I enjoyed the story, but was disappointed with the ending. Although Whiskey was in a coma and may not have "heard" him, Charlie had months to apologize and absolve himself of the emotional baggage that had burdened their relationship for so many years.
But Charlie didn't do that. Love IS having to say you're sorry. Vocalizing it and owning it. As his character developed, I liked Charlie less and less, and saw him for the selfish, immature, jealous, self-absorbed and angry man that he was. His behavior was despicable.
I was compelled to read this book because of the premise of the complicated and emotional dynamics which can tear families apart. Christina Baker Kline commented that Whiskey & Charlie was a novel about family and forgiveness, but I felt there was a life lesson lost with the empty ending. There was never an expressed, heartfelt apology.
When Charlie realized that Whiskey would recover, but not remember, he got a pass without earning it. He paid no contrition. The reader was happy that Whiskey survived the accident, but the ending was really not about redemption or forgiveness. Charlie got a clean slate and never had to be accountable to anyone for his twisted emotional baggage.
Charlie rejected and alienated Whiskey, and finally guilt trumped vindication when he realized that his brother could die. But so much was left unsaid and Charlie got to sweep the past underneath the carpet without taking full ownership and responsibility for the anger and hostility that had festered for all the wrong reasons, for so many years, that ultimately destroyed their relationship.
