Where Things Come Back Author: | Language: English | ISBN:
B009KAYDVS | Format: PDF
Where Things Come Back Description
Winner of the 2012 Michael L. Printz and William C. Morris Awards, this poignant and hilarious story of loss and redemption "explores the process of grief, second chances, and even the meaning of life" (Kirkus Reviews).
In the remarkable, bizarre, and heart-wrenching summer before Cullen Witter's senior year of high school, he is forced to examine everything he thinks he understands about his small and painfully dull Arkansas town. His cousin overdoses; his town becomes absurdly obsessed with the alleged reappearance of an extinct woodpecker; and most troubling of all, his sensitive, gifted fifteen-year-old brother, Gabriel, suddenly and inexplicably disappears. Meanwhile, the crisis of faith spawned by a young missionary's disillusion in Africa prompts a frantic search for meaning that has far-reaching consequences. As distant as the two stories initially seem, they are woven together through masterful plotting and merge in a surprising and harrowing climax. This extraordinary tale from a rare literary voice finds wonder in the ordinary and illuminates the hope of second chances.
- Audible Audio Edition
- Listening Length: 6 hours and 22 minutes
- Program Type: Audiobook
- Version: Unabridged
- Publisher: Audible, Inc.
- Audible.com Release Date: September 28, 2012
- Whispersync for Voice: Ready
- Language: English
- ASIN: B009KAYDVS
I really thought I was going to like this book, and there were some moments that made me think I would like it. However, I had some major issues with it, mostly I got the feeling that the author wanted to portray Cullen (the main character) as someone that had no idea why he did the things he did but at the same time Cullen also seemed to have a pretty good idea of who he was. Another thing that made me not like this book is the fact that people seemed to do things for no reason at all except that the author wanted them too. I think we didn't really get to know any of the characters in this book, especially Cullen's brother. I just felt like I had no idea why they did what they did throught the whole book, even though the author tried to explain what they were like. Most of the book told from the point of view of Cullen but the author does this annoying thing where he switches points of view, one minute Cullen will be saying "I did...." and the next he says something like "when one sees....he feels...he imagines" this happens at the end of almost every chapter and I think, was supposed to be used to show something but really just got on my nerves. I was not aware that this book was going to be so religious and the way it was religious really bothered me, I also found the whole 'second' story to be very unlikely and just weird. The Book of Enoch was mentioned a lot without really telling the reader why it was so important other than that it was banned, and it did not explain anything. The character Cabot (who is half of the second story) just seemed to suddenly switch from normal to crazy with no warning and no prompt. It was just ridiculous and unbelievable. It seemed like the author was just trying to find a way to tie things together.
Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley is the kind of book that both mystifies and grows on you. It's an odd little story that I'm not completely comfortable with, but yet there were moments I was completely captivated and caught up in the ridiculous yet mundane goings-on of Lily, Arkansas.
Cullen is just like most seventeen-year old boys in small towns. He's bored out of his mind, he hopes he'll have a more exciting future ahead of him, but while he's stuck there, he's going to make the best of it. Then, celebrity lands in Lily in the form of the long-thought extinct Lazarus woodpecker. Cullen is indifferent to the supposed woodpecker but that indifference turns to anger when his younger brother, Gabriel, goes missing and his name does not make the headlines. Gabriel Witter's disappearance is buried under the infatuation with the woodpecker.
I couldn't help thinking what sly insight the author has into our society as a whole. When something garners its fifteen minutes of fame, in this case, the woodpecker, other more important matters go unnoticed. A fifteen-year old boy goes missing for over eight weeks and there is definitely not the search and rescue parties one often sees in cases like this. The local law enforcement was not helpful and Cullen continues to grow disenchanted with his hometown.
Intertwined with Cullen's story is that of a boy named Benton and his college roommate, Cabot. I honestly found their story more interesting through the first half of the book, until Cabot went religious crazy which always rubs me the wrong way. However, how the author makes these storylines work together is inventive and brilliant. And, the author does a great job, writing wise, of making Cabot seem crazy (at least I thought so).
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