In the beginning of the story I was slightly confused. I thought that Annie was a young girl, maybe around 10, that lost her father. It wasn't until later that I realized that Annie is probably in her late twenties. At first, I did not realize that her father's love for the Egyptians had anything to do with the story. Now, however, having read the whole story, I understand that he likes them because they grieve and mourn their dead. I think her father relates to them because he is continually grieving because of what he did to all of the prisoners. I think he also mourns because he has a heavy heart. According to the Book of the Dead, the Egyptians' hearts were weighed on a scale against a feather, and if they were heavier, the person could not enter the other world. In a way, I think he likes that his heart is heavy due to his guilt so that he will not be able to enter the other world.
To me, Annie did not seem that surprised that her father was actually an abusive guard, not an innocent prisoner. I wonder if all along he had acted kind of weird so that she had been a little suspicious, or maybe she was just in shock. I don't really know. I noticed in the story that both Annie and Gabrielle were trying to please their fathers in some way. Annie's father failed her by not telling her the truth, and she unknowingly failed him by portraying him as the innocent victim. Annie and her father both failed Gabrielle by not delivering the statue, and Gabrielle failed her father by not being able to give him what he needed to feel at home. They all both caused disappointment and were disappointed in the story. Overall, I thought this was a pretty good story.
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I was also a little confused at the beginning of the story. Likewise, I thought Annie was a young girl as well. Guess we were both wrong. I'm still a little unsure of what her age is, but I think it is somewhere between late twenties and early thirties. Annie's father was a very interesting man. I still don't really understand why he thought what he did was so horrible, but he must of felt he couldn't share it with his family. I think that is where he originally went wrong. Annie didn't actually seem upset when her father told her the truth, I think she was more in shock. I think both fathers were disappointed, but I believe they were able to get over it in the end and forgive their daughters. I really enjoyed this novel as well.
I almost wonder if Annie knew all along that her father had been the prison guard. She took it so easily. It doesn't seem impossible that she did know, especially if he did have those nightmares. He could have said anything during them.
Maybe he didn't feel they needed to know about the pain he caused others, that they might be scared of what he had been.
I did like this story quite a bit more than the first one and "Teenage Wasteland."
Even though the father did not tell the truth for a very long time, I admire him for finally doing so. Living with what he had done would be almost unbearable, but then I got slightly confused. What exactly did he do? The mother did not really seem to mind, but then again I guess she would have thought of him as courageous or something for getting out. I thought that this story was ok. Compared to the others, it seemed rather boring. There was just no action, and it was kind of predictable. There were no twists or turns to keep my attention.
I liked the plot of this story. I thought it was interesting. I was surprised with the author revealeld what her father did for a living. I was also surprised at how the daughter reacted. She didn't seem to upset about his career choice but rather that he lied to her. I can see why she would be mad. I hate it when people lie let alone a parent. I didn't like how the father didn't want her to sell the statue. It seemed immature to me. His daughter was very proud of her work. He should have talked to her rather than throwing it into a lake.
Annie did seem young at the beginning of the story. I thought that Annie was just remembering her father when she talked about the Ancient Egyptians. I thought Annie seemed shocked and betrayed when she learned her father was a prison guard. It was like she was so shocked she didn't know how to react. I did feel that Annie's father failed her by not telling her the truth since she was older now, but I think he was trying to protect her from knowing what her father did.
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