Reflection of the Novel

“A Fine and Private Place” Reflection
A book of Hope!
I liked this book, but I have to say that it was quite a stretch of the imagination for me. I hold very strong beliefs about what happens after life. The creativity the author used and the love story he created in that kept me reading. I think Beagle did a great job of catching the reader’s attention in the beginning of the novel when Michael wakes up in a casket. This really was a way to start the book off with an unusual storyline.
I think Rebeck represents man-kind and our resistance to change. I think we all go through a time where we have to be open to change. Rebeck was not ready for the turn over in his life of bankruptcy and losing the one thing he loved which was helping people at the pharmacy. He lost hope much like the newly deceased that he would begin helping as they passed through this part of the after-life.
After this happens though I think Rebeck and the rest of the characters begin to realize they are going through a rejuvenating transformation into a new thing. Rebeck starts realizing he can help people in a whole new way, in a way he never imagined. There was no future to look forward to of good health for these people or a drug that can make them better again; these people were hungry and desiring a hope for something more.
There is love and romance in this book, but on a level none of us could understand. I think we get so caught up in life sometimes that we forget what really matters. We forget to slow down and remember why we love who we love. Michael and Laura have nothing left to offer each other except their love. Money, houses, cars and all of those things held no purpose to them anymore. They truly just wanted to have the hope of happiness.
We fail to acknowledge that everyday we can get up and be alive, have a career, breath, walk…The characters in this book had to fight all the time to remember these things so that they could have something to call an afterlife. These characters had eternity to reflect on memories of the lives they made when living.
We take for granted a lot of things that theoretically in this book could mean worlds of difference after life. Sitting, walking, standing, and all the things we do every day were an effortful battle for the characters like Laura and Michael. As time passes the ghosts and Mr. Rebeck develop an unusual relationship. Rebeck is trying everything to continue his passion of helping people even if that means leaving the living and helping the dead. What he doesn’t realize is that in doing this he is reviving himself back to life along with Mrs. Klapper’s help.
The theme that I would have to choose from the book would have to be hope. We talked about in class that you cannot be in a cemetery without at least glimpsing at the after-life. This book provides an unusual perspective about what happens when the deceased come to cross over to whatever is after death. There is a hidden message of hope for the living and the dead. Rebeck faces some change and turns to a place where he thought he and his dead spirit could go. He ends up finding hope and giving hope in the place he thought surely everything was dead.
What this entire novel comes down to is not really about death. I think that is how I was able to read it with interest is because it was really about life. Even with the far-fetched plot and characters, the author did a wonderful job of creating a story of hope. Beagle was trying to show us to slow down and smell the roses. Take every breath as if it was your last and cherish the moments we spend alive. He wrote this book to tell us in a magical and unexpected way to wake up, make memories, love life while its here. If at the end all we were left with was the memories of our lives and our consciousness, how would we feel about how we lived?