Tag: Mystery

Book Review: The Story That Made Us Stronger

The Story That Made Us Stronger by Iris March – Book Cover

Book: The Story That Made Us Stronger

Author: Iris March

Genre: Fiction, Mystery

Review copy: Reedsy Discovery

Available at: Amazon

Recommended: Must Read

A book that reverberates with hope and the power of goals to keep us going even in the face of challenges.

The Story That Made Us Stronger by Iris March is a novel that glistens with hope and sparkles with the endurance of the human mind and body. It’s a bittersweet story told from the viewpoints of a nurse and his patient, who is undergoing treatment for cancer. A mysterious building with an unknown past draws them together into a bond as they both seek to achieve their goals.

As Connor Jackson goes around investigating the building that attracted his attention during his daily runs, Katie Brandt finds a diversion in his reports to learn more about the abandoned structure. Connor is her window to a world that is becoming increasingly distant as she struggles with the impact of cancer treatment. Connor has a loving extended family but he has inner battles and preparing for a marathon is his way to find purpose in his life beyond work and family. 

This story is about compassion and a journey of healing. The tenderness of Connor as a nurse and Katie as a young mother fighting to get well for her family is the central theme of this book. However, the more exciting bit is the mystery of a rundown building with a strange pole. This part keeps the story moving along and connects the reader with Connor and Katie’s journey. In the storyline about the building, I see a metaphor for the unknown that we always seek to unveil, to understand, and the mission that keeps us going on each day. We all need a mystery to pursue because sometimes what we go through in our mundane existence is too hard on us.

A book about illness, particularly about cancer can be melancholy but the writer brings to us Katie’s struggle in the least overwhelming way possible. There is a distinct warmth flowing through the pages of the book – a subtle energy that pulls at your heartstrings, and the promise of a mystery that you want to solve. The narration is smooth and balanced. It includes cancer information and its treatment. Connor and Katie’s experiences are entwined in the pages of a book where there is a thrill, a budding romance, and most importantly hope. This book brims with humanness and is an endearing read. I highly recommend it for a gentle summer evening or a bus ride home. 

Book Review: The Seven-Day Resurrection

A delicate narrative of a mother-son, built on themes of nostalgia and hope, with a clever and mysterious back-from-the-dead central plot.

Book cover

Book: The Seven-Day Resurrection

Author: Chevron Ross

Genre: Fiction, Contemporary

Review Copy: Reedsy Discovery

Available at: Amazon.in

Recommended: Loved It

“Death was so arbitrary. … Sometimes death was sneaky.” What if resurrection occurs? Len grapples with this question in the fascinating novel, The Seven-Day Resurrection. Writer Chevron Ross builds on an interesting premise and entangles the reader in a series of questions from the start. What can explain the presence of Len’s mother in his house after her death? Is it imagination, an anomaly, a cosmic glitch, a psychiatric or physiological disorder, or senility?

Ross has entwined several themes in his book. Delicate nuances of the co-dependent relationship between a 70-year-old man and his 90-year-old mother are central. In crisscrossing timelines, the characters experience different time-lapses in the future and the past. Then, there are stories around the myriad characters – Olivia, the caretaker, Miranda, Len’s boss, Len’s siblings, Len’s teenage angst, aspirations as a writer, life as a loner, and insurance claims handler.

My favorite overarching theme is the nostalgia of the Depression-era and the World War. Ross brings out the imprints of the war on the life of simple people. He tells how the years of want and struggle made the people bitter, frugal, and eventually hoarders, of both things and memories. The conversations between Len and his mother make up a major part of the narrative. Another part is Len’s confusion about the happenings around him and recollections of his life.

An interesting writing technique is using snippets from Len’s writing drafts in the novel. When the first draft of The Farm Tree appears in the book, it is almost confusing. I paused to grasp how the dominant story and this narrative were connected. At a point, it seemed there were too many characters to track. However, I saw the connection. The strong, caring father figure of The Farm Tree and the incidents around bullying were easy to identify. They are reflections of Len’s yearnings since his teenage.

This book is well-researched and has impeccable writing. It is not a zippy read. It requires time and attention. This should in no way discourage a reader because the book does not weigh you down. It carefully builds on the characters, making them endearing and relatable. The writer sketches portraits of a world that is now a fast-disappearing memory, while also keeping it contemporary by referencing the pandemic. The mystery of the resurrection keeps you engaged till the end.