The Wonder Of All Things
By Jason Mott
Mira September 2014
304 pages
Read via Netgalley
The residents of Stone Temple, North Carolina, have gathered to hold an air show. As a hometown hero flies high above the crowds, disaster strikes. People work to free their loved ones from the rubble and they soon discover Ava and her best friend Wash. He is bleeding until Ava holds her hands over him and miraculously heals him. News of her ability spreads quickly and soon the media, the faithful, and the publicity-hungry descend on the small town. People clamor for Ava to use her gift, but she becomes weaker with each healing. She must decide what she owes to herself, to the sick people clamoring for her help, and to the people who love her.
There are many similarities between these book and Mott's debut novel The Returned. We see something miraculous, but get no explanation about how these things happen. Both feature small town people, just trying to survive...at least until something unexpected happens. But that doesn't mean that this story feels like a retread of Mott's previous work. Instead, the fascinating details of this story will keep you engaged with each chapter and each character.
The Wonder of All Things makes the reader reconsider what it means to be a family. Ava lives with her father Macon and her pregnant stepmother Carmen. Her mother committed suicide when Ava was a small girl and she finds herself unable to really let Carmen into her life. But in a small town, family is not limited to just blood relations. Ava often feels closer to her best friend Wash then she does to anyone who lives in her home. Wash also has to make some decisions about his family when his absentee father shows up out of the blue.
As scientists and religious leaders search for the source of this miraculous gift, Ava and her family find themselves with fewer and fewer answer about what they should do and how they can care for each other. I love the ordinariness of the characters in Mott's stories. They are people you might walk by at the grocery store or the bank. But in this author's capable hands, I would read a book about each one of them. The Wonder Of All Things makes magic seem possible in our everyday lives, but also reminds us of the all too-human and often terrible consequences of our choices.
Great review! I love what you said about the ordinariness of people in the author's stories (I love writers who celebrate the ordinary :-) ). I also like what you said about this book prompting readers to reconsider what it means to be a family. I'll add this title to my tbr list. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteIt has so many themes that are simple, but so important! It's a great read. :)
DeleteThis sounds so interesting, I like the mix of magic and reality you described in your review
ReplyDeleteMissie @ A Flurry of Ponderings
It always angers some readers that he doesn't explain it, but I rather like my magic that way. :)
DeleteI'm not sure if I'd like this or not. In pure fantasy, I really like for magic to be explained and to follow internally consistent rules, but I think I might be willing to give the author more leeway in magical realism. I think some of the joy of that genre can be seeing the unexplained magical happen in an otherwise realistic setting.
ReplyDeleteI am the same way! If the whole world is built around magic, I like some explanation. But if it's just one person or a mysterious occurrence, I'm ok with not knowing (especially if they don't know).
DeleteI read this book last fall, and I liked it, but not as much as his first book.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed his first book too. I will be interested to see what he writes next!
DeleteI don't think I know this book, or even this author, at all. This doesn't overall sound like the book for me, but I am definitely drawn to books with "the all too-human and often terrible consequences of our choices," as you so eloquently put it. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteHe is a pretty new author. His debut came out in 2013, but he got popular pretty quickly because it became a tv show (or was the inspiration for one, anyway).
Delete