many questions i had about Reg. Now, I completely understand where Reg was coming from. I completely misjudged him, Reg turned out to be the complete opposite of what I thought he was. He was a loving man, who desired for the best towards his family. I'm sure i will continue to read more books from this author because i truly enjoyed this book. It was a great novel and recommend it to many!
I really like the description in your summary. You the key points in the chapter. I definitely agree with you in your reflection because I was also disappointed that in the end we did not know if Jason was dead or alive.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post! You continue to provide clear, concise summaries and thoughtful reflections. If you'd like to read more Coupland, try Girlfriend in a Comma or his recent Generation A. Both are really good reads!
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