An imaginative, thought-provoking exploration of what it means to be truly alive.
A man sets out on a journey through a surreal landscape in search of a sense of purpose in Chouinard’s debut novel.
In a rustic cabin “at the utmost edge of the world,” a nameless man is awakened by the sunrise and steps outside in a dazed stupor. The world he encounters feels new and incomprehensible to him. Propelled by an innate desire to explore and understand his surroundings, he walks to the sea, where he experiences a moment of rapture. He later awakens on the shoreline to find a note in his pocket from “the Sentient Sage,” which suggests that there’s more to life than mere repetition of cyclical patterns. The Sage later appears to him in the form of a child, and during their conversation, the man discovers that his own name is Davis. Davis further explores his surroundings, where he encounters strange beasts, including a gigantic, talking ape. He finds his way to Inanimis, a city whose residents “have lost touch with what it truly means to be alive.” Stirrings of political unrest in the city finally allow Davis to discern his purpose. Chouinard’s prose is consistently stimulating and poses deep philosophical questions. In his descriptions of the people of Inanimis, the author holds a mirror up to the greed and shortsightedness of humankind: “They strive ever to be better than Nature, to improve upon it, in defiance of its rules. They focus solely on what they find valuable at present.” Chouinard’s unadorned style is akin to that of a parable, which may put off some readers: “he knew that he had come so soon to the point where he must decide which route he would take.” Yet fans of books such as Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist (1988) will find satisfaction in searching for the story’s deeper meanings. Davis’ journey from being “a man with no name, thoughts, or memories” to realizing his own inner power proves compelling, and the novel’s denouement will take many by surprise.
An imaginative, thought-provoking exploration of what it means to be truly alive.Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7351679-1-6
Page Count: 342
Publisher: Storm King Studios LLC
Review Posted Online: Oct. 8, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
An angry, powerful book seething with love and outrage for a community too often stereotyped or ignored.
Inspired by David Copperfield, Kingsolver crafts a 21st-century coming-of-age story set in America’s hard-pressed rural South.
It’s not necessary to have read Dickens’ famous novel to appreciate Kingsolver’s absorbing tale, but those who have will savor the tough-minded changes she rings on his Victorian sentimentality while affirming his stinging critique of a heartless society. Our soon-to-be orphaned narrator’s mother is a substance-abusing teenage single mom who checks out via OD on his 11th birthday, and Demon’s cynical, wised-up voice is light-years removed from David Copperfield’s earnest tone. Yet readers also see the yearning for love and wells of compassion hidden beneath his self-protective exterior. Like pretty much everyone else in Lee County, Virginia, hollowed out economically by the coal and tobacco industries, he sees himself as someone with no prospects and little worth. One of Kingsolver’s major themes, hit a little too insistently, is the contempt felt by participants in the modern capitalist economy for those rooted in older ways of life. More nuanced and emotionally engaging is Demon’s fierce attachment to his home ground, a place where he is known and supported, tested to the breaking point as the opiate epidemic engulfs it. Kingsolver’s ferocious indictment of the pharmaceutical industry, angrily stated by a local girl who has become a nurse, is in the best Dickensian tradition, and Demon gives a harrowing account of his descent into addiction with his beloved Dori (as naïve as Dickens’ Dora in her own screwed-up way). Does knowledge offer a way out of this sinkhole? A committed teacher tries to enlighten Demon’s seventh grade class about how the resource-rich countryside was pillaged and abandoned, but Kingsolver doesn’t air-brush his students’ dismissal of this history or the prejudice encountered by this African American outsider and his White wife. She is an art teacher who guides Demon toward self-expression, just as his friend Tommy provokes his dawning understanding of how their world has been shaped by outside forces and what he might be able to do about it.
An angry, powerful book seething with love and outrage for a community too often stereotyped or ignored.Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-325-1922
Page Count: 560
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.
The sequel to It Ends With Us (2016) shows the aftermath of domestic violence through the eyes of a single mother.
Lily Bloom is still running a flower shop; her abusive ex-husband, Ryle Kincaid, is still a surgeon. But now they’re co-parenting a daughter, Emerson, who's almost a year old. Lily won’t send Emerson to her father’s house overnight until she’s old enough to talk—“So she can tell me if something happens”—but she doesn’t want to fight for full custody lest it become an expensive legal drama or, worse, a physical fight. When Lily runs into Atlas Corrigan, a childhood friend who also came from an abusive family, she hopes their friendship can blossom into love. (For new readers, their history unfolds in heartfelt diary entries that Lily addresses to Finding Nemo star Ellen DeGeneres as she considers how Atlas was a calming presence during her turbulent childhood.) Atlas, who is single and running a restaurant, feels the same way. But even though she’s divorced, Lily isn’t exactly free. Behind Ryle’s veneer of civility are his jealousy and resentment. Lily has to plan her dates carefully to avoid a confrontation. Meanwhile, Atlas’ mother returns with shocking news. In between, Lily and Atlas steal away for romantic moments that are even sweeter for their authenticity as Lily struggles with child care, breastfeeding, and running a business while trying to find time for herself.
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-668-00122-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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