Happy book review day, everyone!
Something about the cooler weather this time of year speaks to seriously cozy books, doesn't it? And I know a lot of people think "mysterious" when they think cozy. Well, that fits the book choice for this week's #bookreview.
Now, let me qualify this a bit. This book is not really a mystery. But it IS mysterious. As in, you don't really know what's going on.
I suppose it fits best into the magical realism genre (rapidly becoming one of my favourite genres!) if you had to classify it.
As always, some spoilers ahead.
In 1966, Harold and Lucille's son tragically died on his eighth birthday. They've adapted to a lifetime without him, and then one day, when they're in their seventies, their son, Jacob, shows up at their door. And he's still eight years old.
It's happening all over the world. People, people who are supposed to be dead, are just appearing. They aren't zombies or ghosts or anything traditionally supernatural; they look just like those who've died. They show up in random places (Jacob appears by a river in China before he is able to make his way home), from random times, and no one can explain how or why or what it all means. Science is confused. Religion is confused. Society is confused,.
Even Harold and Lucille aren't sure about Jacob. He looks like their son, talks like their son, acts like their son, smells like their son, but is he their son? And now, a lifetime later, they have to reclaim this role of parent again.
But as interesting as this family's story is, it isn't the reason that this book stuck with me. It's the chaos that the novel addresses. People are confused. They're scared. And, in those feelings, they react differently to the situation. Some turn to religion. Some open their homes. Some attack. There is a serious look at the "us vs. them" reality of the world, but instead of being based on religion or race or class or gender or sexuality or political affiliation, it's based on the returned and the question of humanity and who decides who is human and who is not.
“People and events of wonder and magic are the lifeblood of the world.”
The book centers on a small town American town that becomes the epicenter for the USA's response to this fantastical event. And reactions are... varied.
For every cruel action, there is a sympathetic one. There are real worries behind housing and feeding and watering and caring for all of the returned; I appreciated these details. In an already overpopulated world, and a whole lot of previously-dead people just appeared again... what would we, as humanity, do? And again, who decides?
“If there’s one thing America will always lead the world in,” Harold said, “it’s assholes with guns.”
“But isn’t that the way it is with memory? Give it enough time and it will become worn down and covered in a patina of self-serving omissions.”
This is a book that raises more questions than it answers. If you want answers, you just are not going to get them here. That isn't what this book is for. It holds up a mirror to society and humanity and says, "Look, and question, and wonder." It's contemplative, not prescriptive.
There apparently is a TV series that follows this story, and a series of connected books. While I really did like and appreciate this book, I have little desire to watch the show or read the rest of the books. I like this story as it is. It did its job; to me, it was effective. The format is interesting (every other chapter is a short one describing the experience of another of the returned), the writing style is descriptive and lovely, the main characters realistic, the questions poignant.
Have you read this book or watched the TV show? What did you think of it?
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