Comments on: Guest Post by Laura Cooper: Children of the Book.

By: jenniferpuryear

jenniferpuryear — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 22:52:47 +0000

Oh Ashley! You have had healthy children! I think it is so dear – and smart – that you had this conversation with your son. xo

By: Ashley Levi

Ashley Levi — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 19:18:38 +0000

Brilliant. I always enjoy Laura’s perspective and appreciate her willingness to share. I found myself, immediately upon finish of The Goldfinch, sitting down with my 11-year-old son to discuss. It probably scared the ba-Jesus out of him when I rattled off a serious plan and expectations of and for him in case of my sudden, shocking death. In case his father is out of commish too. Do you know what my sweet son said, when I referred to the “Emergency Room?” (obviously a long-gone term) He said, “Wait. Mom, what is the Emergency Room? Like, do you mean, Publix?”

By: Ridley Wills

Ridley Wills — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 18:25:11 +0000

The Washington Post is lucky to have Laura Cooper’s talent on board. Thank you for noticing this important aspect of our culture and for loving all of our children even harder.

Go, Laura!

By: jenniferpuryear

jenniferpuryear — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 17:19:01 +0000

Sine, thank you! Comments from another wonderful writer in our midst. xo

By: Sine

Sine — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 16:09:15 +0000

“They pre-competed, fiercely, for the biggest bed in the room they’d share once we finally arrived.” – You must have traveled in OUR family van too. Pre-competing is an art form in our family, the four children always fighting over some future perk. After getting the worst room (in her mind) two moves ago, our daughter (now 14) plotted for three years to get a better one the next time around (and she did:-).

But joking aside – how beautifully observed and written. I, too, have felt that same thing when reading All the Light we Cannot See. That fascination with those characters and at the same time a disappointment that our kids’ lives are so NOT like those in the book. I also often wonder, does it have to do with growing up in a war and all the adversity? Would you perhaps find more children like Marie-Laure and Werner if you went looking in Afghanistan? Our kids’ childhoods are just way too ordinary and comfortable for them to have such strong passions. They get satisfaction so many other ways. Maybe you have to have a difficult childhood to turn into something remarkable. Judith Kerr, who wrote “When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit”, I think said as much. She said how grateful she should be for her childhood because it gave her things to write about, or something to the effect. By the way, that’s another great book with an interesting child heroine – and it’s a memoir, not fiction.