These Nameless Things by Shawn Smucker Book Review

ABOUT THE BOOK

Before Dan opened his door to find a wounded woman who had escaped from the tormentors in the mountain, his life had become rather quiet. He and the eight other people in the mostly abandoned town had become friends. They spent peaceful evenings around the campfire and even made vague plans to journey east one day and leave the ominous mountain behind.

But the woman’s arrival changes everything.
Who is she? How does she know so much about Dan’s brother, who is still held captive in the mountain? Why are long-forgotten memories rising to the surface? And why does Dan feel so compelled to keep her presence in his house a secret?

Visionary writer Shawn Smucker is back with an unsettling story that invites us to consider two challenging questions: To what lengths will we go to assuage our own guilt? and Is there a limit to the things we will do for the people we love?


BOOK REVIEW 

This is the second book I read by Shawn Smucker. My first book was "Once We Were Stranger" which I recommend. "These Nameless Things" got me to thinking about life in many ways.  This book reminds me of a little bit of Handmaid Tales. Throughout the book, we are taken into Dan's journey until a woman shows up causing the characters to remember things and how everyone is connected in some way.  It shows how every decision we make can impact or destroy other people's lives. The book mainly focuses on Dan and his brother, Miho, and Abe. Abe seems to be the leader in the end. 

It is a book of darkness, but also a book of hope and forgiveness. The path we take is our choice. I couldn't help but think about the decisions I have chosen in my life and how I can make better choices in the future. We all sin and we all have guilt, but we also all have a kind heart. Shawn Smucker wrote layers and layers into her book. Themes in "These Nameless Things" are family, forgiveness, temptation, consequences, guilt.  It also is about caring for one during hard times. 

The pace of the writing was slower but in a good way. This helps you think about their journey more. The characters and situations in the story are relatable. I look forward to reading more books by Shawn Smucker. 

I received this copy from Fleming H. Revell Company in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I think everyone’s looking for a place in the world – not a physical location as much as an emotional one. Just a tiny bit of space to set up shop, to exist.

Life hinted at where that space would be for me when I was a small boy and books picked me up and carried me away. If you came looking for me in the mid-80s you would have found me sitting on a large porch attached to a ramshackle farmhouse, reading about Narnia or the Shire, brushing away the flies, constantly saying, “Okay, mom, just one more chapter.”

But then, normal life, with all of its misleading promises and plastic desires, got in the way. I wandered. Geographically, I went to a hot city in Florida, an old village in England, and then back to Virginia. Emotionally, I traveled even further. Finally, after ten years of searching, I found stories again. Or maybe they found me.

Now I live in that place I was always trying to find. I wake up beside my beautiful wife, Maile. I make breakfast for my six children. I spend the rest of the day capturing stories, doing what Steinbeck called the impossible: trying to explain the inexplicable. Trying to transplant stories from my mind to yours.

Thanks for visiting my tiny bit of space.

Shawn Smucker's Website: CLICK HERE


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