Posted by Mike Shaffer on May 15, 2000 at 00:54:29:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Changes posted by Nonnie on May 14, 2000 at 22:28:15:

LL wrote Tom Sunday as though he were an iceberg. He only allowed you to see so much of Tom. The fact that with Sunday's education and intelligence he chose to ignore all but what he felt tells us that there is more missing than what is shown or known about Tom Sunday. He is probably one of the most complex and interesting characters that LL created...this is where, I believe, that the craft of writing is overtaken by art. Eventually, Sunday was consumed by the darkness that lurks just below the surface us all.

Tom Sunday did his job, and as was the custom of the day and time, no questions were asked. Tom Sunday, however, remains an enigma wrapped in a mystery. How easy it was for him to be made to feel small. Even his obvious intellect couldn't save him from himself, but what was it that drove him to such self-loathing...or was it mankind that he loathed? What secrets lie behind Tom Sunday, and what role did Orrin and Tyrell play in revealing the ugliness that manifested itself inside of Tom? The change seemed sudden, but it manifested itself over a five year period, and was festering much longer.

There were a few hints of Tom's past, but there were enough to allow us a peek at the soul of this very complex character. For me Tom Sunday was the glue that held the book together...good, consumed by an evil that looked itself squarely in the eye, and didn't blink. Tom Sunday didn't take control of his own life, he allowed life to dicate to him, to be manipulated by the world around him, he slowly gave up on life, until in the end it ate him.

Its freightening because what happened to Tom Sunday, could happen to any of us...

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