Things We Couldn't Explain

by Betsy Tobin

Things We Couldn't Explain is a comic story of young love, thwarted desire and the slippery nature of faith. It's ideal for readers who have enjoyed The Fault in Our Stars and The Rosie Project. Some things just can't be explained. It's the summer of '79 and the small town of Jericho, Ohio is awash with mysteries. Anne-Marie is beautiful, blind, virginal - and pregnant. Ethan is the boy next door who would do anything to win her heart. But when the Virgin Mary starts to appear in the sunset, the town is besieged by zealots, tourists and profiteers. Can love survive amidst the madness? A comic tale of young love, thwarted desire and the slippery nature of faith... Author Betsy Tobin is the acclaimed author of four Bone House, short-listed for the Commonwealth Prize and winner of a Herodotus Prize in America, The Bounce, Ice Land, and Crimson China, a BBC Radio 4 Book-At-Bedtime and shortlisted for Epic Romantic Novel of the Year. Her books have been published throughout Europe and North America and two have been optioned for feature film. Betsy also writes for stage and radio, and is a past winner of the London Writers' Competition for her short story, Joyride. Born and raised in the American Midwest, she now lives in London and Wales with her husband and four children, and teaches writing with Arvon and First Story.

Genres: Fiction

409 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 14, 2014

About the author

Betsy Tobin was born in the U.S. and moved to England in 1989, where she now lives with her husband and children. Her first novel, Bone House, was short-listed for the Commonwealth Prize, and won the Herodotus Prize in the United States. Her other novels include The Bounce, Ice Land, and Crimson China. Crimson China was Radio 4 Book At Bedtime in the UK, and was short-listed for Epic Romantic Novel of the Year.

Her latest book, THINGS WE COULDN'T EXPLAIN, is available for pre-order now on Amazon in the UK. (Digital ebook available in August. Paperback coming in November 2014!)

Watch the trailer at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA_TX...

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lisa: Maybe there is no moral, Mom.
Homer: Exactly! It's just a bunch of stuff that happened.

Okay, that's not fair - there is a moral and a message but I won't give it away beyond saying that I found myself reading AnneMarie's first narration with more appreciation after I came to the end . What I'm saying is despite the cover art, which made me think of scalding satire, or the many ways the Virgin Mary pops up (see what I did there?) this book isn't making any grand statements about religion, more subtle observations. It is an endearing story with pleasant characters and well worth a read - it could have been maybe a hundred pages shorter as it seems to lose energy in the middle - but not enough for me to lose interest.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in the late seventies, in a small town called Jericho in Ohio, Things We Couldn't Explain is a quirky story filled with charismatic characters. The story could be described as a little strange, possibly eccentric and certainly unlike anything that I've ever read before. It can also be described as touching and quite beautiful.

Annemarie is blind and pregnant, she's also a virgin. Ethan is her next door neighbour, he's in love with Annemarie, he's assumed to be the father of her baby, he wishes he was.

Doctors assume that there is some sort of genetic, medical explanation for this most unusual of pregnancies whilst others in this town of Christians are sure that this is an act of God and that Annemarie is the chosen one. When local people begin to see visions of the Virgin Mary in the town they are convinced that Annemarie's conception is indeed immaculate.

As is to be expected, the town becomes the focus of believers, bigots, zealots and the downright nosey. The Church is determined that Annemarie is a miracle, whilst the medical men do their best to prove that this is purely a medical blip.

Throughout this, Annemarie and Ethan continue to grow closer, they still have to find themselves and to deal with what is before them.

The characters are divine, they are funny and they are human, there are good and bad, there are those who are right and those who are wrong.

The author has brought this little town to life, she has very cleverly mixed a romantic comedy with a coming of age story, and added the unusual plot line to make this story quite unique.

A novel that brought a smile to my face as I was reading. Quite a different read for me, but nevertheless I did enjoy it and will certainly look out for more from this author.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable, quirky ebook. I've read a few of BT's book and enjoyed this one the most. I like the triple narration (first person), the lovely use of language, the interweaving of scripture and biology, and most of all the well depicted coming of age story. The ending didn't engage me quite so much - in truth I felt a little cheated at the resolution, but all in all a very nice book.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting read, sometimes funny, often times slow but over all I enjoyed it