Charlie harshly blamed himself for his brother’s death and lived like the dead. He spent a lot of time with his brother and was indifferent with his girlfriend, who eventually broke up with him. Afterwards, he seldom approached a woman, let alone having a relationship. Until he met a woman called Tess, who was bold and gorgeous and fond of sailing around the world, he found himself hard to keep a distance from her and wanted to stay with her. Thus, he stood up Sam and sometimes was absentminded while playing catch with his little brother. Sam was so irritated that he lashed out at Charlie and said, “You broke your promise to keep me company and play catch with me forever.” The guilt flashed into Charlie’s mind, and he was in a dilemma because he was obsessed with Tess and loved his brother. It was hard for him to abandon one of them.
Fortunately, Sam let Charlie pursue his love and was curious about his feeling of kissing a woman. After going through the turmoil and agony, he had a relationship with Tess. Later on, Charlie found out Tess, who was actually a spirit like Sam and told her that she had the two choices—one was to stay here like Sam and the other was to go to the next level. Tess thought of Charlie as his Mr. Right and loved him very much so that she decided to stay with him for good. Nevertheless, things never happened as smoothly as you thought. It’s not her call to choose whether to stay or to leave. Tess’s body began to vanish and was frightened to let Charlie know, for she didn’t want Charlie to see the way she faded away. Tess had left with a note that read “I hate the thought of leaving, but I am hopeful about what’s to come. Someday we will be together and I want you to dive for dreams, to trust your heart, and to live by love.”
In my opinion, it wasn’t Charlie’s fault for the car accident. It was the truck driver who was drunk driving that should be blamed and had the responsibilities to feel guilty. Charlie shouldn’t dash his dream to accompany Sam because they were in different worlds after all. The living should keep going with hope, while the dead should go to the next level instead of bothering their beloved ones’ life. “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity. A time to weep and laugh, to love and hate, to search and give up. A fireman thought these words were nonsense because he wanted to live; however, he didn’t have a choice.” I really like this paragraph because it made me enter the world of the novel and felt as frustrated as the fireman. How come good guys always kick the bucket early?
Charlie had a dream of sailing around the world like Tess, but he decided to work in a cemetery without play to compensate for Sam. Personally, it’s ridiculous that he lived a life as if he was dead because no matter how he treated himself poorly, nothing would change the disaster. I really adore Tess, for she was determined and courageous. When she faced the shipwreck, she calmed down to save her boat from sinking and tried not to ask coast guard for help. What’s more, although she loved Charlie with all her heart, she didn’t request him to be with her immediately; on the contrary, she wanted him to fulfill his dream, which made me feel touched with tears rolling down my cheek. It was Tess who made Charlie figure out that he wasn’t accountable for his brother’s death and he had the right to chase his happiness.
Not until Tess couldn’t see her shadow reflect on the lake did I realize that she was actually a spirit, so did Charlie. I appreciated the way the author described the plot that Tess was a spirit, wandering between a land of the living and the dead. I was really attracted to this novel, and I was moved by the love between Charlie and Tess and the relationship between Charlie and Sam.
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