The Returned
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- 4,99 €
Publisher Description
The New York Times bestselling debut novel from the author of Hell of a Book
‘Tragic and humorous and terrifying’ Eowyn Ivey, Author of The Snow Child
‘Fantastically readable’ The Times
Lucille Hargrave’s son Jacob has been dead for over forty years. Now he’s standing on her doorstep, still eight years old. Still looking for her to welcome him with open arms.
All over the world people’s loved ones are returning from beyond. No one knows how or why, whether it’s a miracle or a sign of the end.
But as chaos erupts around the globe, the newly reunited family finds itself at the center of a community on the brink of collapse, forced to navigate a terrifying new reality.
Their lives will never be the same again.
About the author
Jason Mott holds a BA in fiction and an MFA in poetry and is the author of two poetry collections. His writing has appeared in numerous literary journals, and he was nominated for the 2009 Pushcart Prize. Jason lives in North Carolina.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In his exceptional debut novel, poet Mott brings drama, pathos, joy, horror, and redemption to a riveting tale of how the contemporary world handles the inexplicable reappearance of the dead. The primary focus is on Harold and Lucille Hargrave, who lost their son, Jacob, half a century ago in a tragic drowning accident on his eighth birthday. Amid global rumors about "the Returned," their son arrives at their doorstep with an agent from the International Bureau of the Returned still eight and healthy, as if nothing has changed in more than 50 years. Locals have mixed feelings when Arcadia, their small, backwater Southern town, is inundated with soldiers and taken over as a refuge for the multitude of Returned who have nowhere else to go (not every family wants them back), and Mott ratchets up the tension. Are the Returned walking, breathing miracles? Or signs of the Devil and "the end of times"? Even local Pastor Robert Peters cannot decide how to respond to these people, haunted as he is by the sudden reappearance of the love of his life, a girl who died as a teen. When some of the disgruntled locals take matters into their own hands, there is an apocalypse of sorts and both the frailty and strength of human character become evident; Mott brings depth and poignancy to the Returned and their purpose for existing.
