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Book Reviewed by:Beautifully written and charged with a sublime wit, the novel brings to vibrant life a cast of characters that no reader will forget.
After a mysterious fall from his New York City apartment, Philip Chase has moved back home with his mother, Charlene, a bitter woman who has never fully accepted the death of her younger son, Ronnie, five years earlier. Numb from watching too much television, rereading a tragic biography, and trading snipes with his mother, Philip is in stasis.
But everything changes late one windy February night when Ronnie's high school girlfriend shows up on their doorstep. A sad young woman who still bears the scars of the accident that took Ronnie's life on the night of their prom, Melissa has unexpectedly found hope. She is nine months pregnant. And the father, she claims, is Ronnie.
So begins this startling tale, which moves from one breathless surprise to another as Philip and his mother confront not only Melissa's past but their own. Their desperate search for answers takes them on a poignant and emotional journey, ultimately placing them in the path of murder and revenge.
At once a moving story of redemption and a heart-stopping work of suspense, Strange but True confirms John Searles's place among the most gifted voices of his generation. Beautifully written and charged with a sublime wit, the novel brings to vibrant life a cast of characters that no reader will forget.
As the book title implies, this is a strange tale but one that, if read to the end, is all too credible. The mystery itself is gripping, but what stood out for me are the people in the book; Searles has vested even the most minor of players with full blown characters - so much so that I suspect that long after I'm struggling to recall the title of this book I'll still remember the Polish librarian, the elderly gay landlord, the Mexican waiter and many more...continued
Full Review
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(Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).
John Searles is the author
of Boy Still Missing and Strange
But True, and the Deputy Editor at
Cosmopolitan where he oversees all book
excerpts and reviews for the magazine. His
essays, articles and reviews have appeared
in the New York Times, the Washington Post
and other national newspapers and magazines.
He lives in New York City.
When asked how he approaches the process of
writing fiction, compared to working on a
magazine he replied, 'Both experiences
are so different. At...
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If you liked Strange But True, try these:
by Meg Rosoff
Published 2009
An unusual coming-of-age story that examines the fluidity of identity and the ways in which people consciously redefine themselves in the face of love.
by Jodi Picoult
Published 2008
Sterling is a small, ordinary New Hampshire town where nothing ever happens -- until the day its complacency is shattered by a shocking act of violence. In the aftermath, the town's residents must not only seek justice in order to begin healing but also come to terms with the role they played in the tragedy.
Adriana Trigiani, author of Lucia, Lucia
Funny, mysterious and poignant....John Searles has created a novel to reread and treasure.
