The Furrows A Novel by Namwali Serpell

 Book Excerpt:

"How do you grieve an absence? From the award-winning author of The Old Drift, "a piercing, sharply written novel about the conjuring power of loss" (Raven Leilani, author of Luster).

"A genuine tour de force . . . What seems at first meditation on family trauma unfolds through the urgency of an amnesiac puzzle-thriller, then a violently compelling love story."—Jonathan Lethem, author of Motherless Brooklyn.

ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2022—Vulture, Lit Hub, Electric Lit, BookPage

I don't want to tell you what happened. I want to tell you how it felt.

Cassandra Williams is twelve; her little brother, Wayne, is seven. One day, when they're alone together, there is an accident, and Wayne is lost forever. His body is never recovered. The missing boy cleaves the family with doubt. Their father leaves and starts another family elsewhere. But their mother can't give up hope and launches an organization dedicated to missing children. 

As C grows older, she sees her brother everywhere: in bistros, airplane aisles, and subway cars. Here is her brother's face, the light in his eyes, the way he seems to recognize her, too. But it can't be, of course. Or can it? Then one day, in another accident, C meets a mysterious and familiar man searching for someone and his own place in the world. His name is Wayne. 

Namwali Serpell's remarkable new novel captures the uncanny experience of grief, the way the past breaks over the present like waves in the sea. The Furrows is a bold exploration of memory and mourning that twists unexpectedly into a story of mistaken identity, double consciousness, and the wishful—and sometimes willful—longing for reunion with those we've lost."

Title: The Furrows
Author: Namwali Serpell
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
"The Furrows" by Namwali Serpell

My Assessment:

"The Furrows" was quite a read that explored 'trauma, race, family dynamics, loss, and grief in a mysterious, challenging, fascinating way. The reader will have to keep up because this novel seems to have two storylines with this biracial family William's family [C - Cassandra, Wayne], who were brother and sister, and Wayne, that wasn't the brother, however, was connected to the story. 'The Furrows' story involved death in this family along with loneliness, memory, identity, and dreams. The story's plot will keep you turning the pages while wondering and guessing what is going on in it because it skips quite a bit back and forth, where one may have to re-read several portions for a better understanding. The quote 'l don't want to tell you what happened, l want to tell you how it felt, and it was just that as this author delivers a good story to the reader. It was very well presented to the reader how each of the family members dealt with the death of this lost son. The characters were very intriguing in the parts they delivered to the story.

To get the whole story, the reader must pick it up and see how well this author brings this accomplished story out o the reader because I don't want to tell too much more. But, if you stick with it, the reader will get a perfectly delivered story.


Thanks to NetGallery and Hogarth Press for providing me with an eARC and my giving my honest opinion of the read.