I know you think I'm an old fool, Esther, but this is important, and I need you to listen to me. I've been sitting on this front porch waiting for two months now. I watched the sky, and I watched the road. I sipped my tea, and I did some more watching, some more waiting. I thought you'd be here by now. Every day has been the same as the one before. I was sure the time to go was getting close. I felt it in these old bones. But then something strange happened. This young girl walked by in front of the house. Oh yes, I know, a lot of young girls live in the neighbourhood and pass through here on their way to the other side of the Eisenhower, but this girl was different. I could tell right away. She had a determined way of walking. Something was special about her, and it wasn't long before my suspicions came true. Things began to happen - things that changed the last fifteen years or at least made me think I needed to stick around and help fix things.
***
The Ascension of Mary tells the story of Mary Hester, a 14-year-old violin prodigy, who moves to a new home near Chicago with her mother and discovers a ghost in her bedroom. Mary believes that the ghost is her father who gives her the power to heal others. When Mary begins to help others with her powers, strangers hoping to be healed show up at their house. Mary’s efforts to help them turn tragic, and Mary must turn to her family and her music to find answers to the losses in her life.
The story is told from alternating perspectives of three main characters. Mary tells her story through her diary as she talks to her imagined father about the changes in her life. Mary’s mother, Rachel, reveals to Mary the secrets of their family, and her history with Mary’s father who was killed in what appeared to be a racially motivated drive-by shooting. Jonah Culpepper, who lives next door, talks to his dead wife, Esther, about Mary, and how she has given him a reason to live.
The Ascension of Mary addresses relationships, diversity, racism, grief, and discovery in today’s society through the eyes of a blended family which finds strength in its broken parts.
***
This novel has a triple narrative which I really enjoyed. The story is told from the perspectives of Mary, her mother Rachel and their neighbour Jonah. It was very interesting to see how these three different voices moved the story along and ultimately come together.
The author is a good storyteller and wove several strands and issues together. He deals with some difficult themes throughout the book; grief, racism, bigotry, and ultimately, love and family and the effect that those three former themes have upon the individual characters.
ISBN: 978 1952816888
Publisher: Touch Point Press
Formats: e-book and paperback
No. of Pages: 219 (paperback)
About the Author:
I grew up in Texas, went to UT, graduated from University of Houston and started a career in social work before moving to California in search of something different. I ended up in law enforcement and spent most of my time investigating major crimes. That's about it. Basic stuff, huh? Well there was a lot of life mixed in there which I will probably add later, bit by bit. Suffice it say, looking back, I wish I had studied creative writing and literature. That's where my real love was. So I took the long way around, and now I have the time to write. My debut novel, Evolution of a Young Man in Love, was published in 2018 but was not able to reach a wide audience.
I have completed two additional novels, The Ascension of Mary and Kissproof World, which have been accepted for publication by TouchPoint Press, and will be released in 2021 and 2022, the long delay due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
All of my novels speak to relationships and how we get through troubling times, on a personal level as well as a collective society.
(author photo and bio. info courtesy of the author's website
ARC courtesy of Netgalley)
Thanks Anna - this sounds really interesting.
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