Re: Was the ending plausible?

Use this forum to discuss the April 2019 Book of the month, "Adrift" by Charlie Sheldon
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Kajori Sheryl Paul
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Re: Was the ending plausible?

Post by Kajori Sheryl Paul »

Charlie Sheldon's Adrift is an adventurous naval tale. In this book William played a key role. He put his life at risk to save the crew. When everyone was found, he was still lost. It was after quite some time when Myra and her compatriots found him in the frozen wilds of Haida Gwaii. She even thought that he was dead. However, that was not the case. He was very much alive. Though this made the ending happy, it was nothing short of a miracle.

I would love to know whether you all think his survival was practically plausible, or it was just one of those things that can only happen in fiction?
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Post by Renu G »

The characters in this book have an amazing spirituality. The ending reveals the power of solidarity and faith.
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Post by Charlyt »

I think that it could be plausible. Correct me if I'm wrong, but at a certain cold temperature the heart slows down enough that it seems like it's barely beating at all. Kind of like the person is hibernating. But I'm sure there are other factors involved like how cold the temperature should be or how fast the cold takes over your body. But I think there's a certain amount of possibility there.
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Post by Kajori Sheryl Paul »

Renu G wrote: 01 Apr 2019, 23:25 The characters in this book have an amazing spirituality. The ending reveals the power of solidarity and faith.
Yup, I agree with you. Faith and spirituality does play a role in it.
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Post by Kajori Sheryl Paul »

Charlyt wrote: 02 Apr 2019, 00:21 I think that it could be plausible. Correct me if I'm wrong, but at a certain cold temperature the heart slows down enough that it seems like it's barely beating at all. Kind of like the person is hibernating. But I'm sure there are other factors involved like how cold the temperature should be or how fast the cold takes over your body. But I think there's a certain amount of possibility there.
That is a very valid point. However, William was there for more than a day, and he was a frail old man. Though I am happy that he survived, I can't help but be a tad skeptical.
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Post by Nerea »

If humans become cold very fast they can survive without breathing for a long time.
Based on this quote, I think the ending is practically plausible. And thank you for bringing this up because I was a bit confused about the ending. I even thought the author didn't finish the story. :D
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Post by Kajori Sheryl Paul »

Nerea wrote: 02 Apr 2019, 03:46
If humans become cold very fast they can survive without breathing for a long time.
Based on this quote, I think the ending is practically plausible. And thank you for bringing this up because I was a bit confused about the ending. I even thought the author didn't finish the story. :D
The ending was somewhat open-ended. Though, I believe it was wrapped up neatly.
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Post by evraealtana »

I don’t really think it could happen - it makes a nice ending for a fictional story, but in real life hypothermia kills, and does it in a hurry. You can only survive so many cells being frozen before you just stop functioning, especially if you aren't moving much and therefore can't warm yourself. I'm not convinced that it's realistic.
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Post by Mai Tran »

I think it plausible. I've read some similar cases where people come back from the death after prolonged exposure to cold temperatures. There are other people who died under the same condition, so I guess it depends on their physics and wills to live.
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Post by Ruba Abu Ali »

There is no unanimous rule for this. Depends on the body's reaction. As rare as it is, but there have been similar cases in real life, which makes the ending plausible.
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Post by Kibet Hillary »

I don't know why I kept I on suspecting that he would be found alive. However, he was in such a bad state and I had to read the segment twice to confirm whether he was alive. The chances of survival in such an environment were slim but I think the ending is still plausible.
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Post by vishu »

Realistically, I don't think the ending seems plausible. Though it certainly strikes the message that a person's determination and will can overthrow any difficulties, which seems a miracle for the mass.
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Post by Prisallen »

I think it would take a miracle, but miracles do happen, so I think it is plausible.
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Post by briellejee »

It was plausible. William is both mentally and physically strong. His experience back then in their hikes could probably be the reason why he was able to survive in the end. However, my nerdy side believes that hypothermia is rapid and that his time out there could have probably killed him. But we never knew how he managed to survive, so there must be something that he did.
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Post by MrsCatInTheHat »

I think it's plausible but highly unlikely for someone his age.
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