Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Avid Press for gifting me a digital ARC of the new novel by Matthew Quick - 4.5 stars rounded up!
Lucas Goodgame lives in an idyllic Pennsylvania town, aptly named Majestic. He works at the local high school counseling students while his wife, Darcy, is a speech teacher at the nearby elementary school. They love to go to the Majestic Theater to watch films. But it was there that the unimaginable happened and 19 people died, including Darcy. The town thinks that Lucas is a hero, but he feels much different. The shooter's brother, Eli, begins camping out in Lucas' backyard and and the two form an unlikely pair.
Told in epistolary form as Lucas writes letters to his Jungian analyst, we are privy to the backstory of the tragedy and how the survivors and town struggle to heal. This sadly all too common tale of mass shootings focuses on the people and town and less about the shooter. But it's a beautifully written book filled with so many important topics - grief, mental illness, PTSD, family, community. While it may seem to be a depressing subject, in the author's skillful hands, it is a book filled with light and hope. Highly recommended.
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