When Cohen Marsh steps over his father's body in the basement embalming room of the family funeral home, he has no idea that he is stepping into a labyrinth of memory.
Over the next week, Cohen's childhood comes back in living color. Long forgotten memories such as the events that led to his parents divorce, the accident Cohen witnessed and the two children in the forest who became his friends. As the lines blur between what was real and what was imaginary, Cohen is faced with the question he's been avoiding:
Is he responsible for his father's death?
Shawn Smucker is a masterful and understated storyteller. His characters are real and his story was multilayered. The story within Light From Distant Stars unfurled slowly and each page had immense meaning.
I love reading novels that explore the ways in which grief affects us. Light From Distant Stars is a story about faith, pain, shameful secrets and how childhood traumas follow us into adulthood.
Over the next week, Cohen's childhood comes back in living color. Long forgotten memories such as the events that led to his parents divorce, the accident Cohen witnessed and the two children in the forest who became his friends. As the lines blur between what was real and what was imaginary, Cohen is faced with the question he's been avoiding:
Is he responsible for his father's death?
Shawn Smucker is a masterful and understated storyteller. His characters are real and his story was multilayered. The story within Light From Distant Stars unfurled slowly and each page had immense meaning.
I love reading novels that explore the ways in which grief affects us. Light From Distant Stars is a story about faith, pain, shameful secrets and how childhood traumas follow us into adulthood.