The Devil in Silver Read-Along - Final Discussion

Spoiler Warning: If you are not reading along with us, the below discussion post and comments may contain spoilers.

This book was SO good! I really felt the ending was appropriate. 

First of all, I was shocked by the way Dr. Anand spoke to Pepper and Loochie after Dorry's death. Then he goes on to elaborate about his situation and the situation there at the mental hospital. This book really demonstrates how broken our mental health system is. I truly believe there are facilities like this in our country. It's a sad realization. 

So, first I'm going to mention the part toward the end when Josephine tells Pepper that Miss Chris has been telling the new doctor that he is not ill. My thinking is Pepper carrying Mr. Visserplein (aka the Devil)...well, falling with him through the ceiling...him no longer seeing the man as a beast was proof to at least Miss Chris that he was not in fact insane. Still mind boggling how long he was kept there when he was never charged or sentenced to serve his time in a mental ward. My hope is that he did in fact get released and maybe he reconnects with his family, and then gets in touch with Xiu in California. The one amazing thing about this story, at least in my opinion, is how Pepper has grown as a person. 

And knowing Loochie is free and out in the world. That's wonderful. 

Thanks for reading along with me! We will have another great read-along for next year's Something Wicked Fall. What will it be?!

Share your thoughts on this week's section in the comments, or leave a link to a post. 

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Blessed Samhain...Happy Halloween!

The 2022 Miller family jack-o'-lantern.

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My thoughts on Old People (2022)

The elderly are sick of everyone's shit.

What would happen if something (a virus, something in the air a la The Happening) started affecting the elderly and turned them into murderous, super human beings? That is what is explored here in this German horror film. Honestly, I was not prepared for the gore and violence, but it was certainly effective in portraying the rage. It was definitely unsettling. The characters were understandably shocked. I mean no one really expects a bunch of old people to go on violent rampages. In all, a pretty decent Netflix offering. It definitely had me on the edge of my seat, and I might have screamed a couple of times too.

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The Devil in Silver Read-Along - Discussion Three

Spoiler Warning: If you are not reading along with us, the below discussion post and comments may contain spoilers.

Well, the start of this section escalated quickly. Poor Kofi...and the revelation by Dorry. Is the "Devil" really her child? And what/who exactly is this animal/person/thing they call the "Devil?" We still don't know! And sadly, no more Scooby gang. 

I think what I liked most about this section of the reading was the focus on mental health, and how easily people who are mentally ill can be swept under the rug. The articles and death notices the three late night lounge ladies work on collecting, as a kind of war memorial (as Pepper put it) to all those lost who were also mentally ill. Rarely do their stories make front page news and that's sad. We still have a long way to go in this country in regards to the issue of mental health.

The romance between Pepper and Sue was sweet, but I wondered if it really added anything to the story. Sue knows she is being taken away by immigration sooner than what she told Pepper. So when Pepper discovers she's gone, he feels more urgency to try to contact her sister. But...was Sue really taken by immigration? After the "Devil" tried to take Japanese Freddie Mercury (Glenn), only to be foiled by Pepper and Sue, he/it could quite possibly have a vendetta against them (if a creature like him is capable of that). I guess we will find out.

What happened at the end of this section was a tragedy. Why did she do it? Guilt over Kofi? The inevitability of the demise of her "child?" We may never know. Poor Dorry.

I'm looking forward to finishing and finding out the truth. I'm hoping for a spectacular ending. I hope we are not disappointed.

Share your thoughts on this week's section in the comments, or leave a link to a post. We'll be back for the final discussion on October 30 (or thereabouts). If you need the reading schedule, find it here.

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