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Faith : A Secret Life
Josh Miller, 18 years old, sits in a packed courtroom, accused of the rape and murder of his high-school girlfriend, Faith. The novel, written in first person, recounts the dramatic saga of the last two years from Josh’s point of view. Time is layered, events are staggered, so we see the action from one character’s many different perspectives. Sometimes Josh describes extraneous events, sometimes he turns to internal monologue. As a consequence of the novel’s structure, the reader lives the tension between the protagonist as an adolescent and as a man, both in his real physical existence and in his thoughts. Traditional coming-of-age themes are sharpened by Josh’s ability to look back at them from the perspective of a kid forced prematurely into adulthood.
So much for general remarks. Within the first few pages, both the reader and Josh realize that the evidence convincingly implicates Josh. Obviously, we know that the heroine is dead; what we don’t know is why – though the prosecution’s first witness would seem to have told us. We next find ourselves in the months before Josh and Faith meet. Josh’s high school in an affluent Midwestern suburb is preparing to institute a pilot program for gifted kids taught by professors from a nearby university. Parental money talks, a room is transformed into an ideal setting for education, the students surprise everyone, including themselves, by their passionate interest in subjects and ideas that would seem to constitute a formula for adolescent boredom.
It is into this class of exuberant, sometimes troubled, always brilliant young people that Faith Hansen walks, a “new girl” from Philadelphia whose credentials are off the chart. Josh is not interested in those credentials. Faith would seem to be the perfect girl, as sexy as she is smart, endowed with seductive charm and a sense of humor that won’t quit. Though “such things do not happen in his world,” Josh and Faith soon hook up intimately. Their relationship, like Faith herself, seems perfect: it is tender, sincere, profound. The two stake out their private world, an abandoned quarry deep in the woods whose only tie to civilization is a defunct narrow-gauge rail line. Josh builds them a place to be alone; the quarry provides steep walls for rock climbing and a promontory for summer diving. Much of the action of the novel takes place in and around this idyllic setting. There is of course the school, the courthouse, the occasional road trip.
Josh’s emotions as an adolescent painfully in love are paralleled by his later struggle with Faith’s absence – not to mention officialdom’s apparent decision that he is the cause. These emotions peak shortly before Faith’s death, and again as the trial nears its conclusion. What happened to Faith is revealed in shocking fashion at the end of Part II; what happened to Josh must await the denouement of the story. I’m not going to describe these events here: knowing them will make the novel an entirely different read.
So much for general remarks. Within the first few pages, both the reader and Josh realize that the evidence convincingly implicates Josh. Obviously, we know that the heroine is dead; what we don’t know is why – though the prosecution’s first witness would seem to have told us. We next find ourselves in the months before Josh and Faith meet. Josh’s high school in an affluent Midwestern suburb is preparing to institute a pilot program for gifted kids taught by professors from a nearby university. Parental money talks, a room is transformed into an ideal setting for education, the students surprise everyone, including themselves, by their passionate interest in subjects and ideas that would seem to constitute a formula for adolescent boredom.
It is into this class of exuberant, sometimes troubled, always brilliant young people that Faith Hansen walks, a “new girl” from Philadelphia whose credentials are off the chart. Josh is not interested in those credentials. Faith would seem to be the perfect girl, as sexy as she is smart, endowed with seductive charm and a sense of humor that won’t quit. Though “such things do not happen in his world,” Josh and Faith soon hook up intimately. Their relationship, like Faith herself, seems perfect: it is tender, sincere, profound. The two stake out their private world, an abandoned quarry deep in the woods whose only tie to civilization is a defunct narrow-gauge rail line. Josh builds them a place to be alone; the quarry provides steep walls for rock climbing and a promontory for summer diving. Much of the action of the novel takes place in and around this idyllic setting. There is of course the school, the courthouse, the occasional road trip.
Josh’s emotions as an adolescent painfully in love are paralleled by his later struggle with Faith’s absence – not to mention officialdom’s apparent decision that he is the cause. These emotions peak shortly before Faith’s death, and again as the trial nears its conclusion. What happened to Faith is revealed in shocking fashion at the end of Part II; what happened to Josh must await the denouement of the story. I’m not going to describe these events here: knowing them will make the novel an entirely different read.
201 pages, ebook
First published November 11, 2013
2 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Kirkwood
14 books10 followersThomas Kirkwood is an American author best known for his international thrillers. He was born in Tallulah, Louisiana, a small town near the mouth of the Mississippi River. His works, fiction and academic, have been published by the London School of Economics, Contemporary Review, Macmillan, NAL/Signet, and DIF (an imprint of Penguin USA). His novels, which helped usher in the “audiobook revolution,” were chosen as lead entries for the New York Authors Guild’s back-in-print series and featured by Book-of-the-Month Club. Screenplays and movie options have been acquired by Hawn Film, Ltd., and Twentieth Century Fox. After years teaching and writing in the EU, Storm, his wife and two daughters now live in near Boulder, Colorado.
In Europe Thomas now publishes under the pen name 'Storm Fredrickson.' The East Wind, on February 24, 2024, received a special jury prize at the Rome International Literary Awards competition. The awards ceremony will be held on March 16, 2024, at the Ghione Theater in Rome.
In Europe Thomas now publishes under the pen name 'Storm Fredrickson.' The East Wind, on February 24, 2024, received a special jury prize at the Rome International Literary Awards competition. The awards ceremony will be held on March 16, 2024, at the Ghione Theater in Rome.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 20, 2018
As someone who deals with mental health issues, bipolar in particular, this book was incredibly moving and touching. It was very realistic and heartbreaking to see the struggles from the outside looking in. Than, to find out Faith is no longer living and her caring, devote boyfriend is on trail is unfortently not shocking. This book is all too realistic and as such, is very moving and touches a person deeply. I just wish this book was still avaliable as I truly believe many more people should read this!
February 17, 2019
An awesome book!!!
This is a story that will get your mood changes a lot during your reading. I have cried, laughed, feeling mad, confused and more. You'll be following a young guy Josh, through a court case where he's accused of murder. You'll follow him in first person, land gets to know what he's thinking. It's hard to describe it must be felt
This is a story that will get your mood changes a lot during your reading. I have cried, laughed, feeling mad, confused and more. You'll be following a young guy Josh, through a court case where he's accused of murder. You'll follow him in first person, land gets to know what he's thinking. It's hard to describe it must be felt
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews