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Feb 06, 2018DBRL_IdaF rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
I feel like reading this book was the equivalent of a master class in how to structure a novel. As always, Rash also displays a masterful use of language. The prologue, set in the 1950s, has a man surveying an abandoned farm and discovering a human skull in the well when he tries to draw water. The first chapter begins on the same farm during World War I. As you meet the two people who live there and the handful of townsfolk with whom they interact, as well as a mysterious and mute stranger, you realize the remains belong to one of them. This is a novel of outcasts and connection. Of how easily we can cast anyone into the role of The Other. How easily we see ourselves as the Good Guy and justify our own actions. It's a novel about love and loyalty, kindness and treachery and mob mentality. The characters are complex and real.