Smucker

"We can never trust ourselves, never know our true motives. There is always something deeper at work, something unseen pulling us along to hidden ends. We paddle where we think we want to go, but all along it's the hidden current that takes us."

It's another lyrical and beautifully written novel by Shawn Smucker that addresses the everyday battle with grief and regret seeped in the past with its memories and fear of the unknown when facing our mortality in an unusual and memorable writing show more style. You cannot read this book in a rush, for every word penned is important and builds on each other to create the author's own brand of nostalgic and mysterious poetry, edged with suspense and sprinkled with hope. Truly the plot took me by surprise because I could not predict what will happen next. The first person narrative from Paul is raw and heart-wrenching as he tells the story in present tense like he's speaking to his grand-daughter. The flashbacks, still in Paul's voice, help to build his past in his hometown of Nysa without interrupting his narrative. This book is incredibly thought-provoking and will stay with you long after you've put the book down.

I received the book from Revell and was under no obligation to post a positive comment. All opinions are solely my own. show less

4 stars more a clean read, nominal faith thread.

I have been curious about what kind of book Shawn Smucker writes. This is the first of his books that I have read.
It was an interesting premise of an ailing grandfather and his precocious granddaughter taking a trip to Grampy’s home town, a remote place. It is told in first person as if the grandfather is telling a story to his granddaughter Pearl. “I realize memories are heavy things , heavier still when we don’t let them go.”
The show more descriptions are top notch and put me right there in the pages. It kept me reading to see what happened next. But in the end, it fell short for me. I was expecting a clear Christian message. Other than the scene where the characters go to a church and take communion without knowing what it means and one trying to explain the doxology, there was nothing concrete or clear.
I liked the varying lengths of the chapters , but did not like the way it jumped forward and backward without a clear indicator.
A good ghost story? Yes! Great writing? Yes! A Christian allegory. Sadly No!
Will I read more by this author? Probably but not soon.
*A complimentary copy of this book was provided by Revell through Interviews and Reviews. I was not required to give a favorable review. All opinions are my own.*

Sent from my iPad show less

Books in the speculative genre tend to be hit or miss for me with a handful of exceptions. One of those exceptions is anything written by Shawn Smucker. While his writing includes some element of magical realism that cause you to suspend your disbelief, you willingly do so with Smucker because his storytelling is so immersive and evocative.

The Weight of Memory is another such book. It left me wondering what exactly was going on with Paul and Pearl and completely sucked me in once these two show more reached Nysa. There’s an element of mystery—both Paul’s story and in Pearl’s—as well as themes of the toll hiding tragic memories away has on people, the power of love, and so much more.

Smucker’s beautiful and poignant prose is what will pull you into the book, but what will keep you there is wrestling with your own thoughts and expectations of what is happening with this man and his granddaughter.

Disclosure statement: I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own. show less

It's not often that a book will make me cry. However, out of the three books of Smucker's that I have read, two have made me bawl. This is one of those books.

After learning his health is faltering and he doesn't have much time left, Paul Elias decides to find a suitable guardian for Pearl, his beloved pre-teen granddaughter. He is all she has, due to her father David's drug addiction. How will he break the news to Pearl?

Paul quickly learns that Pearl has already been apprised of the coming show more changes, as she's been seeing a "kind lady with silver hair" who helps her draft a map of Nysa, a place Paul has never mentioned to Pearl. Readers soon learn Pearl is a very special girl, one who hears and sees things other don't. "The kind lady needs my help," Pearl shares, and Paul can't decide if he should be concerned or accept Pearl's explanations at face value.

Faced with the prospect of someone taking care of Pearl, Paul decides to return to his hometown of Nysa, the scene of many young adult highs as well as deep lows. He returns to a town that is merely a shell of its former self, chased by ghosts from the pasts of those who live there.

A chance meeting at a local diner brings a long lost friend back into Paul and Pearl's lives. Tom invites them to stay in his beautiful home, where memories from their young adult lives begin to resurface, opening doors to the unknown and forcing all three of the main characters to process through things they thought they'd already overcome. Pearl continues to drift into the arms of "the kind lady" and her behavior is unpredictable, putting them all at risk.

"The Weight of Memory" is beautiful and heart wrenching all at the same time, with themes of young marriage, raising children, loss, grief, cancer, addiction, mental illness and accidental deaths. But there is a tenacious hope wrapped within this engrossing story that will even out the hard. Smucker's writing style is one I look forward to and do prepare myself for...it's hard to explain. Powerful, challenging and forever laced with second chances, this book will change your outlook on the way we live, love and what legacies we leave behind for the ones we call family.

I was an early reader, thanks to the publisher and #NetGalley. All opinions are my own. show less