Like Father Like Son

The tension is killing me! I'm about half way through the novel now, and the amount of foreshadowing (or what I perceive to be foreshadowing) is building so much anticipation (or dread!) that I can hardly put the book down.

Earlier, in Part two, we heard the story of Elizabeth and William's first date. William took Elizabeth to the cemetery where his mother is buried, before brining her home to his drunken father, whom they found chasing a chicken around the yard. Now, in Part 3, Carl (Elizabeth and William's son) has a new love interest - Moira. And where does he take her on their first date? To visit his Mother's grave, where he proceeds to pour his heart out to her and tell the tale of how he killed his mother (WOW - I didn't see that coming either) by driving her into a tree. Until this point, I had no idea that it was Carl who had been driving the night his mother was killed. No wonder he is drowning in regret! And here I thought his doubts and self pity had all been caused by his high school love gone sour.

And so, at this point, I can't help but wonder if Carl and Moira are destined to the same fate as Elizabeth and William were - a long unhappy marriage full of lies and doubt. What sort of lies, you might ask?

Well, another revelation has come about in the story. It was revealed in chapter two of part two that Adam and Elizabeth had an intimate encounter on New Year's Eve in 1975. In September of 1976, Carl was born. I wonder...could Carl be Adam's son? Earlier in this chapter, I had wondered if there could be some impending connection between Carl and Adam, for Elizabeth's affections towards Adam had been growing steadily. Now, although Elizabeth claims that Carl is William's son, I can't help but think there are many secrets that will soon be revealed.

If Adam is Carl's father, Carl needs to know! Currently, a large portion of Carl's self-pity lays in the fact that he perceives his fate to be set in stone. His father was a drunken fighter, as was his grandfather, so he shall be. However, if he were to discover that his father was a successful, albeit socially awkward, businessman, could be break free from his self-imposed death sentence?

At this point in the movie that has been playing in my mind, the song "The Funeral" by Band of Horses is playing on the soundtrack. It seems as though the one thing Carl and Adam do have in common is that things in their life keep going wrong and they seem tied to their fate...and at this point in the book it seems like they are both waiting for the next funeral. The only question is, who's? Click below to listen.