HAND OF BELENOS

A compassionate man doggedly follows his strange destiny despite frequent uncertainty in Smith’s novel.

Duncan Graham tries to avoid living an extraordinary life. His mother, McKenna, and his absentee father, Ethan, were star-crossed lovers from feuding Scottish clans. The unwed couple separated, with Ethan sending McKenna and Duncan to America to avoid scandal. Duncan enjoys a normal life growing up with a single mother until he is 11 years old—that’s when he magically cures his best friend Timmy’s polio (“The room filled with light”) and discovers that he is a healer. Duncan does his best to keep his gift a secret, using it sparingly as he grows into adulthood, but he’s thrust into the public eye when he’s forced to save a young woman struck by a car. Duncan is uncomfortable in the spotlight, but he holds meetings at a former church to heal people, eventually moving to a bigger facility. Thanks to negative publicity generated by those he couldn’t cure, Duncan’s “ministry” flounders, and he also suffers serious personal reversals. It isn’t until Duncan accompanies McKenna’s body home to Scotland that he truly begins to understand his power. He begins roaming the world and helping others, leading to a fateful reunion. In Duncan, Stone has created a totally believable character; he reacts as anyone would if they received a life-saving power with no owner’s manual. (Actually, he likely does better than most, as Duncan leads with his heart and uses his gift to benefit others.) The narrative is affecting as friends slip in and out of his life, and even his mother, who knows more than she lets on, frustratingly leaves him alone to navigate his own path. The author makes it annoyingly difficult to keep track of time—while it is clear that the novel covers Duncan’s life, it’s less evident how many decades this entails. Still, Stone triumphs in building an admirable character who succeeds despite his gift.

An intriguing story that questions what makes for a successful life.