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Book Review: The Returned by Jason Mott

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Hello. Today I am reviewing The Returned by Jason Mott for TLC Book Tours. As always, I am provided with a copy of the book in return for my honest review.

About the book (from the publisher): Harold and Lucille Hargrave’s lives have been both joyful and sorrowful in the decades since their only son, Jacob, died tragically at his eighth birthday party in 1966. In their old age, they’ve settled comfortably into life without him, their wounds tempered through the grace of time…Until one day Jacob mysteriously appears on their door step – flesh and blood, their sweet, precocious child, still eight years old.

All over the world people’s loved ones are returning from beyond. No one knows how or why this is happening, whether it’s a miracle or a sign of the end. Not even Harold and Lucille can agree on whether the boy is real or a wondrous imitation, but one thing they know for sure: he’s their son. As chaos erupts around the globe, the newly reunited Hargrave family finds itself at the center of a community on the brink of collapse, forced to navigate a mysterious new reality and a conflict that threatens the very meaning of what it is to be human.

My review: Imagine a loved one, long since deceased, appearing on your doorstep one day. You’ve aged in the intervening years, but the loved one reappears at the age he was when he died. That’s the premise of this haunting novel. What happens when The Returned start reappearing all over the globe, often turning up in countries other than the one of their birth, needing to be reunited with their loved ones? The government gets involved. A ‘Bureau’ is established. Many citizens react in fear of something they can’t explain. Splinter groups emerge, declaring themselves the “True Living.” And once the numbers increase and become hard to manage, they are rounded up and housed in a sort of internment camp – supposedly for their safety.

Every one of us who has suffered a profound loss has uttered the words, “If only I could have him back. I’d give anything to have him back.” This amazing novel takes that question and explores just what might happen if our loved ones did come back on a global scale. Does love ever die? Would I fight as fiercely as the Hargraves do to protect the newly returned? Are they living, breathing beings with memories and feelings? Do they have the same civil rights we do?

Mott sets the novel in the small town of Arcadia, North Carolina. The characters are richly and fully drawn. The story is haunting. I know I’ve used that word once before in this review, but I can’t get the novel out of my head. The questions it raises are deep and profound. The story grabbed a hold of my heart and wouldn’t let go, as did the characters.

This is Jason Mott’s, a published poet, first novel. I freely admit I am in awe of his writing. He writes simply and elegantly; the town of Arcadia becomes a place we all know, the characters, people we all know. They are complex individuals who are facing something earth-shattering, who are trying to make sense of this mystery, trying to do what they feel is right.

I sit here, the morning after finishing the novel, deeply moved by what I have read. I thought about the novel before I went to sleep, I though about it during the night. And I’m thinking about it this morning.

It’s simply a beautifully written, gut-wrenching novel. Above all, it is a love story that will reach right down to your core.

I cannot recommend this novel enough. It has moved me beyond words.

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About the author:  Jason Mott holds a B.A. in fiction and an M.F.A. in poetry, both from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 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. The Returned is his first novel.

I am giving away a copy of this novel to one lucky commenter. Just leave a comment on this post and I will pick the winner in a few days.

Happy Tuesday.

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Comments

  1. Wow! Once again, a great review, Claudia. I really want to read this now. And it sounds like a great book club choice, too.

  2. This is such and interesting subject for a novel. I sat here thinking about the loved ones I”ve lost and both the joy of seeing them again, but also problems that would arise.

  4. I’ve read at least 2 other reviews on this book and I was on the fence about adding it to my ‘must read’ list — that is until I read your review. Thank you Claudia!

  5. Wow…!
    Can’t wait to read this one.
    I value your reviews as you’ve lead me to several great authors I may not have found otherwise.
    Thanks again Claudia

    Lori

  8. Wow, this book sounds so interesting! I love books that delve it to how societies , as well as individuals, react to an event. Would love to read this and am adding this to my book list I keep in ColorNote on my phone.

  11. Please enter me for a chance to win, it sounds like a great book…..also sounds like it could be a great movie down the road too. Jen

  17. Hi Claudia,
    At first, while reading your review, I was fearful of reading the book because of the of pain reliving my son’s death, but then it seams maybe the intrigue would offer another perspective and could bring joy. Now I think I want to read the book,

  18. This sounds like a very interesting and touching story. I often dream that my son is still alive. He sometimes is the baby he was when he died but sometimes he is 12 years old as he would be by now. The dream is always very very real. When I’m home I’m ordering the book. Can’t wait to get home …

  25. Oh my, I need to read this book. At first I thought this was maybe a thriller by Stephen King, but the farther into your review I knew it was oh so much more than that. It is at the top of my must read list.

  26. Sounds like a great book. It also sounds somewhat like a French series I watched not long ago, Les Revenants, which I enjoyed immensely. I’m looking forward to a second season of the series and to seeing how this book differs from it.

  27. I lost my husband 34 years ago and not one day goes by without wishing I could see him again…sometimes I have such vivid images of our life together! I would love to read this book!

  28. The “book” sounds like a must read for me. I think of my son who died 13 years ago,
    and how I would love to see him once again, if only for a day. He was only 34, and
    my husband and I talk about him often. Before he died he asked that he never be
    forgotten..Never will that happen,all through eternity we will remember. Hope I am the lucky one to
    have the honor of receiving the book.

  29. What an intriging concept. I’m trying to get my head around it, and I haven’t even read the book! lol. Blessings

  31. I’ve read many of your reviews…this one certainly has a different tone to it. I am so intrigued now, I want to read this book.
    …I’ve not said that about any of the others.
    It must be quite an interesting to book to leave you “the Chatty” …moved beyond words.
    I’d love to win it and read it!
    Pat

  32. This sounds like a wonderful book Claudia. When I keep thinking days or weeks later about a book I’ve read, I know it was a good one. Can’t wait to read it.

  35. The “book” sounds like a must read for me. I think of my son who died 13 years ago,
    and how I would love to see him once again, if only for a day. He was 4 months short
    of being 35… and
    my husband and I talk about him often. Before he died he asked his MIL, that he never be
    forgotten..Never will that happen,all through eternity we will remember. Hope I am the lucky one to
    have the honor of receiving the book.

  36. I’ve thought the same thing…If only I could have my son back.I can answer….love never dies. This book sounds like a keeper.
    Balisha

  37. As a grieving mom, I live looking forward to the day my son and I would be reunited. The novel sounds intriguing.

  41. sounds fabulously haunting !
    would love reading this book!
    would love even better to WIN a free copy!
    hugs..
    Loui♥

  42. Thanks for the giveaway and thanks for letting me know about a new author. I will definitely look into his poetry books as well.

  43. Would love to win a copy of “The Returned” It sounded so good I was
    going to go to our local library and see if there is a copy. Maybe to
    new for that anyways I would love to read the book.

  44. What a wonderful review. Anytime a novel, a TV show or a movie has me thinking about it for days I know something special has happened. You don’t talk about you and Don going to movies. But Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine” affected me that way. What a story what wonderful performances. I recommend it. And again I look forward to reading this book.

  45. I haven’t been able to keep this book and its premise out of my mind since I read your review yesterday. This is a book I must read–so please save me some money and pick me!

  46. You’ve really intrigued me with this one Claudia, especially as it’s by a NC author and set here where I live. Your sentence “He writes simply and elegantly” makes we want to turn those pages, and the subject matter sounds so interesting. Please throw my name in the hat.
    Thanks – and sending love.
    Mary.

  47. Sounds like a book I most definitely will read so please pick a winner soon so I know if I have to buy it or not! Loved your review, can’t wait
    to have it in my hands. Thanks for the chance to win it!

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