The Weight of Memory ~ Review

The Weight of Memory

By Shawn Smucker

Forty years ago Paul Elias left his hometown behind forever. But when he learns that he has little time left he returns to Nysa - the place of his greatest joy and his greatest loss. But he is doing it for Pearl. His granddaughter has no one other than him and he hopes that somehow he can find someone to give her what he no longer has - a future.

The Weight of Memory takes the reader on a journey - a journey of life, of memory. But returning to Mysa is not what Paul expected - it is a town that under a cloud. This very sadness is something that touches Pearl, who has a depth that is beyond her years. 

There are times that this book has an almost spooky feel to it but as it unfolds the reader gradually is made aware that there is more to the tale than first meets the eye. This is a layered story that has a subtle yet powerful appeal and is one that should not be missed.

Shawn Smucker has once again created a world that you'll want to revisit just reexamine everything once you've reached the climax. You'll want to search through it all to discover what you may have missed the first time through. If you have read Shawn in the past you won't be disappointed in this newest work. The back and forth between the present and Paul's memories is typical of his work and in no way has it lost its power to reveal a complexity of thought while entertaining. I highly recommend this book.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion. All thoughts expressed are my own.

About the Book:

When Paul Elias receives a terminal diagnosis, he leaves his physician's office in a fog. Only one thing is clear to him: if he is going to die, he must find someone to watch over his granddaughter, Pearl, who has been in his charge since her drug-addicted father disappeared. Paul decides to take her back to Nysa--both the place where he grew up and the place where he lost his beloved wife under strange circumstances forty years earlier.

But when he picks up Pearl from school, the little girl already seems to know of his plans, claiming a woman told her.

In Nysa, Paul reconnects with an old friend but is not prepared for the onslaught of memory. And when Pearl starts vanishing at night and returning with increasingly bizarre tales, Paul begins to question her sanity, his own views on death, and the nature of reality itself.

In this suspenseful and introspective story from award-winning author Shawn Smucker, the past and the present mingle like opposing breezes, teasing out the truth about life, death, and sacrifice.