The background story is heart-breaking but very topical - a high school shooting by a Mexican former pupil in Texas. Oliver Loving shouldn't have been at the homecoming dance so it was a shock that he was one of the victims. He was left in a 'locked in' coma unable to communicate. As the ten year anniversary of the tragedy approaches, there is hope that scientific developments mean that he may be able to speak at last.
The story is slow paced - telling the stories of Oliver's individual family members and others before and since the shooting. About half way through, I put the book aside for a week in frustration at the lack of pace and read other books but I knew that I hadn't abandoned the book and would return to finish it eventually.
I'm glad that I did.
The pace of the story and style reminded me of John Irving's epic best sellers.
The story is slow paced - telling the stories of Oliver's individual family members and others before and since the shooting. About half way through, I put the book aside for a week in frustration at the lack of pace and read other books but I knew that I hadn't abandoned the book and would return to finish it eventually.
I'm glad that I did.
The pace of the story and style reminded me of John Irving's epic best sellers.