The Returning looks at the same story from a bunch of angles: Cam, Pin, Gyaar, Acton, Diido, and Graceful all give their version of events so we're never really sure if how one person sees it is how it happened. Cam learns that there are different versions of reality in the world, and that "reality" is just the way people interpret a situation—so even though he doesn't get why Gyaar spares him, it makes total sense to the young lord. Just like Cam, we've got to figure out which reality—or combination of different people's realities—we think is the truth in this book.
Questions About Versions of Reality
- Why do you think the story is told from multiple perspectives? How would it be different if we only got Cam's side of the story?
- When Cam returns, people assume he worked for the Uplanders to stay alive, which he eventually does. Why does this bother them? How is their understanding of his time at war different from what actually happened?
- Whose "reality" do you think is most plausible? Unique? Interesting? Why do we identify with some characters and not others?
Chew on This
Truth and reality are often murky in The Returning and the distinction between what is right and wrong is frequently blurred.
Both Cam and Gyaar's versions of reality are accurate, yet they are troubling to each other because they challenge what each of them think is real.