For anyone who's read the book, can you tell me what you thought about Hana? I understand she comes in and disrupts the harmony of the three characters playing family, but I wanted to know what anyone else made of her character.
There were times it was clear she felt truly sorry for the narrator, and other times seemed to despise her.
My other question is also what did you make about that game the narrator saw at the end? When Xavier said Hana isn't here but she will be later (and all her stuff was gone) and yet she was just hiding in the apartment, why did he say that? Hana also seemed quite fine with being kicked out of the apartment (as though she expected this outcome) without a fuss.
When it came to Hana and Tomas, I think those interactions showed Tomas' attraction to Hana, and that Hana was well aware and teased him about it. I think this contrasts with the narrator's own infidelity in part 1 (though Tomas and Hana did not get that far compared to the narrator) and how it felt to be on the other side of it this time.
I just finished this book and generally I really liked it. I know it's a bit polarizing and some people didn't enjoy it but for the most part I really did. I just couldn't figure out the things I mentioned above and would love to know what interpretations are out there.
by primanis
1 Comment
hana was definitely the most complex character for me too. i think her hot and cold attitude toward the narrator came from her recognizing herself in that situation – like she could see how trapped the narrator was in this weird dynamic but also maybe resented her for accepting it
the hiding game at the end felt like hana and xavier had some kind of understanding or arrangement that the narrator wasnt privy to. maybe hana wanted to see how the narrator would react to thinking she was gone or maybe xavier was trying to manipulate the situation one last time. hana being so chill about leaving suggests she saw it coming and probably wanted out anyway
the parallel with the narrators earlier infidelity was pretty brutal honestly. kitamura really knows how to twist the knife when it comes to showing people the consequences of their choices