Interesting Use of Foreshadowing

Use this forum to discuss the March 2020 Book of the month, "House of Eire" by June Gillam.
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María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda
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Re: Interesting Use of Foreshadowing

Post by María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda »

This is the only instance I noticed of foreshadowing but it made me super sad. Sarah was one of my favorite characters!
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Post by Marty_Kelly »

Wow, thanks for the heads up. I will definitely keep this in mind when I start reading.
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Post by eliviac35 »

Everydayadventure15 wrote: 28 Mar 2020, 18:29 Spoilers: Honestly I thought all the foreshadowing made the book too predictable and I wasn’t surprised by Sara’s death or that Claire was kidnapped. The tower was talked about the whole book, and Claire’s obsession with Rapunzel made it pretty clear to me that at some point in the book there was going to be a “suspenseful scene in the old damaged tower.” I was also expecting Bridget to end up dead with all the threats against her. The surprising part was that it took more than half the book for that to happen.
We are totally on the same page. In my opinion, there is a possibility to include too many moments of foreshadowing. I almost wish the author had left out all of the foreshadowing so that we would at least have a twist at the end.
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Post by Damis Seres Rodriguez »

I didn't really consider it as foreshadowing. I thought Sarah's behaviour made sense given her personality. She seemed the kind of woman that likes to make sure everything is okay and be ready just in case something happens. That's a really interesting perspective though.
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Post by ErikaP13 »

TopaAzul062 wrote: 19 Mar 2020, 22:30 From California to Ireland, we follow a group of characters on a journey to experience, and learn new things. The story itself is pretty straight forward, yet there were subtle inclusions of foreshadowing included. What was interesting about this book, is that the scenes hinting toward a future event weren't noticed till much later when characters recalled past events.

Take Sarah for instance. Before they left, she made sure everything was squared away should something bad take place while on the trip. Fast-forward some days to Connemara where she invites a palm reader, Dukker, to tell her fortune.

Before the palm reader begins, she mentions fortune tellers from the reservation and said, "I've had 'em all. Now let's hear yours." Couldn't help but wonder, especially after the reading, if her past fortunes were similar to Dukker's. Hence, the arrangements made prior to the trip.

Did you notice any other foreshadow moments in the story? If so, which one(s) caught your attention?
A lot of times, rereading a book like this brings forth a lot of foreshadowing moments you didn't catch the first time around.
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Post by ems1schafer »

memalescole75 wrote: 02 Apr 2020, 10:08 I figured early on that something would happen with Claire's long hair. She was adamant about not cutting it and loved to play with, and act the part of, Rapunzel. The thoughts on fortune-telling are interesting.
Yes! The mentions of her hair made me think of the similarities to Rapunzel right away. I have had long hair as a child and have been called Rapunzel by people all the time, so it always reminds me of that though.
Also, I think fortune-telling is almost always used as foreshadowing in literature, even if it doesn’t come true, because it shows a potential path the character could go down — or one the author wants you to expect to happen, whether a twist changes the outcome or the story actually follows through on it. Either way, it changes the pace of the reading to get you thinking about the future more.
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Post by Sophy Chunge »

Flashbacking is often easy to pull off but foreshadowing is a bit complex. It's great that you point it out. I see your example of foreshadowing which is easy to miss if focusing on other parts of the book.
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Post by kate_2215 »

Wow that's cool! I have not fully read the book yet, but foreshadowing moments as you described are one of my favorite devices authors use! It gets me very amped and encouraged to read more when I read over a particular moment and think, "Yes this is going to be something later." I also love the moments when you realized the moment something was mentioned or cued at earlier. It always ends up surprising and exciting to me. I think this is so because I read the novel, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie and fell in love with her devices and surprising elements. :D
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Post by ayoomisope »

kate_2215 wrote: 21 Apr 2020, 15:00 Wow that's cool! I have not fully read the book yet, but foreshadowing moments as you described are one of my favorite devices authors use! It gets me very amped and encouraged to read more when I read over a particular moment and think, "Yes this is going to be something later." I also love the moments when you realized the moment something was mentioned or cued at earlier. It always ends up surprising and exciting to me. I think this is so because I read the novel, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie and fell in love with her devices and surprising elements. :D
I definitely agree with your point on foreshadowing. It literally produces a satisfying feeling when all the dots connect, especially when done properly.
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Post by Maconstewart »

I have not read this, but really find all of the forum comments helpful! As a newbie I am learning quite a bit and will be paying more attention to these aspects of writing I had previously overlooked, or at the very least didn't put much thought onto.

I am so glad I found this group!
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Post by prowlingivy »

I felt as though Hillary's nightmares were foreshadowing the doom she would encounter in Ireland. For instance when she is in the B&B,she wakes up rattled after a death- themed nightmare. On going to check in on Bridget with Loretta, they find her dead.
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Post by Okafor Prosper »

It's actually difficult for me to catch instances of foreshadowing while reading a book or watching a movie. The same was applicable to reading this book.
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Post by alicia_fountain »

Hi,

Thank you for your discussion post. I haven't read this book, yet, but I was trying to get a feel for it in the discussion forums, but was having a hard time understanding some of the overall feels for it other than specifics like "How did you think Seamus fit into the book" or something along those lines. Your post gave me a little better overview of why you were thinking what you were thinking about foreshadowing, and I imagine the book would be a good read for me!

Thanks for your insight :)
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Post by Vlinstry »

I like your take on the fortune teller. I had assumed that maybe Sarah was superstitious and just didn't want to be a burden but now you mention it I think she knew. I also figured something would happen in relation to Claire's hair since it was mentioned a lot of the time!
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Post by Dragonsend »

Everydayadventure15 wrote: 02 Apr 2020, 05:25
AntonelaMaria wrote: 31 Mar 2020, 07:55
Everydayadventure15 wrote: 28 Mar 2020, 18:29 Spoilers: Honestly I thought all the foreshadowing made the book too predictable and I wasn’t surprised by Sara’s death or that Claire was kidnapped. The tower was talked about the whole book, and Claire’s obsession with Rapunzel made it pretty clear to me that at some point in the book there was going to be a “suspenseful scene in the old damaged tower.” I was also expecting Bridget to end up dead with all the threats against her. The surprising part was that it took more than half the book for that to happen.
Really? I honestly didn't focus on it at all. I don't know, but I was just trying to get used to the writing style so I messed on all other things. I admit I was more interested in characters than the plotline.
My husband is an author so we talk a lot about foreshadowing, pacing, and other writing elements. I didn’t mean it in a bad way, but when Sarah said she was ready in case she died on the trip, my thoughts turned to “why did you say that Sarah? Now I’m going to assume you die at some point!” That’s why I wasn’t surprised when she did 😬
I agree the foreshadowing was too " heavy-handed" and made the book predictable. There was a lot of repetitiveness of the elements as well.
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 :angelic-grayflying:
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