SPOILERS!! THE GLASS RAINBOW ending and plot discussed here

[Vicki]

Just finished Glass Rainbow. Like all of the other posts, I was blown away. My first thought was that they had died, but upon rereading it, they were on the gangplank, which leads me to believe they both had an out of body experience, and are still alive. If you remember, Jewel Leveau says she saw Dave's arms and legs fading(reminiscent of Back To The Future, when Marty had the picture of him and his siblings, and their bodies were fading, but as soon as he reunited his parents, the bodies were whole). So in my opinion, Dave and Clete are still alive, clinging to life. They may be partially paralyzed, but still alive. Some of the posters think Alafair will become a cop, or some younger guys will come on the scene. Those are great scenarios, keeping the story lines fresh, but still having Dave & Clete involved. Can't wait for the next novel.

[CaribooRose]

HI Vicki
I feel much the same way you do ... I have accepted one possible ending (insert deep sigh here, complete with the back of one hand upon forehead LOL) but will jump for joy if the Bobbsey Twins have escaped death.

But can't you just see the two of 'em, sitting on a porch, pontificating and being all sage giving advice to new police recruits.

Regards!!
Rose

[mcintosh]

Just finished The Glass Rainbow and the ending, ended up with me being here. Thanks for the site, I was left confused and wondered what the hell just happened. Glad to know I am not alone. Love the writing, the stories, the characters and family ties. Driven past Wichita State University on the way to wife's home in Nebraska from Oklahoma City since 1980, never thinking that one day I would be a huge fan of one of the professors who taught at that institution. Hope Dave and Clete are not left in Limbo and the story continues. Thanks for the entertainment Mr. Burke, hope there is a lot more of it.
Between you, Tess Gerritsen and Linwood Barclay, my long drive to and from work are much shorter thanks to the library system and my CD player. (Just got a Kindle and you are at home there as well.) Geaux Audio Books!
Joe McIntosh

[NOLALOVER]

Stunned!! Simply put, I grieved for two days then began to think about the ending. I agree with other posts that it is a fitting ending of the two yet, I hope they are still going to live in future books. Consider me boring, but, I would rather see them retired with Alafair carrying on and those two watching her back. You know, JLB would not make that boring in any way. Perhaps CRIMINAL LAW in a post Katrina environment where the new carpet baggers bump heads with old New Orleans and southern LA. culture and tradition!! Louisiana is a hot bed of topics that JLB could likely bring us a better understanding of how one maneuvers through it's quagmires legally/illegally!!!
Alafair's adult character development was a definite plus. JLB didn't let us see into her deeper emotional side, so I am hoping he will be developing that in future books. We so deeply know Dave and Clete and the series took us through their lives. Let's hope this book is the start of her personal development. And finally, let's hope Dave and CLete are part of it.

[daveclete]

Had me worried there for a second. Glad to know the Bobbsey twins will live to nail some more bad guys.

[katiehepburn]

I keep reading all your posts and start to realize that my perspective is more unique than ever I would have dreamed! Upon finishing another of the many adventures of Dave and Clete, I was struck dumb by the depth of their friendship. Even though I've read all the books, this one was a revelation to the 'twins' aspect, for some reason. My sister, 13 months younger than me, just died in a fire a couple of years ago, and I hear her calling me in the night some times. I feel as though I have lost a twin. We grew up fighting one another, when we weren't our father found creative ways to set us at each other, like the time he gave us boxing gloves and forced us to duke it out. He was a sadistic man, as was Clete's. These times bonded us is a strange way. James Lee knows how to elicit from each and every one of us some part of our growing-up experience, good or bad, to engage us emotionally with his characters.

All this to say, I finished the book 'knowing' without circumspection there would be another Dave and Clete story. I wonder why? I wrote this on another board:

"I 'BELIEVE' (standing, with one hand held high)! Dave and Clete will be back, a little worse for wear, but they will be back. These are two older men who still ran and lifted weights, who had the mental fortitude of young, virile buffalo bulls pumping with adrenaline, especially when goaded by the likes of these evil antagonists. Furthermore, they two are ONE and as soon as Clete touched his lips to Dave's forehead and pulled him back from the steamer on the proverbial 'River Styx', however much Dave may have been, at that point, looking forward to some eternal relief, these men began the synergistic process of rebuilding their minds, bodies and souls. I can't wait for the next installment!!! Can anyone say AMEN?! "

While I stand (right or wrong) on my initial impression, I admit I am shaken by the various perspectives so intelligently and emotionally stated on this forum. Mr. Burke, I hope you don't keep us in suspense for too long, though that is your forte.

[lucimay]

well i am late to the party as per usual. it was Swan Peak that brought me to this board, which i read week before last and then commenced reading The Glass Rainbow. when i got to the end, late this past Friday night (well, actually in the wee hours of Saturday morning) i uttered a plaintive "noooooooooooooooooooooooooo", waking the cat and the roommate!! i was reading on a Kindle and i kept pressing the "next page" button and it wouldn't turn the page. i couldn't believe there WERE no more pages!!!

i've waited a day or so to come to the forum because i needed to let it settle in my bones before reading any comments by posters or mr. burke.

i'm hanging my hopes for dave and clete's survival on this statement:

Honestly, I’m not really sure. The way I write, I never think ahead more than two scenes as two scenes is how much I write each day

yes all the signs were there that dave might be "moving on" so to speak, particularly miss jewel's comment that dave was "getting thinner."
but i'm sort of in agreement with the poster up thread who pointed out that clete was actually dragging dave away from the gangplank.

i'm hoping beyond all hope that we will see them again, but if not, it was a beautiful ending.

[rony]

I just finished TGR. I'm pretty damn sure that I have it all together BUT...................JLB kinda threw me a curve ball here. So, I want to go back and re-read the last chapter. I'm thinking, Clete pulled Dave back to the bank, OFF of the gangplank. That to me means..... they are both alive! Is this fun or what!!

[natchreader]

Caroline and Emma? The descendant of Marie Laveau? Too much left unsaid at this point.
Much like the author probably wanted, I'm not sure if we left the "Bobbsey Twins" in New Iberia or the eternal mist.
But it seems as though we should have some resolution, one way or another, with the antagonists. I have faith in JLB.
I know he won't just leave us twistin' in the wind forever.

[Bob Hurst]

Of course they are dead. Burke foreshadowed this relentlessly with the riverboat being the symbol of death. Clete's wound is mortal, and so is Dave's. Remember, Dave says that "Clete isn't going to make it." Burke uses this symbolism in "Electric Mist" in which the worlds of the living and dead are in communication. This time is different because Clete doesn't help Dave down the gangplank. Clete is actually welcoming Dave to the World of the Dead along with everyone else--the guys in the platoon, and so forth.

Who could imagine these two being old codgers sitting in the sunshine on the porch of the Old Cops Home? Better to go out with a bang, as it were, rather than fade away with a whimper! I am sorry there will be no more Robicheaux novels. I enjoyed them greatly, but everything must end.