Edward's Eyes by Patricia Maclachlan

I have currently read the book Edward’s Eyes by Patricia MacLachlan. The book overall is interesting and makes you wonder about not only characters but also makes you question yourself. I have a lot to say about this amazing book that really makes you think.

The narrator Jake, to start off with, seems to have a great connection with his younger brother Edward. From the start not only does he state how Edward is in his dreams and his thoughts a lot (proving that in someway he Edward influenced him) but he states that when Edward was born he saw and held Edward the first out of all the other siblings in the house. Hmm… maybe that connected the two and gave them a bond that no body else had with Edward. I think that in some way Jake started to love Edward before he was born. Because of their “bond” Jake could always understand how amazing Edward was.

When I think of Edward I think of confidence and being brave. This is because above all Edward was brave according to the book on his first day of kindergarten Edward wanted to walk to school all by himself. Their mom even admits that she was scared for Edward, yet the 4 to 5 year old Edward wasn’t. That is when we are first and formally introduced to Edward.

In a way, Edward was similar to me, not because we are both brave but because we both have a passion. Edward’s passion was baseball. Edward “could see the baseball leave the pitcher’s hand and come down a path to him like a train on its track” only someone who loves and has a passion for something can understand the depths of his/her passion. I love to dance and for me, dancing lets the soul run free and wild.

You might have noticed that I’ve continued to speak in past tense when speaking about Edward that is because later on in the book Edward does pass away (SPOILER ALERT!). But before he does Jake wants to know what his sign is (Which direction he should go in life.) I realized that if Jake didn’t necessarily know what his sign is or where it is then he probably doesn’t know himself well enough. Then I thought back to my own life I don’t have a sign either. Do I know myself? 

Now that I think about it, maybe Edward is Jake’s sign to be a braver, better, more confident person. Edward was a role model, even if he was the younger sibling, he was loyal and brave and a good friend, but an even better brother to Jake. Think: who would Jake really be without Edward? 

I can now make a connection from the prologue to the end of the book. Willy, the person Jake spoke to at the baseball stadium is the one Edward gave his eyes to after he passed on. Now Willy sees the world through Edward’s special eyes and I believe there is still a part of Edward in both Jake and Willy.