About the book:
"Jacob was time out of sync, time more perfect than it had been. He was life the way it was supposed to be all those years ago. That's what all the Returned were.
Harold and Lucille Hargrave's lives have been both joyful and sorrowful in the decades since their only son, Jacob, died tragically at his eighth birthday party in 1966. In their old age they've settled comfortably into life without him, their wounds tempered through the grace of time.
Until one day Jacob mysteriously appears on their doorstep--flesh and blood, their sweet, precocious child, still eight years old.
All over the world people's loved ones are returning from beyond. No one knows how or why this is happening, whether it's a miracle or a sign of the end. Not even Harold and Lucille can agree on whether the boy is real or a wondrous imitation, but one thing they know for sure: he's their son. As chaos erupts around the globe, the newly reunited Hargrave family finds itself at the center of a community on the brink of collapse, forced to navigate a mysterious new reality and a conflict that threatens to unravel the very meaning of what it is to be human.
With spare, elegant prose and searing emotional depth, award-winning poet Jason Mott explores timeless questions of faith and morality, love and responsibility. A spellbinding and stunning debut, The Returned is an unforgettable story that marks the arrival of an important new voice in contemporary fiction."
My thoughts:
I have been wanting to read The Returned since I first heard about it's unique plot. This is such a different kind of story that there is already a television series set to debut in March of 2014 on ABC based on it called Resurrection (more on that in a little while) and the novel hasn't even been released yet!! What if the people you have loved that have passed away showed up on your doorstep one day, appearing the same way as they did when they left this Earth? What would happen if your fiance, sister or even your child found their way back to you? How would you react? The Returned explores this idea and the many possible reactions one could have if this was reality. A set of parents, who lost their only little boy long ago, do not know what to think when he shows up on their doorstep, still 8 years old. Sure, they have heard of others that have "returned" but it is different when it happens to you. Harold and Lucille deal with Jacob's return in different ways, just as they dealt with their grief of loosing him in different ways. The people in their town, Arcadia, are also dealing with the sudden appearance of "the returned" and trying to figure out what they are, how they are back and why they are here. This novel takes you on a journey of emotions and deep thought. Some of the things that happen will make you angry and want to scream at some of the characters, some of it might make you feel like you can relate to how the characters have reacted, but the one thing that I found myself thinking is how wonderful and frightening would it be to experience this world where there is hope that the people you have lost might return to you, that you might be able to hold them, hug them, tell them you love them once again. To me, that is what makes escaping into the world of The Returned most worthwhile.
The Returned will be available on August 27, 2013. You can pre-order the book right now on Amazon.com.
Connect with Jason Mott on Facebook
Connect with Jason Mott on Goodreads
Jason Mott's Website
Resurrection: Coming this fall to ABC
Some novels beg to be brought to life. The Returned is one of them. Resurrection, based on the novel and airing in March of 2014 on ABC, is a series that so many people will be able to relate to and the story is so fascinating that it will keep people tuning in. Here is a trailer for the show:
This show sounds so interesting!
ReplyDeleteWhat about the rest of the returned? Jacob was not the only one, don't screw this up abc or I wont be your friend anymore.
ReplyDelete