Many thanks to my partners @ecco @harperaudio and @libro for the #gifted copies

 

“The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us.”

 

Eccentric and rebellious.  What a wild ride.    

 

Wilson’s novels brazenly break free of any molds.  His stories are bizarre and original and untethered.  So much so, that they are best experienced rather than analyzed.  

 

Frankie and Zeke.  One summer.  One copy machine.  Out of a need to be seen and to feel connected, they created iconic art.  It could be argued that it was the most profound art Coalfield had ever seen.  But that small town wasn’t ready for the profound.  And full blown panic ensued creating The Coalfield Panic of 1996.  

 

This coming of age story perfectly depicts that awkward stage of puberty. Surviving in the fray.  Full of longing and deeply lonely.  Wanting to be seen yet not wanting the spotlight.  Frankie and Zeke exuded the confusion and complexities of teen years.   

 

While predominantly a story about human evolution, I found the town’s evolution to be an interesting mirror and warning.   Mired in emotion, a mere poster, artistic and banal in nature, becomes a catalyst for a quick and bold undoing.  A small town, peacefully functioning until hysteria and fear created a full blown frenzy.  

 

And, unfortunately, the messaging is valid given the state emotion based frenzy we see all throughout society.   

 

The one miss… and it did feel like a big miss to me… the book just ended.  Open endings can work well.  But this didn’t just feel open.  It felt stunted.   

 

By it’s bizarre nature, this book won’t be for everyone.  And it’s important to note that where I found his last book bizarre yet fun, this one landed in the bizarre yet evocative.  

 

I partnered my physical and audiobook versions, and both worked equally well.  It’s worth noting that Ginnifer Goodwin is the narrator or this book.  Just as she commands a stage, she also commanded this performance.  And it was a delight to listen to her.