We

by Michael Landweber

After an accident, forty-year-old Ben Arnold regains consciousness in the kitchen of the house he grew up in. Only he feels different, lighter somehow. Something is horribly wrong. Ben is swept into the arms of his mother, who he hasn’t seen in twenty years. She calls him by his childhood nickname, Binky. He sees a younger, unbroken version of his father. His estranged brother is there, reverted back to his awkward teenage self. Finally, adding horror to his confusion, he glimpses his older sister Sara as she runs out the door to meet her boyfriend.

Sara, whose absence he has felt every day since her death.

Ben is a mere hitchhiker, a parasite in the brain of seven-year-old Binky, and his younger self is not happy to have him there.

It is three days before his sister will be attacked. Ben knows he has to save Sara but first he must gain Binky’s trust. Even if he can get Binky to say the right words, to do the
right thing, who will believe that a young boy can foretell the future?

196 pages, Paperback

First published August 29, 2013

About the author

I was born in Madison, WI. I have sort of learned and mostly forgotten four languages: Hebrew, Spanish, Japanese and Thai. I am allergic to cumin. The pinnacle of my journalism career was following President Clinton around while he jogged. My short stories have appeared in some really cool literary magazines online and in print (and you can see a full list of them at my website). I have Masters degrees in Southeast Asian Studies and Public Policy. I have a soft spot for movies about talking animals. I am very unlikely to survive the zombie apocalypse. I have written four novels. I have worked for government bureaucracies, large and small. I mainly listen to alternative music, but my favorite song might be Son of a Preacher Man by Dusty Springfield. I live and write in Washington, DC.

Reviews

[Chrystal Grcevich · Rating 5 out of 5]

We is a confusing and delightful book that I thoroughly enjoyed! The concept is original and thought out as you are basically struggling right along with the character, Benedict, right from the beginning. I was left wondering (at first) what was going on between the odd protagonist(s?) struggling with, well, himself. What would you do if given the chance to change your own history?

This was a bit like the Butterfly Effect meets What Dreams May Come, but not exactly. The book painted a picture of the subconscious, giving life to Freudian aspects of the psychological, albeit crude, and integrated it with a lot of "what ifs." I can just imagine this poor child struggling through his life with this awful family. Benedict himself isn't even the most desirable person, in all honesty, but his childhood persona is still innocent and likable. He just wanted someone to cling to, and he found this in his sister, Sara. She was flawed, she was defiant, but she was worth saving. Even his nasty older brother, Charles, was worth paying attention to.

I wonder what it would be like to see some of my past childhood experiences through the eyes of my adult self. Better yet, I wonder if I would listen to what my "self of the future" would say, or if I would just watch everything replay as a movie. Great job, Mr. Landweber, you have my attention!

I was given this book from LibraryThing Early Reviewers giveaway in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own, and I was not compensated monetarily for penning this review.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastic!

[Gayle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review at http://everydayiwritethebookblog.com/...

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to go back in time and talk to an earlier version of yourself? What would you say, and what future events might you try to change or prevent? We, a debut novel by Michael Landweber answers those questions. In We, forty-two year-old Ben finds himself in the brain of his seven year-old self (“Binky”), trying to prevent a tragedy that happened at that time and irrevocably changed his family and his childhood. This is not my typical read; it’s billed as “science fiction” and I tend to stick to very literal, realistic books. But the premise of We was very interesting, and raised a lot of questions that were fun to explore.

When Ben first finds himself within Binky, he observes, “I still clung to my memories, my experience, my thoughts. My essence of who I was at age forty-two. It was all still was. I had not lost myself; I had been transplanted. But it didn’t make sense. How could we both be here?” Eventually, he comes to grips with “where” he is and focuses his efforts on convincing a skeptical, suspicious seven year-old that he has the power to prevent something bad from happening to his beloved older sister.

There were a number of poignant elements in We: Ben seeing his family through the eyes of a seven year-old again, knowing that they were headed for sadness and estrangement; Binky trying to cling to his innocence while his older self (often inadvertently) prematurely pushes him into adulthood; Ben’s more mature understanding of the inward battles his family members were privately facing, of which he was clueless during his childhood. I thought Landweber did a good job of juxtaposing adulthood and childhood and pinpointing the ways in which our perspectives change over time.

Less successful for me were the forays into psychology (id battling superego) and the physical descriptions of the process by which Ben entered Binky’s consciousness – caves and tunnels and darkness – which were distracting and hard to follow (again, I like my books very literal). But those were thankfully pretty limited.

Overall, We is thought-provoking, touching, imaginative, and a promising debut from Landweber.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Michael Landweber’s We, forty-year-old Ben’s OCD leads him to try to clean a water spot off of the ceiling, leading to a nasty fall resulting in a hospital stay where he is in a coma. Instead of remaining in the dark, he awakens in the kitchen of his youth, inside the head of his seven year old self. He’s suddenly a prisoner inside of his own head, and Binky as he was called back then, isn’t letting him take control of the body. Ben is just a visitor, a parasite, able only to speak to Binky. And it just happens that he’s jumped into Binky’s mind three days before the event that tore his family apart: his older sister Sara’s brutal rape and subsequent suicide a few months later.

We explores the family dynamics between Binky, his book store manager mother, his aspiring writer father, his Dungeons and Dragons playing older brother Charles who barely speaks to anyone in the family, and his older sister Sara who is rebellious and free spirited. This family is falling apart before Sara’s attack, but young Binky doesn’t see that. He’s busy trying to gain his family’s attention, to not be pushed aside as the family slowly implodes. But with adult Ben inside his head and seeing things with experience and knowing where everything is heading, the dire and dismal situation of this family on the edge of breaking apart is clear. Binky may be too young and naive to see it, but Ben is too brash and unfiltered to keep the reality of the situation from his younger self.

Can Ben convince Binky that Sara is in danger, and if so, will they be able to do anything about it? Will anyone actually believe and listen to a seven year old boy? But first, Ben must learn how to interact with the skittish Binky without scaring him away with his boldness and bitterness.

I give We a four out of five. With great pacing and a three day timeline, the struggle between young Binky and older Ben for control to change the future–not only for Sara, but also for themselves–is fresh, bold, and emotional. This is a lovely piece exploring family dynamics and how what you remember from your childhood might not be what actually happened or what was important.

(Also on Bewitched Bookworms)

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please note during this review I refer to Ben the adult as Ben, and young Ben as Binky

I left off reading We for quite a long time (in fact the only review book on my kindle other than it at the time was an unsolicited one which I had downloaded just in case I decided to read it- but aren't really planning to read). Whilst I found the premise interesting I worried that it would be a bit too heavy on the Sci-fi side for my tastes. Actually I wouldn't call it a sci-fi novel. Maybe the element of sci-fi was there with the idea of Ben being inside his younger self's concious. It isn't really explored how he ends up there however. The most we get is him exploring Binky's mind, which is a bit weird, but still quite interesting, especially when you think about how much control Ben could take of Binky.
It is rather upsetting to know what will happen to Sara, and for Ben to know, but for him to seem pretty much powerless. You really can't imagine that Ben would be able to change what is happening (do we call it future or past, I don't know).

At times I was cringing at Ben's lack of insight into his younger self. Surely if you were that person you would know how he felt, or feels? Maybe he had just come on too far. You know, like when you look back on things you've done and think you were a bit of an idiot, but it didn't feel like that at the time? If I was Ben I would have done things differently, but there you go. I'm not.

One little thing I didn't like was that whilst the future was discussed it was never really shown how Ben's actions in the past might change the future. What might happen differently if what happened to Sara was prevented? Although, actually, what happened was always on Ben's mind so maybe he didn't think about how changing it would effect future events, because he couldn't see why he wouldn't want to change it.

[Kari · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story begins with Ben having suffered a head injury and he wakes up in his 7 year old body back in the past. Once he realizes where and when he is, he tries to convince Binky (his 7 YO self) to save his sister from being gang raped in 3 days. You see, when he wakes up in Binky's body, Binky's mind is still there. So they spend a lot of time talking to each other, although Binky doesn't really understand what is going on. That made two of us.

I did like the idea of going back and getting a chance to redo things in the past. It was interesting how Ben sees things differently as he looked at those long ago events through his adult eyes. One thing did bother me though and maybe it's the mom in me. I was a bit disturbed at details that Ben tells Binky about sex and things related to the subject. I know he is really talking to himself, but I'm not sure I would want to tell my 7 year old self all of that detail. That is a bit young to know those things in my opinion.

I have to be honest, I'm still on the fence about my feelings about We. It is definitely not what I expected. I thought I was getting a sci-fi-ish story. Instead the book was more psychological. There were parts about the id, ego and superego that I really didn't get. I will admit to being confused at times and in the end, I'm not sure if I totally understood what the author was trying to accomplish. The ending left me perplexed as to what really happened. Was it all a dream or did he change the course of history? After sitting on the book for a few days, I'm not sure I can answer that one. In the end, I have to say that this was just an OK read for me. I liked the concept, but not the execution.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

What would you do if you could change a tragic moment in your family's history? A moment when, as you saw it, everything took a dark turn?

Ben is a 30-something man, who inexplicably finds himself in the body and mind of his former 7-year-old self. As luck would have it, he arrives there 3 days before the rape of his sister - an event that set in motion a series of life-altering events for his entire family. It takes a while for Ben to realise he is inside Binky (Benedict) and there are many uncomfortable moments for him as he settles into this disjointed existence. I found this novel difficult to read at times, particularly when Ben starts talking about the id and the superego - it all sounded like gobbledygook to me. Eventually, though, I got used to the dual narrative and found myself caring more deeply than I expected to about the fate of Binky, and Sara his loving but risk-taking sister. I found his parents frustrating, probably just as he did as a child, and his world confusing and full of contradictions.
As Ben inhabits Binky, trying to convince him to take action, he also starts to learn more about his parents because he sees them through the eyes of an adult. He comes to accept that they are flawed just as all human beings are, and as a result he finds a degree of peace in that knowledge. To say anymore would be to spoil the novel - I am not going to reveal whether Ben changes the course of events, but I will say there were tears in my eyes at the end as the strings of the novel drew together their conclusion.
This was an accomplished result for a first time novel and I will be interested to see what comes next from Michael Landweber.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last thing Ben Arnold remembers is falling....but when he wakes up he sees a drawing he made as a young child. A drawing on the refrigerator in his childhood home and then he hears his mother's voice. A mother he hasn't seen in more years than he can count. He comes to realize his older "self" has landed in the body (brain?) of his 7 year old self. As he is trying to assimilate this shocking fact he also realizes that it is three days before an event that shattered his family - the rape of his sister Sara. Can he get his younger self to trust him and change history?

What an interesting concept! I must say I've never encountered a book like this before - the synopsis just intrigued me. I was drawn in from the first page and while I wish I had been able to just read it through - it was a busy few days - I read it whenever I could. I was so reluctant to put it down! Mr. Landweber was brilliant at keeping the two inhabitants of the one brain completely separate. The older Ben is not easy to like at first but you come to understand why he is like he is as you get to know the family in the three days you are with them. This is a family on the verge of implosion and Ben's adult return to his 7 year old life let's him realize so much that he didn't the first time he lived through it.

It was an absolutely fascinating read but not a perfect read. It would get a little psychological at times with discussions of ids and egos that at least to me dragged down the story. I had to dig deep in my old brain to remember the definitions and relations so that is perhaps why. Nonetheless this is one of the more interesting books I've read in a long, long time.

4.5

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

40-yr-old Ben suddenly regains consciousness to discover he is back in the body of his 7-yr-old self. Disoriented he further realizes that it is just days before his sister was raped and his family shattered, and with this adult forethought he is filled with dread and thinks that he can't survive his sister's attack and suicide a second time.

This, of course, leads to quite a bit of confusion with both Ben and his 7-yr-old self who goes by the name of Binky.

The author does a good job at moving the story along and relaying the confusion (and yet acceptance) of a young boy who starts to hear another voice in his head. He also does a great job at creating a clear delineation between Ben and Binky, and the disorientation of residing in a body that is no longer your own, and which you can't control. Ben almost seems to view Binky as a separate individual, a young boy he wants to protect and guide. And, of course, Binky has no idea that Ben is a grown version of himself. He's like an imaginary friend living in Binky's head.

Will Ben be able to alter the future by changing the past, with the help of Binky?

My final word: It's a great concept, and the author does a fine job at cultivating the story. I liked the second half of the book better than the first half. It was sweet and tender at times, and Sara was very likable. You feel for brother Charles, who walks through life unseen. Fascinating concept well executed with a satisfying ending!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

We is a novel with a unique premise. Ben Arnold awakes from an accident in the body of his childhood self. He quickly realizes he is at the point of time in his childhood just before his family fell apart, the week that his teenage sister was raped by her boyfriend’s brother and his two thuggish friends. Ben knows that he must somehow warn his sister and change the fate of his family, but how? Ben exists in the mind of his childhood self together with the consciousness of this young self. Together they are “we.” How can he make his young self-understand what is at stake and how exactly can he help his sister?

I really liked the unique premise and felt engaged with the story, family, and Ben. I really wanted to know how this would end. The only part I didn’t like was that Ben would sometimes go off into psychiatry with various terms for parts of the brain that I know nothing about and frankly bored me. Luckily those sections were quite brief and it was back to Ben’s remembrances of his childhood self and future regrets. Overall, I enjoyed this quick and intriguing read.

I read this book as part of the TLC Book Tour. Unfortunately due to my hectic schedule this semester, I missed my postdate. I apologize!

Book Source: TLC Book Tours

This review was first posted on my blog at: http://www.lauragerold.blogspot.com/2...

[Jenn A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick light read with some thought-provoking ideas under the surface. What I thought the author did extremely well was capture the voice of both a 40year old world weary and shattered man and his still forming 7yo self. Many narratives set up the trope of if you could go back in time could you change the future, but the author here twists the idea so that you only go back into the mind of your own self - and instead of being a teenager or someone with at least an inkling that something is out of place - you go into the mind of yourself as a seven year old. Theauthor keeps a breakneck pace as he places his narrator in a perilous situation and the audience is kept guessing regarding whether anyone, including the child is going to make it to the end of the book alive. Under the surface of this thriller, however, the author does an admirable job playing with ideas of how we construct our past when not only are our memories imperfect, but we view the past through the eyes of an innocent child who will only see and remember certain things and not others. I highly recommend this book.

[Oma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had an interesting premise: to go back in time into the mind of a younger version of yourself and prevent a tragedy. The sequences in the "cave" were a bit overly clinical, with the id and superego conflicts. The story of the dysfunctional family and the relation to Binky's problems as an adult was credible, especially in the fact that the recollections were not complete or accurate, which mad those parts realistic. The ending was a bit too pat-all problem fixed?- and so was disappointing., especially the ability of a seven year old's body to overcome the medication given in order to achieve the goal of the story and the way the adult self entered his brain. It would have been interesting to have explored the premise of multiple personalities and the effect of the adult inhabiting the child's brain. I have not been compensated in any way (other than being given a copy of this book to review) and my opinion on the book is entirely my own.

[Meghan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this is the sort of book that if you enjoy
-plot-driven novels over character-based ones, and
-books about pop-science,
then you'd probably like this book as well. But I found the characters shallow and clichéd, i.e. the disinterested father, the D&D playing social pariah, the rebellious daughter, etc. Even the setup - bump on the noggin sets off a chain of events - is a standard trope. The id-ego-superego battles are cartoonish (and I couldn't help thinking to myself the entire way through, that's simply a theory. What if the brain is structured a completely different way and Freud was wrong? Then the whole back-end of this story collapses.). There's a real rush to the end feel also, with, it appears, only a tiny radius of Ben's life being affected by his time travel.

Clearly other people are reviewing this novel more favourably, but the book really didn't work well for me.

[Don LaFountaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it is an universal trait humans have that as they age, they wish they could return to an earlier time in their life. If given this opportunity many of us, myself included, would love to change something that happened. This book describes the journey of a 40 year old man who is fortunate enough to be able to do this. It took a few pages to get into the book, and some of the pages are a little seem rather what one would expect if they were on acid. With that said, I found the book to be an enjoyable read that captured my imagination. At heart, it is a family book that asks the question: What would happen in our lives if we could change an event that has been haunting us? It made me think while reading it, and though there are some aspects of the story that are predictable, I found the ending to be not quite what I was expecting. I think it is a book that many people can enjoy.

[Stanley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am a fan of time travel stories which is the only reason I stumbled across this book. This is a story of a homosexual man who finds himself trapped in the mind of his younger self. Initially the premise is that he has an opportunity to save his sister from tragedy however along the way the reader is subjected to the inner workings of a very dysfunctional family. There is explicit references to sexual activities and of course profanity. I always read reviews before I purchase a book but missed the warning in this case. I have no idea why I finished this book, I guess I was curious if he actually saves his sister. The basic story was interesting but it did not need all that filth. I am now going to bleach my brain.

[Jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

The premise of this book is fascinating. A forty year old man in a coma gets the opportunity to live in the mind of his seven year old self days before a traumatic incident he always blamed for the destruction of his family.However, while observing his childhood from an adult perspective, he learns things about his family dynamics he never understood before. Can he prevent a tragedy and alter the course of his life? Michael Landweber does an excellent job in bringing us into the subconscious of the protagonist. This is a haunting book that beautifully blends science fiction with emotional truth.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful and heartbreaking portrait of a family falling apart, and a man trying to come to terms with his own choices and decisions in life. The hook is what drew me in to the book, but the hook (as in all great books) quickly takes a backseat to the more compelling characters and conflicts here. It is, quite simply, a great story. My only disappointment was that the resolution came so quickly! I found myself wanting to know more about how it all turned out. Great debut by an author who clearly knows how to write people.

[Herb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It made me wonder, if me as an adult were to get in my head when I was 7, would I listen? I loved the concept and execution of this as Ben, the adult, tries to help himself as a 7 year old, stop a dreadful part of his past from ever happening.

This is the first full-length novel from the author. I look forward to reading more of his books in the future.

I was given this book from LibraryThing Early Reviewers in exchange for an honest review.

[Lesli · Rating 3 out of 5]

A confusing, but engaging read. The concept of influencing your younger self is certainly not new; but the means this author uses is fairly inventive. My eyes mostly glazed over when the author discussed id, ego, and superego. This book felt forcefully existential. I don’t know that I would recommend the book; but it was interesting while it lasted! **This was an advanced reader copy won through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.**

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

if you want to read something different and unusual, and are ready for a confusing adventure outside your comfort zone, you will enjoy WE. Trust me, persevere through the first two chapters, the book is really worth the trip...

my full review is here:
http://wordsandpeace.com/2014/02/17/b...

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like being so engrossed in a book that time stands still, then I highly recommend this debut from Michael Landweber. Read my review here.