The story is about a young woman named Cassi whose fiancé
forces her to take him to meet her mother. Cassi has not seen her mother (named
Moira Bodner) in years and cannot stand the woman, who is an alcoholic, drug
abuser, and bird collector. The visit doesn’t go well; after some uncomfortable
small talk, Cassi tells her mother that her father (Moira’s ex-husband) died a
year ago. Moira takes the news hard, even though she hasn’t heard from him in
years. At the end, there seems like there might be a possibility for Cassi and
her mother to renew their relationship, but Cassi leaves with a threat: if
Moira doesn’t come to the memorial for Cassi’s father’s death, then Moira will
never see Cassi again.
I liked Moira’s eccentric behavior
and the description of her house. This says a lot about her personality.
However, I’d like to know why she is an alcoholic and drug abuser. What caused
her life to go that way, especially when she seemed to have a loving husband?
(Granted, he eventually left her, but I get the feeling that he had done all he
could do.) Why does she collect birds? Additionally, I’d also like to know more
about Cassie. Obviously her childhood wasn’t easy, but what has she been doing
since she was twenty, a year that seems to have been pivotal for her? And why
does Doug seem so set on rebuilding Cassie’s and Moira’s relationship?
Finally,
I’d like to see more interaction between Cassie and her mother. Perhaps a
little more dialogue between them will push one of them toward change. Right
now, Moira is poised to change at the end of the story, but the reader is never
told what her decision is. Will she try to make amends with her daughter? I
think Moira is definitely your most interesting character. How would this story
look written from her perspective? I think that might be a compelling story.
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