Daniel Fights a Hurricane

by Shane Jones

Ever since he was a boy, Daniel Suppleton has been deathly afraid of hurricanes, which he fears will arrive suddenly and reduce everyone he knows and loves to trembling skeletons. Retreating to live in a tipi in the woods, Daniel battles demons real and imagined. As his ex-wife, Karen, frantically searches for him, the long-awaited hurricane finally hits, and Daniel must find a way to save them both. Haunting, mesmerizing, and beautifully written, Daniel Fights a Hurricane is an affecting, original novel of love and loss, marriage and friendship, by a rising young talent.

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Surreal, Adult Fiction

211 pages, Paperback

First published July 31, 2012

About the author

Shane Jones is an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received an Advanced Review Copy, and this is the review of that ARC:

DANIEL continues a recent trend in fiction of husbands with vanished wives (GONE GIRL, THREATS, etc) -- and just like all the others, the story isn't what we think it is. Oh, sure, sometimes the story is of a husband who is too hipster emo and too "lost" in his search for the virginal goddess that his obsessions and idiosyncrasies take over. Or maybe the husband actually killed his wife. There's also the wife sneaking off in private to torment the husband. In this case, Daniel is just batshit crazy to begin with and his wife isn't really lost.

I'm not down with this. Here's why: part of the charm of Jones's past work has been the phantasmagoria of it all, a style that asks the reader to take these bizarre-o journies, to embrace these magical places, and to enjoy the ride. Here, the reader is told "oh, that? All of that is just in his head!" I call bullshit on this because it's like a slap in the face. Everything I liked about quintessential Jones is ripped away and replaced with...a bad Hallmark Channel movie starring Brendan Fraser as Daniel!

If it's all in Daniel's head, then who the heck cares? This is either irresponsible representation of mental illness/ anxiety, or it's asking too much of me to care about it because it is subverting the strength of Jones's writing. Look, I get that I'm probably supposed to say "his thinking is so magical, despite his level of anxiety! This is how he handles it!" or "it's so sad that he missed out on his real life because he didn't see it in front of him until it was too late!" or even "he's NOT the crazy one because he LIVES!" But I actually have zero emotional connection to or investment in this kind of "lost puppy" character. In fact, I want to punch him in the face, as I'm sick to death of the broken hipster dude who is a loser till the bitter end. Ugh.

[Les · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoliers?

I will be about the 3,000th person to write this, but I loved Shane Jones' Light Boxes and was hoping for a similar experience with Daniel. That was not the case.

I wanted to give this a 3 initially, but I keep thinking about the story. Jones' writing is crazy making and I wondered if I should keep going. The more you get into the story though you truly understand that you are supposed to be driven crazy. Daniel is mentally ill and only getting worse fast. When we are given Karen's perspective (she is his ex-wife) we see how truly out of it Daniel is . . . and how sad the entire story is. Some of the craziness is disturbing, some beautiful, and mostly just heart-breaking.

Jones is extremely talented. I don't think he missed his mark with DFaH, but it also did not hit dead-on the way Light Boxes did. I look forward to his future work. Daniel is a quick read that provides an interesting, unsettling, and memorable glimpse into mental illness.

[Jim Ivy · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I read the previous reviews, I thought it interesting that the critique on Daniel Fights a Hurricane has, somewhat, been based upon what the reviewer feels a novel should be. As I have found with many of the newer, younger writers, is that that might be the wrong approach. If you are entering this adventure thinking it should fit in with a preconception, then you will have already missed the boat. That said, maybe Shane Jones is not for everyone. Too bad, as I would love to see him become wealthy from his talent.
I found Mr. Jones' use of perception by the characters very intriguing, especially as the perceptions tightened into the same spaces and realities. The characters were fascinating and were developed in a most original and unique way. And, yes, as a response to another review, I DO enjoy the way the arc of the story is fragmented and pieces itself together in its own time.
Sadly, now that I have finished Daniel Fights a Hurricane, I have run out of new Shane Jones writing to read. And, by the way, the only reason I gave Daniel four stars is because I place Light Boxes in the five star category and have to keep a little wiggle room in my ratings.

[Michael Seidlinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the entirety of this hurricane of surreal language in two 2-3 hr hallucinogenic sessions of reading.

What are you reading? I ask because you should be reading this book.

[Laura]

If you were going to characterize the main character of this slight novel as insane (which Shane Jones hopes you won't), then he is probably psychotic rather than anxious. The image of the hurricane in the first 100 pages (or half) of the book worked well for me though as a metaphor for an anxious mind. The story of Daniel reads like a parable, leaving me as a reader trying constantly to figure out what things were meant to represent, and coming up short again and again. The narrative shifts between the story of Daniel, a pipeline worker with an intense fear of an oncoming Hurricane, as he leaves his job and eventually leaves reality to populate his own world of strange characters and underground pipelines. In the meantime, his ex-wife Karen searches for him, providing, with her narrative, a sort of baseline for the reader who is trying (if that reader is me) desperately to ground herself.

The book made me feel crazy. I wanted to make sense of it somehow, but the symbols and narratives kept shifting and changing, like a Hurricane -- which is pretty brilliant, but not for me. I've seen it described as surrealist, and would myself categorize it as magical realism (which I never really "get"). It is also heavily laden with symbolic significance, which I grew tired of by the end. I was much more interested in the real world than the one created by Daniel, and unfortunately, that imaginary world took over more and more as the novelette progressed.

Jones' book wasn't for me, but might appeal to fans of surrealism or magical realism, or fans of his other works (which I will probably still try).

**I received an electronic copy of this book for review from the publisher.

[Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This may be the most interesting book I've read since Poe's, "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pim of Nantucket." Nobody makes it easier to believe nonsense than Shane Jones (not even Lewis Carol). What's more, nobody has the power to create emotion out of nonsense like Shane Jones does.

Perhaps the chapter in the book that most captures Jones' style of writing is the one titled "Box built from green pipes." to which the overwhelming theme is this: there is no rhyme or reason - sometimes there is just beauty for the sake of beauty.

The choppy, scattered prose is vaguely reminiscent of "The book of Jonah." The bible story describes Jona being swallowed by a whale, all in one sentence. In the same way, Jones can say, "they are now living underwater in the pipes," and make it completely believable and compulsive to read. That's just how it is. There are no questions asked.

At first glance, the book may seem to be a story about a man who's mind is stuck in between reality and fantasy, but after cracking open the book the reader will soon discover that the novel is actually a story about Daniel's wife.

The bulk of the book is writen in Daniel's perspective: a mix of reality that bleeds into Daniel's nonsensical, make believe world. Shorter sections, written in Daniel's wife's (Karen) perspective are interjected into the middle of those parts. These sections anchor the story in reality and give depth and emotion to the the silly and fun bits.

The sharp stability of Karen, in contrast to Daniel's imaginary world, reminds the reader of the sadness that Daniel's mind is deteriorating and that "Daniel Fights a Hurricane" is, in reality, a tragedy.

[Oriana · Rating 1 out of 5]

fin: Oh my god I finished it. I hate it so much. What a bleak, awful, horrible book.

20 pages from the end: I give up. I give up. Okay, yes, I will most likely trudge through the last 20 pages at some point, but I am just so un-compelled. It's so odd, so intentionally bizarre, with these hints and hints that actually no, it's not bizarre but actually devastating and awful. I hate weird for weird's sake, and I hate bottomless despair without cease, and I hate this dumb book.

before reading: Why haven't I read this yet?? Flavorpill put it as one of their ten most anticipated books of the year, and now here's this from Word Books:

If you're familiar with Jones's first novel, Light Boxes (which was briefly optioned by Spike Jonze), that should be reason enough to check out his latest. This book will also appeal to fans of Steven Hall's The Raw Shark Texts, Rivka Galchen's Atmospheric Disturbances, and any other fiction that lives in that hinterland where reality, imagination, hallucination, and coping with loss swirl around like wind, like the ocean.

WANT.

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 2nd book from the mind of author Shane Jones and while it may seem confusing at first and at times elliptical, it is also oddly his most linear tale and his most accessible to date.

Shane Jones has a wonderful way with words. He can take simple short sentences and fill them with a plethora of meanings. Like his previous book Light Boxes I was pulled into each and every world word, stopping to think after each sentence on the numerous possible thoughts of what I had just read.

This is the story of a man named Daniel and his fight with a Hurricane that may or may not be coming. This is the story of mental illness and how it can strip the sanity from our loved ones. This is the story of coming to grips with ones own delusion and still letting it wash over you. Ultimately this is the story of belief, pain, hope, despair and the power of love and how those emotions can bind us together to fight the coming storm.

I can't say this is for everyone, but if you can get through the first few pages wanting more, then this book will leave you satisfied in the best possible haunting sort of way.

[Bebe_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hai presente quando tutto in un sogno assume un profondo caotico significato? Ambientazioni familiari, ma completamente fuori posto.
Volti così nitidi, ma irreali.
Comportamenti tanto incomprensibili, quanto bizzarri.
Ti giri nel letto con il pigiama che ti lascia un quadrato di pelle puntellata dal fresco della notte, ti giri nuovamente, e stavolta è la coperta insolente a lasciarti infreddolito.
Sei cosciente dei tuoi movimenti e sei consapevole della bizzarria di quel sogno. Ma ci vuoi rimanere aggrappato.
Quel mondi di no-sense e paure spiegazzate dà una ripulita al tuo subconscio ammaccato. Lo sciacqua come l'acqua fa con una sporca tazza da tè. Peccato che alcune macchie siano difficili da mandare via. Ti ritrovi a sciacquare continuamente, ogni volta: un eterno oscillare tra sogno e realtà, o forse tra realtà e sogno. Chi può dirlo dove finisca uno e inizi l'altro. Chi può essere così sicuro du cavalcare il confine tra pazzia e ragionevolezza. Di sicuro non Daniel, e forse nemmeno io.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be disturbing by its informal base images. This is meant to be surreal madness in the span of 211 pages, and that's all it is. I got through it fast, and will say I enjoyed the book, and if you pick up a copy, the best thing to do is simply agree with the images being presented, and don't question that feeling you get when you continually say to yourself, "this isn't normal." If Shane Cross had decided to define his world a little more I would have gave this book a better review. It's written like poetry. In many ways, the reader has to take a page from Roland Barthes, and become the books new author.

[c.vance c.vance · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is really rather bad---
Think Light Boxes with a hurricane instead of February; insanity instead of beauty; failed marketability instead of ingenuity....

Moments of potential unrealised...
Was told the POV shifts are not just in the advanced reader copies, either.

May be overt disappointment with potential being rehashed in a faulty emulation of Jesse Ball instead of making something new and could be worthy of three stars... but probably not.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://therumpus.net/2012/09/horn-rev...

[Hex75 · Rating 3 out of 5]

non lo so, davvero.
"daniel contro l'uragano" si presenta come una sorta di fiaba per adulti: "per adulti" non perchè ci sia qualche scena particolarmente scabrosa (anzi, in realtà è un libro castissimo), ma perchè dietro alla vicenda fiabesca raccontata dal protagonista si svela una realtà ben più drammatica, una discesa nella follia che travolge -come un uragano- ogni cosa. non è una cattiva idea, anche se suona in qualche modo già sentita, ma se devo esser sincero la vicenda non mi prende come dovrebbe: e per un romanzo così, dove il provare empatia per i due protagonisti daniel e karen dovrebbe essere fondamentale, forse è uno sbaglio. o forse sono io a non esser del tutto convinto, chissà...
"fiaba" dicevo, e il tono e le vicende spesso hanno proprio quell'andamento ipnotico tipico delle favole, tanto da conciliarmi spesso il sonno (o forse leggerlo sul treno mentre tornavo a casa era la situazione ideale per rischiare di cadere in una tranquilla pennichella), e se devo essere sincero è una cosa che metto tra i pregi del libro, assieme ad alcuni passaggi particolarmente riusciti.
però, se devo dirla tutta, "io sono febbraio" mi sembrava promettere qualcosa di più: vorrei crederci di più in shane jones, ma temo che dopo il fallimento della isbn non farà presto ritorno sugli scaffali delle librerie italiane, e sinceramente dopo questa mezza delusione non so se ho voglia di sbattermi ed affrontarlo in lingua originale.

[Downward · Rating 3 out of 5]

there's a bifurcated narrative here that pushes us between two worlds that both have daniel: one in which daniel is a member of a community that's been victimized by a hurricane; this narrative is full of inventive surrealism that builds a fantasy world out of the broken parts of Daniel's personality and provides the engine for most of the book's action. the second narrative is Daniel's wife Karen, searching for her mentally ill husband, who has disappeared after continually claiming that a hurricane was on its way to kill him. this novel is as inventive in its form as it is typical in its delivery; to dress mental illness up in fantasy is nothing new but the world that Shane Jones invents here has depth and heartbreak along with its quirks.

[nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

In a nutshell: Shane Jones is definitely screwing with you here. How intentionally is unclear... like the entirety of this novel.

Having already started and stopped Light Boxes by Shane Jones, I had a pretty decent hunch that Daniel Fights a Hurricane wasn't going to be my thing. And it surely wasn't. But it was my book club's reading selection, so I slogged through it.

One of the terrible things about being in a book club is reading books you don't like. But one of the great things about being in a book club is looking for redeeming factors in books you don't actually like and would otherwise throw across the room, and finding them. I'll get back to that.

While a very short book, I did not find Daniel to be a quick read. As in Light Boxes, I found Jones' style to be extremely tedious. What is being sold as "poetic language" reads as anything but to me.

1) He isn't concise or precise in his word choices; he repeats the same phrases ad nauseam. At several points while reading Daniel I swore I would scream if I read the phrase "village of underwater pipes" again. I cringe even typing it now, two weeks after having finished the book. And there were many wordy phrases like this he repeated throughout. It's like if every time I mentioned my home -- and if I mentioned it INCESSANTLY -- I referred to it by its entire street address. And then when you responded to whatever I said about my house, you would essentially just rephrase what I had already said. And this long winded banter would go on and on for 100+ pages. It's a short book, and would be shorter still if half its content wasn't repeated. As far as I can tell, such speech denotes that the speaker is either a) a weirdo b) convinced what they're saying is so clever it bears repeating. And repeating. And repeating.
2) His imagery is trite. Daniel is obsessed with hurricanes, yes. His life revolves around this fear, yes. So I get it when he refers to rain as "hurricane tears" and wind as "hurricane breathe" but how many analogies do we need, guy? One is fine; it drives your point, two is plenty, and three starts to sound amateur.
3) There is no meaning or mood. You don't need both, but you should have one.

So about those redeeming factors! This is a big one actually: while Daniel's insanity is confusing (to everyone) and tedious (to me), the shifting perspective, between Daniel's reality (which you can't trust cuz he's crazy) to Daniel's fantasy (which eventually becomes his reality and gets even more confusing) to his ex-wife's reality (the reader's only stability... until she starts talking about having a baby with him, what??), makes the reader feel like they are crazy themselves -- and not just in the "Shane Jones is a hack and I'm going to tear this book in half!!" rage kind of crazy. You don't know what's real and isn't, who's real and who isn't, and many of the books elements are just plain weird (WTF is up with all those "i <3..." tattoos and "cookie pocket"??). You become Daniel, or at least someone who is likewise mentally ill. And that Shane Jones has written a book that is an experience in and of itself is certainly something.

But I have another qualm. While it's exciting to think "ah, the power of books! To transport and transform!" and the credit for reminding the reader of that power is due the author... the execution is so haphazard I'm left to wonder if Jones had any goals other than to confuse. He's strung together such a bat shit series of events and characters that you can't help but feel crazy. None of it makes sense. None of it adds up to anything. Is it just bullshit? It isn't beautiful or surreal enough to be an ode to the creative qualities of madness, it offers no real stance on mental illness or medication at all. The only hint that we ought to feel sorry for Daniel is when we see him standing naked and emaciated in the woods, from the perspective of his ex-wife Karen Suppleton. But Karen is also the woman who pacifies him by pretending to be a therapist, even scheduling "appointments" with him -- a kind of funny thing. Is this serious or is this comical? Or if the hurricane is a symbol of fear, can we at least glean something of Jone's thoughts on that? I'm confused not just by Daniel's instability but by Jone's lack of direction for his novel. If this is just a dream then who cares?

There are nuggets here though. I have no trouble believing that Jones is an idea man, if nothing else. I very much liked the idea of Light Boxes as well. But the execution didn't work for me then either. There are delightful elements littered throughout Daniel that I can see Jones jotting down excitedly in a notebook when struck by inspiration. Iamso, the traveling poet cum fortune teller who has the ability to tell you how you feel, is an endearing character and a really comical companion to join you on a quest. I like him very much. I like the most handsome man in the world with the worst teeth as well. He's a great, if gruesome image. The scenes where he appears in reality as well as crazy town, are interesting ones and I'm amused thinking about how many teeth this man must have that he can afford to lose so many of them all the time.

But the thing is, Daniel Fights a Hurricane reads like someone at Penguin got hold of that great "IDEAS" notebook of Jones' and accidentally published it before he ever got the chance to write a story.

It does make for very animated book club discussion though ;)

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Real and imaginary worlds, personified emotions and people, wash over each other in waves in this story about a man who is deeply, deeply affected by one of his fears. It took some time for me to get used to the style, but I was immediately hooked by Jones' creative characters and landscapes so I kept on reading. Eventually I felt like I really understood Daniel's point of view, which was surprising and I think demonstrates the skill of the author.

Reflecting on the book, I'm grateful to it for allowing me to see the world in terrifying and fantastic ways, ways that my mind had not yet stretched to, or that I had not allowed it to reach.

[Donnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's like being on a date and wondering, "how much weirder can this get?" It gets weirder as the night goes on and not in an endearing way. He/she/they/it didn't look like the pictures on his/her/their/its profile.

[Douglas Weissman]

This was a surreal and crazy ride that I loved. It was like watching a myth unfold with the entire story an allegory for what may or may not be real. I loved the language, the imagery, and the whirlwind of emotions.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting is the fairest description I can give it

[Simone Subliminalpop · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Io sono febbraio”, il suo romanzo precedente, non mi aveva convinto, nonostante la "fantasia sfrenata" e uno stile asciutto, molto scorrevole (caratteristiche positive presenti anche nel nuovo libro). In teoria quindi non avrei dovuto leggere anche questo, però un po’ per la copertina, un po’ perché è stato un regalo… Il genere rimane poco affine ai miei gusti, si tratta sempre di una sorta di fiaba post-moderna, solo che questa volta il fantastico si incrocia, confondendosi, con il reale e così facendo il libro guadagna in spessore, dando alla storia più appigli e mordente dal mio punto di vista (ovvero sempre quello di una persona che non si ritrova molto nel "genere").

[Laura Zurowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not the first reviewer to admit I loved Jones' Light Boxes (a must read for anyone who gets to experience a seemingly never-ending cold, grey, snow- and ice-filled winter year after year after year...) and I eagerly embraced Daniel Fights A Hurricane.

Like its predecessor, Daniel also employs a quirky, boundary-pushing style and fantastical settings and situations. However, in this book, due to the fact that Daniel is suffering from delusions and some sort of mental health break with reality, the narrative style really flies wild. Imagine what reading a literal transcription of a dream or hallucination would be like - that's a close approximation to what you'll find here. If you're paying attention, and not being a lazy reader, you can follow it and understand (and maybe even see some of the connections to Daniel's "real" lucid life) but it certainly gets a bit exhausting.

With Lightboxes, I didn't want to put the book down. With Daniel, I was glad to parcel out a few chapters at a time. Which, in and of itself, makes a point: dealing with mental illness is hard. Really hard. It's hard when you're in the middle of it and it's hard when you're on the outside trying to understand what's going on in a person's inner landscape. If there's anything a reader can take away from this story, that's it for certain.

[Alessandro Margheriti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ancora un'altra fiaba dark per Shane Jones, che con lo stesso stile strampalato e folle confeziona un altro piccolo capolavoro. Stavolta il protagonista è un uomo che ha la fobia degli uragani che ben presto lo porterà alla follia e alla perdita del senso della realtà. Perché cos'è l'uragano se non l'incarnazione delle nostre più recondite paure? Per qualcuno è addirittura un insieme di bambini tremendi, tutti vestiti di nero. Certo è che non si ferma mai veramente, e colpisce, ancora ed ancora. La prima volta Daniel e gli altri riescono a salvarsi sotto l'oceano, in un villaggio di tubi sottomarini; la seconda volta su una montagna che poi pian piano viene popolata da tutti i superstiti e che viene eletta come luogo sicuro per eccellenza e punto di partenza per costruire una nuova comunità.
Salvo poi scoprire che la montagna non è così sicura, perché in realtà è un vulcano.
Tanti anche gli strani personaggi, impossibile dimenticare ad esempio Iamso, il ragazzino che scrive i sentimenti degli altri e che aspira ad essere ricordato per sempre, e il sognatore da due secondi.
Sogno e avventura, visioni e adrenalina in un romanzo folle come l'amore più forte: quello che dura a dispetto del tempo trascorso e delle intemperie.

[Sara Comuzzo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shane Jones ci aveva già colpito con il suo primo libro pubblicato sempre da ISBN Edizioni, Io Sono Febbraio.
Daniel contro l'Uragano è in qualche modo simile e diverso al primo lavoro.
Certo non si può negare che questo scrittore abbia un mondo interno o comunque una fantasia a dir poco strabilianti. Nei suoi racconti assolutamente tutto può succedere.

Ecco che Daniel contro l'Uragano è un qualcosa di psicologico, dark e speranzoso allo stesso momento.
Daniel è sposato, ha una moglie che lo ama, un lavoro, una vita normale ma vive troppo nella sua testa. E' ossessionato dalla paura di un Uragano che in qualsiasi momento possa abbattersi e distruggere tutto e tutti.
Inizia perciò un viaggio, dentro e fuori la mente di Daniel per capire come sconfiggere l'Uragano, come uscirne indenni.
Si incontrano allora diversi personaggi strambi, in una favola che ha tutte le carte in regola per essere in un film di Tim Burton. Uno stile fra il sognante, il fiabesco e il pungente.
Sembra si essere sospesi ed incastrati nella mente di uno schizofrenico.

Forse ho preferito Io sono Febbraio, ma amo comunque gli scrittori visionari e Shane Jones ne è un ottimo esempio.

[Kurt Gottschalk]

I really loved Jones' "Light Boxes" and was excited to read another book by him. I'm not necessarily a fan of "adult fairy tales," but his the first novel was really inventive and touching. I only got 1/4 of the way through this one, however, before I gave up. There are so many literary devices going on here that I couldn't tell what direction the book was taking me. The narrative switches between third person for the protagonist to first person for a secondary character and includes poetry about various characters written by an empath of sorts. On top of that there was some troublingly obvious symbolism. There were still some nice ideas in it, but even if Jones was clever enough to tie everything together, he didn't entice me to stick around and see who it happened.

[Brianne Sperber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't been so moved or touched by a novel in months. DANIEL speaks to our core in a way that is honest, heartfelt, highly immaginative, and invigorating. It's refreshing to see such a kind and beautiful portrayal of love and relationships, while still masked under the guise of a surrealist novel. Daniel makes us feel like life is bigger than our reality, that the hurricane we're hiding from sometimes is the most obvious issue to resolve, and that, despite how much we ignore it, sometimes love just isn't enough.

Recommended to anyone who enjoyed the author's first book, LIGHT BOXES, as well as books like THE ADULTS, WE THE ANIMALS, and THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming directly from "Light Boxes," which I thoroughly loved, I was aware of the likelihood that I might not enjoy "Daniel Fights a Hurricane" as much. Whereas I dreaded seeing "Light Boxes" end, there was a section toward the end of "Daniel Fights a Hurricane" in which I became aware of my desire to wrap the story up.

I liked the shifting POV. I liked the odd characters and their many iterations. I liked the surreal run-on sense of dream logic. I liked the bits of interspersed poetry. All in all, "Daniel" is an interesting—albeit ultimately sad—book, well-suited for fans of unusual, non-linear stories.

[Jessica J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed Light Boxes, but this one just did not do it for me. It's a conceit -- a man's wife disappears and he then disappears into some variation of mental illness -- that's been done before (Threats, Atmospheric Disturbances, to name a few recent variations) and Jones doesn't really bring anything new to the table here. I guess it's meant to make you feel off kilter, to blur the lines between reality and fantasy, but there was nothing here that made me care what was going on.

[KWinks · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one started out great. I really cared about Daniel and who would not like Iamso and the crazy cast of characters? But, for me, about halfway through that is exactly what started to grate on my nerves. At one point I could not take any more pipes, elephants, dreams, or Hurricanes. What helped me get through it was that it was A. short and B. the character of Karen. In the end, I am still kind of unclear of what happened, but at that point, I really didn't care. Props for excellent imagination and I do want to read Light Boxes.

[Pamela Detlor · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was pleased to win a goodreads ARC copy of this book. Unfortunately I didn't really enjoy the writing style or the story. I found it disjointed and repetitive. The characters were inventive. I liked the "two-second dreamer and Iamso, as well as their "gifts" of seeing things. I think Shane Jones has a great sense of creativity; sadly I didn't enjoy where he went with it.

I hope others enjoy this story more than I did.

[Kristen Felicetti]

I liked this book. I thought both this book and Lightboxes were really imaginative. When I am reading a book by Shane Jones, I feel more inspired to go out and create stuff and experiment with new things.

Some of the images he creates are totally beautiful or totally bonkers. Like when Daniel goes out in the hurricane and one of the lines is "An owl slammed into Daniel's hip". Just picturing images like that makes me laugh.