Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1856591 in Books
• Published on: 1996-07-01
• Released on: 1996-07-01
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .44" h x 4.95" w x 8.04" l, .43 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 168 pages

From Publishers Weekly
A daring portrait of a grief-stricken boy on the edge of madness, this first novel focuses on 12-year-old Ohio farm boy Nick Harper as he copes with anger, sorrow and hallucinations after his father dies when his truck skids off an icy road. Overwhelmed by the tragedy, Nick converses with the spirits of Erie Indians in an ancient burial ground they are said to haunt; these ghostly voices?which he later realizes are his own projections?tell of their tribe's genocidal extermination. Sinking deeper into fantasy, Nick spends months in the woods secretly conversing with a voice speaking from a puddle about the inevitability of death, the redeeming power of love, the interconnectedness of all life. Nick's mother, we learn, survived the crash but is comatose with grief, so his reclusive, alcoholic Aunt Justine has come to live with him. She informs Nick about his father's hippie past. Nick's cold psychologist urges him to let go of the voices, but this happens only in the shocking surprise ending, which brings a healing catharsis. This politically correct fable constantly manipulates the reader's emotions, yet as a precocious youth's exploration of whether life has meaning and of why good people suffer and die, it is sometimes piercingly moving. Audio rights to Simon & Schuster; film rights optioned by Paramount.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
As a 12-year-old boy confronts the tragic loss of his father, his unique healing process disturbs the adults around him. Howard McGillin's sensitive and thoughtful performance creates the surrealistic environment invented by young Nick Harper. McGillin eerily portrays a variety of "voices" only Nick can hear from the "after world." His in-depth depiction of Nick's alcoholic aunt and guardian, experiencing her own grief, expresses her desperate attempt to reach Nick without alienating him. McGillin portrays the child psychologist as stern and somewhat distant, which is exactly the way Nick finds him. As Nick evolves to the other side of his grief, McGillin allows the listener to experience his joy and freedom. B.J.P. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Ingram
Falling into despair after a car accident kills his father and renders his mother comatose, young Nick experiences a spiritual reawakening that helps him to make sense of the tragedy. Reprint. PW.