We never find out Genevieve’s back story. Why do you suppose the author chose to omit this information? What did you think of this decision?
I thought about that several times throughout the book and wondered why we never got to know about Genevieve. But then I became consumed (over and over again) with the other characters! LOL. So, I guess in the end, I wasn’t bothered by not knowing. If that was the author’s intent, she succeeded.
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As in real group sessions, the professional serves as a guide and validator but does not reveal personal information. After all, “It’s not about her.” I actually felt that Genevieve revealed way too much about her role, her responsibilities, her worries about her job security, etc. It was off-putting as far as taking the entire situation seriously for me anyway.
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Well she was the leader of the group so probably we did not need to know her story.
There were a couple points during the story that made me briefly pause and wonder what her story was, mainly because she became frazzled and that seemed counter to someone who was a therapist leading a group. Though I was curious about her background, I was glad this was omitted and that the focus was the four main characters.
Genevieve’s role is of the therapist and therefore she is not revealing her story. She is the facilitator, so she stays out of the discussion of the four people she is in charge of.
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Knowing that she was killed in a bike accident in the 70’s explained enough for me. I liked her character and was happy that she made the decisions that she did to help all of the group.
I think the author wanted us to focus on the 4 group members’ stories. Learning her background would have muddied the surprise twist.
I think her story was best left untold. The job of the therapist is to facilitate the sharing of the four principal characters.
I must admit i liked that bit of mystery around Genevieve. I think that’s why she was my favorite character.