After enduring a crippling loss, bestselling author Nell Carmichael retreats from the world. She stops writing. She stops leaving the house. She stops caring. The gaping void in her life can’t be filled . . .
Until a self-aware black hole barges into her living room and insists that she school him in the ways of being human.
With her emotional reserves at an all-time low, can Nell teach a literal void empathy and rescue herself from despair?
Brian Clopper tells the story of grief and all its emotional devastation in his short story, NELL and VOID using his own brand of writing style to its best advantage.
For anyone who has been caught up in the “void” of loss, of overwhelming grief, be prepared to “see” what it looks like as Nell meets Void. Without being dark, or clinically dry this story identifies and acknowledges the emotional depths someone can fall to and how it is possible to recover.
Mr. Clopper always creates characters on a journey and this time is no exception and while the journey may be a little deeper and more raw, he still has that light at the end of the tunnel, a touch of appropriate humor and his special way with words to lighten the story.
Do I think it’s appropriate to gift this book to someone who is struggling? To be honest, I felt he wrote it for me, and I can speak from experience, it resonated more than anything I have read on the dark abyss of grief and loss. Highly recommended reading for everyone!
I received a complimentary review copy from Brian Clopper.
The unusual angle in this novella works for me. I like the philosophical discussions and the weaving in of a second story. It leaves an open end for the reader to use their imagination. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.