In this gripping, emotionally charged novel, a tragedy in Texas changes the course of three lives. On an oppressively hot Monday in August of 1966, a student and former marine named Charles Whitman hauled a footlocker of guns to the top of the University of Texas tower and began firing on pedestrians below. Before it was over, sixteen people had been killed and thirty-two wounded. It was the first mass shooting of civilians on a campus in American history.Monday, Monday follows three students caught up in the massacre: Shelly, who leaves her math class and walks directly into the path of the bullets, and two cousins, Wyatt and Jack, who heroically rush from their classrooms to help the victims. On this searing day, a relationship begins that will eventually entangle these three young people in a forbidden love affair, an illicit pregnancy, and a vow of secrecy that will span forty years. Reunited decades after the tragedy, they will be forced to confront the event that changed their lives and that has silently and persistently ruled the lives of their children.With electrifying storytelling and the powerful sense of destiny found in Ann Patchett’s Bel Canto, and with the epic sweep of Jess Walter’s Beautiful Ruins, Elizabeth Crook’s Monday, Monday explores the ways in which we sustain ourselves and one another when the unthinkable happens. At its core, it is the story of a woman determined to make peace with herself, with the people she loves, and with a history that will not let her go. A humane treatment of a national tragedy, it marks a generous and thrilling new direction for a gifted American writer.
I really enjoyed how energetic this book was. The first chapter entitled The Tower dives right into the story and plot of the book with gripping sadness and confusion of the shootings from the bell tower at the University of Texas at Austin in 1966. Right away you are hooked. I found it difficult to put this story down. What I found to be one of the tips of the many icebergs of this story was, before this ex-marine and marksman sniper attacked many innocent people with the bullet of his skills, he had already taken the life of his wife and mother.
I fully enjoyed this book even thought it was dark and tragic. Although, I felt that the author was trying to warn the reader that something bad or sad was about to happen. Even though some readers like the "heads up", I am not one of them. But all in all, I did enjoy this read.
I do recommend this book
I received this book for review from FSB Assoiciates
No comments:
Post a Comment