The Illusion of Leaving: A Novel
Ratings1
Average rating5
15
Ratings1
Average rating5
"Jamie Wright hates her West Texas hometown of Silver Falls, its small-minded people, the reminder of her childhood there and her failed first marriage-the source of her daddy's eternal disappointment. The size of his ranch and the influence of his pocketbook continue to make her a target for resentment. Now Big Jim is on his deathbed. Jamie's in town to plan his funeral, sell the ranch, and never look back. The funeral goes as planned, although her daddy might be galled that one of the pallbearers is Mexican. However, the reading of the will does not go as planned. The night after the funeral, Jamie and two former classmates-Wanda and Gina-go for a nostalgic ride out to the town's lovers' lane to watch the dancing lights and reminisce about high school. When a tornado system blows in, they drive to a nearby storm shelter. There, fueled by vodka, the secrets erupt. The tornado razes part of Silver Falls as well as the ranch. Jamie realizes that she is not immune to the pull of the land, the way its vast barrenness manages to sustain flora and fauna. Jamie's discovery of her father's manipulation and deceit allows her to throw off her lifelong guilt at disappointing him. She sees herself as an adult, and sees the land and the ranch as a vital part of who she is. In the process of helping clean up the tornado damage to Silver Falls, Jamie finally becomes part of the community"--
Reviews with the most likes.
Jamie Wright heads back to the small town where she grew up—then later gladly escaped—to visit her dying father, Big Jim Wright. He is a looming presence in the town of Silver Falls; his fat wallet seemed to fund every town improvement as well as the life choices of everyone involved with Jamie. Once he dies, secrets aplenty are revealed, some amusingly revelatory and others earth-shattering. And Jamie's view of the town—and father—she used to despise, changes. It's like a tornado has ripped through her past into the present, both figuratively and later literally.
Brown puts on a master class of character development, introducing Jamie as an older woman with selfish desires to use the inheritance from her father's large estate for what she deems as much-needed plastic surgery. But there is much more to Jamie than that, as her character blooms with every revelation about her father and ex-husband, deep-rooted secrets that would make many weaker characters shrivel. Brown excels at offering clues, dropping them like enticing crumbs starting at Big Jim's somber viewing the night before his funeral, then unleashing them one after the other at the will reading and onward, a deluge of backstabbing, backroom dealings of the heart, and not-so-subtle life meddling. Jamie shows herself to be a strong and adept woman, much stronger than she gives herself credit for. And as such, she becomes much more than the reader initially anticipates: a harbinger of change for herself and the town of Silver Falls.
In addition to small town secrets being revealed, this novel reveals other more important secrets: that such a lively, humorous, and cathartic story can live within a book with such a staid and unassuming book cover. I didn't think initially that I would enjoy this novel as much as I did. Don't judge a book by its cover, they say. There's some truth to that here. The Illusion of Leaving is humorous, life-affirming, and a fantastic read for our times right now. This great novel deserves more coverage than it will get during this pandemic. Fans of literary fiction will discover a lot and should rejoice. Highly recommended! I give this novel 5 stars.
