American Elsewhere

author: Robert Jackson Bennett

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.82

book published: 2013

rating: 4

read at: 2013/07/07

date added: 2013/07/07

shelves:

review:

Wink, New Mexico is a quiet little town that doesn't exist on any maps. It's residents are content to reside there and never leave town. In fact, their whole existence seems to be a throwback to earlier times in America. The suburbs, neighbors having dinner parties, men working on their cars. It all seems so idyllic, but there are rules. One rule is no one goes out after dark.



When Mona Bright inherits her mother's home in Wink, it's a chance to start over from the dismal life she's had. She arrives in Wink on a day when the town is having a funeral, and her arrival causes quite a bit of gossip, but it also triggers events that begin to spiral out of control.



I loved this book. It's quite long, and you won't really begin to understand what's happening for a couple hundred pages in. It's filled with interesting and strange characters, from the town people stuck in strange loops, to the shady men living just outside of town selling drugs and disposing of corpses. And then there is the abandoned laboratory on the hill. It used to be filled with scientists, but it stands there alone and empty. The whole book was very atmospheric, and kept me thoroughly engrossed.



When it was all finished, I'm not sure I completely bought into some of the motives, but the themes of trying to find a home and a fresh start ring true enough. This is the second novel I've read by Robert Jackson Bennett, and I'm fast becoming a fan. In spite of the length, the writing is tight, the world he creates is immersive, and he creates truly spooky situations and memorable characters.





via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/584881625?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss