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The Reasons
With a mostly absent father, a deceased older sister, a younger sister on the verge of invisibility, and a certifiably insane mother, Tobias Reason is forced to grow up quickly. Though he tries to be a surrogate parent to his sister, their broken mother, Maggie, takes up a lot of his time. Annabel falls to the wayside and becomes a ghost in their chaotic existence. When Maggie flippantly hands her mother’s house over to Tobias, he sees an opportunity to learn how and why his family became so shattered. Be careful what you wish for. When his world begins to collapse from the weight of un-buried secrets, he focuses on a stranger from his parents’ past. Only by eliminating the past, he believes, can he make his family whole again. The Reasons won the Muskoka Novel Marathon's 2008 BEST ADULT NOVEL AWARD.
143 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 17, 2013
36 people want to read
About the author
Kevin Craig
24 books237 followersKevin is the author of eight novels: SUMMER ON FIRE (MuseItUp Publishing, 2011),SEBASTIAN'S POET (Musa Publishing, 2012), THE REASONS (Musa Publishing, 2013), BURN BABY BURN BABY (Curiosity Quills Press, 2014), HALF DEAD AND FULLY BROKEN (Curiosity Quills Press, 2015), PRIDE MUST BE A PLACE (MuseItUp Publishing, 2018), THE CAMINO CLUB (Duet Press/Interlude Press, 2020), and BOOK OF DREAMS (Duet Press/Chicago Review Press, 2022).
Kevin is a 6-time winner of the Muskoka Novel Marathon’s Best Novel Award. They are also a passionate and accomplished playwright. They've had twelve plays produced.
Kevin is a 6-time winner of the Muskoka Novel Marathon’s Best Novel Award. They are also a passionate and accomplished playwright. They've had twelve plays produced.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 23, 2014
This dual POV story is a breakneck road trip to crazy town where the Reason family resides. Mom and dad are divorced, but that doesn't stop them from acting married or not as it suits Maggie and her ex-husband David. I couldn't stop myself from reading this practically in one sitting.
It will hold you at gunpoint. Literally.
The story unfolds from the perspective of Tobias Reason, the glue to the Reason family. Toby acts as a catalyst, setting in motion the turn of events that lead the reader to find the many reasons behind each member of the family and why they act the way they do.
I should mention I have been working in the education and mental health field for a decade and Kevin has a firm grasp of the reality of what it is like to have a mental health condition. The way he writes Maggie is both genuine and tender, harsh and realistic. It's not a pretty picture of the disease, but it's not so graphic it becomes a farce or unapproachable. Craig deftly weaves the reality with the whimsy, the tragedy with the heart-wrenching truth.
Alternating chapters are from Maggie's perspective. While she's admittedly crazy, insane, or some unnamed form of bipolar (or similar mental health diagnosis), there are times Maggie appears more sane than Toby. I found myself questioning who was the real cause of crazy in this family.
Kevin Craig is not afraid to face these issues head on, and lay it all out for the reader, as if you are an honorary member of the family, and privy to all the crazy behind closed doors and pulled curtains. Once you start to pull at that insanity thread, be warned, you might not like all that you uncover.
I was amazed by this story and what it told me about the lengths a son is willing to go through to get his family back. A powerful read. 5/5 stars.
It will hold you at gunpoint. Literally.
The story unfolds from the perspective of Tobias Reason, the glue to the Reason family. Toby acts as a catalyst, setting in motion the turn of events that lead the reader to find the many reasons behind each member of the family and why they act the way they do.
I should mention I have been working in the education and mental health field for a decade and Kevin has a firm grasp of the reality of what it is like to have a mental health condition. The way he writes Maggie is both genuine and tender, harsh and realistic. It's not a pretty picture of the disease, but it's not so graphic it becomes a farce or unapproachable. Craig deftly weaves the reality with the whimsy, the tragedy with the heart-wrenching truth.
Alternating chapters are from Maggie's perspective. While she's admittedly crazy, insane, or some unnamed form of bipolar (or similar mental health diagnosis), there are times Maggie appears more sane than Toby. I found myself questioning who was the real cause of crazy in this family.
Kevin Craig is not afraid to face these issues head on, and lay it all out for the reader, as if you are an honorary member of the family, and privy to all the crazy behind closed doors and pulled curtains. Once you start to pull at that insanity thread, be warned, you might not like all that you uncover.
I was amazed by this story and what it told me about the lengths a son is willing to go through to get his family back. A powerful read. 5/5 stars.
June 10, 2013
I absolutely loved this book. I didn’t just read it, I inhaled it. Experienced it. The story of the Reason family is told using the alternating point of view of Tobias Reason and his mother Maggie Reason, a woman struggling with mental illness, struggling with her own troubled past, as well as the loss of her oldest daughter Deja.
Maggie’s a train wreck. Her judgment is shaky most of the time and downright poor at others as it relates to bringing up her children. As an example, she encourages her 13-year-old son—really forces him—to smoke. One time she leaves him behind at a gas station. Tobias is forced to take care of his younger sister Annabel, who Maggie virtually ignores. Young Annabel is like a ghost in the house, just floating through. Their dad, divorced from Maggie, has checked out of the situation emotionally. Tobias is a son forced to grow up too soon. He’s funny though and is a fully developed character.
The character of Maggie is simply fascinating. She knows she’s got problems, yet she’s often powerless to do anything about a given situation she finds herself in. Getting inside her head—the head of a woman who’s losing it—felt so real and insightful. I found myself in awe of Craig’s abilities to portray mental illness in such a real way.
The writing is poetic at times, beautifully phrased. It flowed so well, I wanted to read it until I’d finished. What an amazing experience this was for me as a reader.
Maggie’s a train wreck. Her judgment is shaky most of the time and downright poor at others as it relates to bringing up her children. As an example, she encourages her 13-year-old son—really forces him—to smoke. One time she leaves him behind at a gas station. Tobias is forced to take care of his younger sister Annabel, who Maggie virtually ignores. Young Annabel is like a ghost in the house, just floating through. Their dad, divorced from Maggie, has checked out of the situation emotionally. Tobias is a son forced to grow up too soon. He’s funny though and is a fully developed character.
The character of Maggie is simply fascinating. She knows she’s got problems, yet she’s often powerless to do anything about a given situation she finds herself in. Getting inside her head—the head of a woman who’s losing it—felt so real and insightful. I found myself in awe of Craig’s abilities to portray mental illness in such a real way.
The writing is poetic at times, beautifully phrased. It flowed so well, I wanted to read it until I’d finished. What an amazing experience this was for me as a reader.
April 23, 2013
Absolutely LOVED it! Wish I had writing skills so I could write a proper review! Excellent book!
May 27, 2013
Brilliantly written: strong characters with surprising twists. I was hooked from the beginning and couldn't put it down.
May 8, 2013
Here's another beautifully written book by author Kevin Craig that will pull at your heartstrings. The story is told from two viewpoints, in alternating chapters, by Tobias Reason and his mother, Maggie. Tobias is a young man whose childhood is marked by tragedy. First, his mother's insanity drives his parents to divorce, and then he loses his beloved older sister, Deja, in a car accident. He's left to pick up the pieces of a broken life, which includes taking on the parent role with younger sister, Annabel.
Maggie's narrative is clear but fractured. Insight occasionally intrudes on her madness and the reader gets a portrait of what it must be like to live with mental illness. Craig deftly weaves moments of clarity with moments of delusion to paint a picture of a woman who wants to be a good wife and mother but whose ability to function is impaired by mental instability. This is a difficult tightrope to walk but Maggie's voice always feels true.
Watching Tobias struggle to control Maggie's bizarre behaviour and protect his little sister is heartbreaking. And when family secrets burble to the surface, Tobias is compelled to seek out answers to explain his family's misfortune.
The prose is haunting and each flawed character makes you want to give them a hug and a hot meal. I recommend this wonderful book to anyone who enjoys a well written story of family relationships.
Maggie's narrative is clear but fractured. Insight occasionally intrudes on her madness and the reader gets a portrait of what it must be like to live with mental illness. Craig deftly weaves moments of clarity with moments of delusion to paint a picture of a woman who wants to be a good wife and mother but whose ability to function is impaired by mental instability. This is a difficult tightrope to walk but Maggie's voice always feels true.
Watching Tobias struggle to control Maggie's bizarre behaviour and protect his little sister is heartbreaking. And when family secrets burble to the surface, Tobias is compelled to seek out answers to explain his family's misfortune.
The prose is haunting and each flawed character makes you want to give them a hug and a hot meal. I recommend this wonderful book to anyone who enjoys a well written story of family relationships.
May 31, 2014
Just now I finished an amazing book.
It had such power that I feel like I've had the wind knocked out of me.
I can't really recall many books that have made me feel that way, and for some reason I am doubly surprised that I know the author. How can someone I know write that damned good??? Stupid thing to say, isn't it? Besides, I know many tremendous writers, but Kevin Craig, well, I've talked to him. I've shared meals with him, and I knew he was good – he's won the Muskoka Novel Marathon about a hundred billion times (four, actually) – but, shit, I had no idea he was that good.
The Reasons is a family story centred around a mother – Maggie Reason – with severe mental illness and her helpful and troubled son, Tobias. There's more to the family, a couple of sisters and an ex-husband, but the story is told by Maggie and Tobias, switching viewpoints at the beginning of each chapter.
Some bad stuff happens to the Reasons. Stuff that would destroy even the sanest families. I can't tell you exactly what, or I'd be spoiling it for you, but the plot isn't what grabbed me. Sure, it kept me turning pages, but it was the way Kevin wrote it that absolutely blew me away. He is a master of prose, truly, a master, and his insights into the human condition (which are Oprah-worthy, I kid you not) coupled with is easy style and his earnest prose, put me in mind of some of my all time favourite novels: The Shipping News, for example. Or anything by Margaret Laurence.
Take this quote, for example. It's the first time I ever highlighted anything on my Kindle and I almost screwed it up – for a moment I thought I'd erased entire paragraphs! But it touched me deep inside, these words from the mouth of Maggie, and I wanted to share them with you:
Like icebergs, we are all mostly under water. A faint glimmer of each of us rises above the surface and is visible for a short pocket of time. When those islands disappear, though ... they are not lost. They flourish beneath the surface. We are still attached where it matters ...
I am a ship. The ocean is vast. But I am not leaving the island of Deja and disappearing off the horizon. I am moored to it. And she to me. Like time, the waters rise and fall. Her time is beneath the surface.
But that is fine with me. I have nothing but time. I will bide it.
Oh be still my heart. Such glorious, meaningful writing. I flew through this book; absolutely couldn't put it down, and when I had finished the last, heart-stopping chapter, I went back and read the final pages again and again.
The Reasons isn't Kevin Craig's first book. He is also the author of Summer on Fire and Sebastian's Poet, both available on Amazon. He's also an accomplished poet, playwright, father and grandfather, and, just this week, he walked the Camino de Santiago, the Way of St. James, with conviction, and with joy. (And probably with sore feet.)
I always knew Kevin was a cool person, but until I finished The Reasons, just now, I never understood the sheer brilliance of his written work.
By the way, nobody asked me to write this. Authors very rarely ask me for reviews. But when I come across something really amazing, I want to share it with you.
And this – this is amazing.
It had such power that I feel like I've had the wind knocked out of me.
I can't really recall many books that have made me feel that way, and for some reason I am doubly surprised that I know the author. How can someone I know write that damned good??? Stupid thing to say, isn't it? Besides, I know many tremendous writers, but Kevin Craig, well, I've talked to him. I've shared meals with him, and I knew he was good – he's won the Muskoka Novel Marathon about a hundred billion times (four, actually) – but, shit, I had no idea he was that good.
The Reasons is a family story centred around a mother – Maggie Reason – with severe mental illness and her helpful and troubled son, Tobias. There's more to the family, a couple of sisters and an ex-husband, but the story is told by Maggie and Tobias, switching viewpoints at the beginning of each chapter.
Some bad stuff happens to the Reasons. Stuff that would destroy even the sanest families. I can't tell you exactly what, or I'd be spoiling it for you, but the plot isn't what grabbed me. Sure, it kept me turning pages, but it was the way Kevin wrote it that absolutely blew me away. He is a master of prose, truly, a master, and his insights into the human condition (which are Oprah-worthy, I kid you not) coupled with is easy style and his earnest prose, put me in mind of some of my all time favourite novels: The Shipping News, for example. Or anything by Margaret Laurence.
Take this quote, for example. It's the first time I ever highlighted anything on my Kindle and I almost screwed it up – for a moment I thought I'd erased entire paragraphs! But it touched me deep inside, these words from the mouth of Maggie, and I wanted to share them with you:
Like icebergs, we are all mostly under water. A faint glimmer of each of us rises above the surface and is visible for a short pocket of time. When those islands disappear, though ... they are not lost. They flourish beneath the surface. We are still attached where it matters ...
I am a ship. The ocean is vast. But I am not leaving the island of Deja and disappearing off the horizon. I am moored to it. And she to me. Like time, the waters rise and fall. Her time is beneath the surface.
But that is fine with me. I have nothing but time. I will bide it.
Oh be still my heart. Such glorious, meaningful writing. I flew through this book; absolutely couldn't put it down, and when I had finished the last, heart-stopping chapter, I went back and read the final pages again and again.
The Reasons isn't Kevin Craig's first book. He is also the author of Summer on Fire and Sebastian's Poet, both available on Amazon. He's also an accomplished poet, playwright, father and grandfather, and, just this week, he walked the Camino de Santiago, the Way of St. James, with conviction, and with joy. (And probably with sore feet.)
I always knew Kevin was a cool person, but until I finished The Reasons, just now, I never understood the sheer brilliance of his written work.
By the way, nobody asked me to write this. Authors very rarely ask me for reviews. But when I come across something really amazing, I want to share it with you.
And this – this is amazing.
June 18, 2016
Kevin Craig managed to capture the struggles of a broken family with compassion but no sentimentality. Maggie Reason is crazy and her kids have to deal with the fall out, and none of it is easy or clean. But, this book drags you in and holds on to you until you have finished following the thread to where Craig is leading you. From the first sentence to the last, this is a compelling read.
February 4, 2017
Excellent short story about the Reason family and about how they deal with mental illness and tragedy. Great read!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews