About the book:
It was the summer of storms and strays and strangers. The summer that lightning struck the big oak tree in the front yard. The summer his mother died in a tragic accident. As he recalls the tumultuous events that launched a surprising journey, Samuel can still hardly believe it all happened.
After his mother's death, twelve-year-old Samuel Chambers would do anything to turn back time. Prompted by three strange carnival fortune-tellers and the surfacing of his mysterious and reclusive neighbor, Samuel begins his search for the Tree of Life--the only thing that could possibly bring his mother back. His quest to defeat death entangles him and his best friend Abra in an ancient conflict and forces Samuel to grapple with an unwelcome question: could it be possible that death is a gift?
Haunting and hypnotic, The Day the Angels Fell is a story that explores the difficult questions of life in a voice that is fresh, friendly, and unafraid. With this powerful debut, Shawn Smucker has carved out a spot for himself in the tradition of authors Madeleine L'Engle and Lois Lowry.
About Shawn Smucker:
I think everyone’s looking for a place in the world – not a physical location as much as an emotional one. Just a tiny bit of space to set up shop, to exist.
Life hinted at where that space would be for me when I was a small boy and books picked me up and carried me away. If you came looking for me in the mid-80s you would have found me sitting on a large porch attached to a ramshackle farmhouse, reading about Narnia or the Shire, brushing away the flies, constantly saying, “Okay, mom, just one more chapter.”
But then, normal life, with all of its misleading promises and plastic desires, got in the way. I wandered. Geographically, I went to a hot city in Florida, an old village in England, and then back to Virginia. Emotionally, I traveled even further. Finally, after ten years of searching, I found stories again. Or maybe they found me.
Now I live in that place I was always trying to find. I wake up beside my beautiful wife, Maile. I make breakfast for my six children. I spend the rest of the day capturing stories, doing what Steinbeck called the impossible: trying to explain the inexplicable. Trying to transplant stories from my mind to yours.
Slipstream fiction definition:
Slipstream is a kind of fantastic or non-realistic fiction that crosses conventional genre boundaries between science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction. The term slipstream was coined by cyberpunk author Bruce Sterling in an article originally published in SF Eye #5, in July 1989.
My Thoughts:
I put the definition of Slipstream above because this book has all the elements of the Slipstream genre.
This is Mr. Smucker's debut novel, although not his first published work. One of his books is Think No Evil that he co-authored about the Amish Schoolhouse Shooting in 2009, which I read when it released.
I really enjoy debut novels, but I'm not sure how I feel about this book. It's not awful, but it's not fabulous either. There was a lot of foreshadowing and symbolism, which worked for the dual allegory of working through grief and the fight of good and evil over the tree of life.
With the way the story is told it feels more like telling facts than an experience that I as the reader can experience with the characters.
I like both Sam and Abra as characters, and the teaser for the sequel was definitely appealing. I would have just liked to have heard Sam's story first, I think it would have made the story more of an experience for me as a reader.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review. I was not required to write a positive review. All thoughts expressed are completely my own.
Slipstream is a kind of fantastic or non-realistic fiction that crosses conventional genre boundaries between science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction. The term slipstream was coined by cyberpunk author Bruce Sterling in an article originally published in SF Eye #5, in July 1989.
My Thoughts:
I put the definition of Slipstream above because this book has all the elements of the Slipstream genre.
This is Mr. Smucker's debut novel, although not his first published work. One of his books is Think No Evil that he co-authored about the Amish Schoolhouse Shooting in 2009, which I read when it released.
I really enjoy debut novels, but I'm not sure how I feel about this book. It's not awful, but it's not fabulous either. There was a lot of foreshadowing and symbolism, which worked for the dual allegory of working through grief and the fight of good and evil over the tree of life.
With the way the story is told it feels more like telling facts than an experience that I as the reader can experience with the characters.
I like both Sam and Abra as characters, and the teaser for the sequel was definitely appealing. I would have just liked to have heard Sam's story first, I think it would have made the story more of an experience for me as a reader.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review. I was not required to write a positive review. All thoughts expressed are completely my own.
No comments:
Post a Comment