My boys and I have spent the summer listening to (and they, reading) All the Weyrs of Pern. It is, to me, a culmination of eight books (three of which we read) that build toward the dragonriders of Pern finally eradicating their age-old enemy, Thread.* The ending (spoilers) has the deaths of some beloved characters, and it's written with such loving tenderness that, despite the fact that I hadn't read the book since I was in elementary school--maybe middle school--I still remembered some of the moments.
After the book was finished, I asked my kids if they thought it was a good ending. "No," said my seven year old. I could hear a hitch in his throat. Glancing in the rear view mirror, I saw that his eyes were plastic wrapped with tears that hadn't yet freed themselves. Now, my middle son is a sensitive soul; he cries anytime he feels a little too much emotion. But I could tell the ending was getting to him. My older son, who is 10, confessed that he had cried a little, too.
I got choked up, myself.
We talked about it, and I pointed out how wonderful it was that these characters had embodied goodness, sought to improve their world, helped others, and were genuinely kind to everyone they met. "They did what they were supposed to. They saved their world. And then they passed on." I thought of the quote from Ecclesiastes that, in a lot of ways, made for a benediction of not just the book, but the whole series: "For everything there is a time and a season, under heaven."
Leaving the world of Pern is always difficult. It's much like the world of Harry Potter or Middle Earth. Comparatively unknown, Pern and its magnificent dragons is so vibrantly realized, interconnected, and well-thought out that returning to the place always feels like going home. I'm glad that I was able to share these books with my sons, and I hope that the genuine emotion they had at the end of the story helped them to not only cement the experience of mourning for a fiction, but also inspire them to greater love and compassion.
"But the books are still there. You can reread them or read different ones," I can hear someone mumbling to herself.
That's true. But there will never be a time when my boys--particularly my older one, who likely will remember these stories better than my seven year old--can read any of these books without knowing the answers and destinies of the characters. And, much as I hate to say it, the books written after All the Weyrs of Pern always fail to capture the vividness and importance of this volume. Much like the additional books to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings have a place on the shelf but rarely in the hearts of the readers, the purpose of the fictive world McCaffery created is completed in All the Weyrs of Pern. There is more world, more stories, yes...but the most important one has been told.
So while a return or an expansion is always possible--and there are plenty of other dragonriders stories--they always have an ersatz quality to them.
Indeed, my boys aren't clamoring for another Pern book. I think that might be because the hurt over a lost fictive friend takes some time getting over (as anyone who cared deeply about the Harry Potter series can attest), and perhaps because, as much as it is a joy to spend time in the company of dragons and their riders, there are other worlds to see, other places to explore, other friends to make.
Literature truly is a blessing in human life.
----
* If you need a recap/explanation on the series...well, you're online. Google it... Okay, fine, here's a Wikipedia link. Lazy.
After the book was finished, I asked my kids if they thought it was a good ending. "No," said my seven year old. I could hear a hitch in his throat. Glancing in the rear view mirror, I saw that his eyes were plastic wrapped with tears that hadn't yet freed themselves. Now, my middle son is a sensitive soul; he cries anytime he feels a little too much emotion. But I could tell the ending was getting to him. My older son, who is 10, confessed that he had cried a little, too.
I got choked up, myself.
We talked about it, and I pointed out how wonderful it was that these characters had embodied goodness, sought to improve their world, helped others, and were genuinely kind to everyone they met. "They did what they were supposed to. They saved their world. And then they passed on." I thought of the quote from Ecclesiastes that, in a lot of ways, made for a benediction of not just the book, but the whole series: "For everything there is a time and a season, under heaven."
Leaving the world of Pern is always difficult. It's much like the world of Harry Potter or Middle Earth. Comparatively unknown, Pern and its magnificent dragons is so vibrantly realized, interconnected, and well-thought out that returning to the place always feels like going home. I'm glad that I was able to share these books with my sons, and I hope that the genuine emotion they had at the end of the story helped them to not only cement the experience of mourning for a fiction, but also inspire them to greater love and compassion.
"But the books are still there. You can reread them or read different ones," I can hear someone mumbling to herself.
That's true. But there will never be a time when my boys--particularly my older one, who likely will remember these stories better than my seven year old--can read any of these books without knowing the answers and destinies of the characters. And, much as I hate to say it, the books written after All the Weyrs of Pern always fail to capture the vividness and importance of this volume. Much like the additional books to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings have a place on the shelf but rarely in the hearts of the readers, the purpose of the fictive world McCaffery created is completed in All the Weyrs of Pern. There is more world, more stories, yes...but the most important one has been told.
So while a return or an expansion is always possible--and there are plenty of other dragonriders stories--they always have an ersatz quality to them.
Indeed, my boys aren't clamoring for another Pern book. I think that might be because the hurt over a lost fictive friend takes some time getting over (as anyone who cared deeply about the Harry Potter series can attest), and perhaps because, as much as it is a joy to spend time in the company of dragons and their riders, there are other worlds to see, other places to explore, other friends to make.
Literature truly is a blessing in human life.
----
* If you need a recap/explanation on the series...well, you're online. Google it... Okay, fine, here's a Wikipedia link. Lazy.