This is not a book for those who want a quick read as it is a complex and evolving text that focuses on the Loving family before an unforeseen event and then its slow collapse and final reconstitution.
It is an unusual book insofar as it looks at the characters in isolation and then as the various strands of the story come together they intermingle and react to each other and to the events that have surrounded them.
For much of the book Oliver is missing and much of the book tells his story from the viewpoints of his brother and mother. This is due to Oliver having been the victim of a school shooting and his wound leaving him in what can be described as a persistent vegetative state. Or at least he appears to be this way and the answers that he holds to the events that occurred at his school appearing to be lost forever.
This is a book that deals with loss, self-loathing and eventual redemption and reconciliation as each of the family members seeks to come to terms with the events of that night and their role in them. It is also about identity and community and how significant events can have devastating effects on the wider community especially ones that are divided by race and economics.
I really enjoyed this book largely due to the characters described.
It is an unusual book insofar as it looks at the characters in isolation and then as the various strands of the story come together they intermingle and react to each other and to the events that have surrounded them.
For much of the book Oliver is missing and much of the book tells his story from the viewpoints of his brother and mother. This is due to Oliver having been the victim of a school shooting and his wound leaving him in what can be described as a persistent vegetative state. Or at least he appears to be this way and the answers that he holds to the events that occurred at his school appearing to be lost forever.
This is a book that deals with loss, self-loathing and eventual redemption and reconciliation as each of the family members seeks to come to terms with the events of that night and their role in them. It is also about identity and community and how significant events can have devastating effects on the wider community especially ones that are divided by race and economics.
I really enjoyed this book largely due to the characters described.