VIII - Have a look around

 VIII - Have a look around

(I'm rating Markus' blog here)

What I immediatly noticed was how well the types of text were adapted to the topic of the posts. For example, when writing a newsletter report, Markus wrote it in a way so it sounded like one. Also, for "Wrapping it up", he had the idea to make it in a Q/A style, which fit very well. 

The Post I liked the most was the character map. It was well organised, correct (as far as I could tell) and also colourcoded, wich really helped understanding the rather complicated character relationships in "We were liars".

The layout is simple, but good-looking; it's not overly detailed, the text is easy to read and no questionable premade design choices. However, I would have liked it even better if the posts were in order from top to bottom and not the other way round.

Photos were a bit rare, but well picked, illustrating posts were it was needed. A few typos here and there, but those could be corrected in a minute.

VII - moral questions

 VII - moral questions

Racism, land ownership, inheritance, materialism, greed, and manipulation are topics which are often indirectly brought up over the course of "we were liars". While not being actively discussed, the book still teaches some morals about these rather negatively connotated appearances. This happens via the outcome of specific situations, after a specific person behaves unaccordingly, showing signs of any of the mentioned topics. 

For example, Harris Sinclair is racist towards Gat, and in a direct consequence, Cady developes some sort of hatred about him; also, she fears that Gat is going to have to leave the island. This leaves her more paranoid than before.
Basically, the core point of the story is the fact that the aunts debate about who gets the money, once Harris Sinclair is dead. They are so strongly dependend on his financial support, that they have no choice. 
Manipulation happens also, especially in context of the "Sinclair mindset": "We shall not accept an evil we can change". Cady is often manipulating herself, by telling her that everything is fine, because her mother told her to pull herself together.

All above mentioned topics are taught lessons in this book, mostly in the way of horrible things happening, if those behaviors appear somewhere. This might be not that different in real life as well.

V - Storyboard of the Fire

 

IV - A Fire

 Fire on Beachwood Island burns down Villa Clairmont

This Friday evening, the ancient villa of Clairmont on the private island "Beachwood Island" caught on fire. Firefighters from nearby towns, including Vineyard and Woods Hole, came to the island after Harris Sinclair alarmed everyone around. Though, they were unable to save the villa, but no further damage was done. Luckily, nobody got injured and a new villa is going to be seen there, where the old one stood. 

It is unclear what caused the fire to break out and spread so rapidly, but many assume that the villa was actually lit on purpose. Suspects include, but are not limited to: The Sinclair grandchildren, the boat guard, and also, Harris Sinclair himself. He could have possibly lit his house on fire to claim insurance money.

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

III - Character Map

 

II - Characterisation

 Characterisation of Cady

In We Were Liars, our protagonist Cadence Sinclair is also our first person narrator. She is almost eighteen when telling the story, but the book features her years of life from 15 to 17. Her hair used to be blond, and now it's black.

Before her accident:

Cadence was a pretty and strong girl. Her first character change happens right at the start of the story, when her father leaves the Sinclair family. Before that, she feels like the future Queen of the island, because she is the oldest grandchild. When her father leaves, she realises that her "perfect world" fantasy is not exactly right. She starts to understand the world and her priviledge in it. "Understanding everything" makes her sad, so she chooses to reject all conversation about that. 

After her accident:

With her accident, her world view is shattered once again. Last time, she told herself: "Things are going wrong, but I can still be fine". Afterwards, she becomes depressive and developes migraines, which make her life worse again. Basically, her view of the future slowly breaks, as she gets marked for life and handicapped by a chronic disease. She becomes a very different character than the Cady from the beginning. She is very neutral towards things happening, because she simply doesn't care anymore. Her mindset is now: "The world is terrible, and I'll just play along" 

I - The Sinclair Family

 The Sinclairs are an unusual family - or are they?

The Sinclairs are defined by their strong characterisation as  rich and arrogant people. They are seen as strange from an outer perspective, because they do their very best to hide any sort of emotions or feelings to the outside world. Never will they show signs of weakness or generousness. 

The only reason the family is rich is Harris Sinclair, their Grandfather. Basically, everything that belongs to the family belongs to him. Especially mentioned, the island called Beachwood island. Every summer, the entire sinclair family will go to that island and occasionally bring some friends with them. Every core family has their own house on the island, which makes some sort of village on the island, featuring only one family. In some way, Harris also is the patriarch of the sinclair family. First of all, because of the reasons mentioned above, but that's not everything. He also controls every action and step of any Sinclair, and everyone has to follow. Not because of special reasons; he pays everything they need, and they need what he pays for them. 

When Harris' wife, Tipper, dies, he becomes an entirely different person. He suddenly becomes depressive, and, most importantly, he reliefs a lot of the controlling pressure he exerted before. This obviously affects the whole family as well, and things start to change. 

This weird family dynamic is the main reason why I couldn't see myself as a member of the Sinclair family. I could never live with the everpresent knowledge that my dependencies on the money of my grandfather are so high that I basically lose my free will in exchange for living a life in some sort of luxury on our private island. Also, regarding said island: I hate to be sealed off from the outside world. I hate the quarantine like almost nothing else, and winter doesn't make things better. Why should I throw my Summer into the trash can as well?