SUMMER FRUIT

In Humphrey’s novel, a murder sparks self-reflection among the residents of an island community.

Jack Karlsson is a former music prodigy turned wolf conservation obsessive. Sahara Moses is a cop studying to qualify as a paramedic. Tomas is an ex-soldier struggling to leave the war behind. Esther is a teenage girl unaware of just how many secrets plague her, struggling to understand why “everything she touches seems to fall apart.” The narrative follows these characters as they confront the aftermath of a suspicious death on the island they call home. There is a mystery to be solved, but it’s the tumult of Jack’s guilt-ridden past that most prominently shapes the story. Unable to forgive himself for his sins, Jack long ago condemned himself to a life of exile and withdrew from the music scene he was thriving in. Now, he lives on Hollow Island, writing music under a pseudonym and falling increasingly under the thrall of the semi-mythic wolves that haunt the narrative. His niece Esther comes to stay with him for the summer; she’s struggling to stay afloat while beset by an eating disorder and an increasingly fragmented family. Love may just save both her and Jack, but before they can move on, truths must first be revealed. Guilt and the difficult path to self-forgiveness are at the emotional core of Humphrey’s novel. Lines like “It’s part of having children, learning not to hate other people for letting them grow up” offer startlingly clear insights into the complexities of family. The wolves that may or may not have made it to Hollow Island function as a MacGuffin that simultaneously symbolize Jack’s unraveling mental state and lend the novel a fablelike quality. The large cast of characters bring the island to life, though the focus is on the familial relationship between Jack and Esther—the mystery of the murder is secondary to their attempts to find and forgive themselves.

A worthy meditation on the struggle to atone.