Perhaps the rest of the family looks at that first gunshot as the pivotal point of our lives. My father and I used to play a game. He'd take a photograph or a picture from a magazine. Animals take shelter. Fire breaks out.
Animals run for their lives.
For every action, a reaction. Alter one element and an idyllic forest scene becomes a cataclysm. I'm not alone in this belief. Others have read the book as well. Reviewers use nothing but glowing terms.