[Book] #24. Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate Dicamillo - There ain’t no way you can hold on to something that wants to go.

bree1042 (68)in #books • 6 years ago

이 글은 "내 친구 윈딕시"를 읽고 영어로 쓴 독후감입니다. 우리말로 된 독후감은 아래 링크에 있습니다. 같은 내용이니 영어 독후감은 또 읽지 않으셔도 됩니다.

[독후감] #30. 내 친구 윈딕시 by 케이트 디카밀로 - 가고 싶어하는 것을 붙잡아둘 방법은 없단다

Title: Because of Winn-Dixie
Author: Kate Dicamillo
Other: Won Newbery Medal.

Are you lonely, too, Winn-Dixie?

I have read several books where the main character has dogs, but in this book a dog is kind of the main character. Its name Winn-Dixie, unusual for a dog name, is actually the name of a supermarket chain.

Opal's mother left her when she was a baby, and she's been living with her father, the preacher ever since. What does she look like? Did she even love me? Why did she leave me? Opal's been wondering about her mom but her father never answers them. And now she and her father moved to a new town and she doesn't have any close friends and familiar places to go. She's become totally lonely. Or so she thought.

One day she accidentally met a big stray dog, and that changed everything for her in a good way. She met the dog in the supermarket, Winn Dixie. The manager of the market wanted to kick out the dog, but Opal lied to him that the dog belonged to her. A big, smelly and dirty stray dog it may be, but Opal can't help but feel certain empathy. She named the dog Win-Dixie after the supermarket's name.

Source: here
Winn Dixie in Kingsland, Georgia

How to come to terms with loneliness

I don't know how a dog can do such a thing, but because of Winn-Dixie everything changed. That Summer Opal met new best friends, got a part-time job, realized that her father'd been loving her all along, and could finally start to fill up the hole that her mother had created when she left. All. Because. Of. Winn-Dixie.

I personally don't like pets. No dogs, no cats. But this book makes me think that dogs actually can be men's best friends or even more. If you like dogs or if you like stories about coming to terms with holes in your life, I bet you enjoy this book. It also won the Newbery Medal, which means you can share this book with your children.

Source: Goodreads

A Few Good Lines from the Book

“I found a dog,” I told him. “And I want to keep him.”
“No dogs,” the preacher said. “We’ve talked about this before. You don’t need a dog.”
“I know it,” I said. “I know I don’t need a dog. But this dog needs. Me.”

Just about everything that happened to me that summer happened because of Winn-Dixie.

Sometimes, it seemed like everybody in the world was lonely. I thought about my mama. Thinking about her was the same as the hole you keep on feeling with your tongue after you lose a tooth. Time after time, my mind kept going to that empty spot, the spot where I felt like she should be.