By Terri Schlichenmeyer
Your great-grandpa must’ve been a very interesting man.
Growing up, you heard stories about him from inside the family and out – stories of his work ethic, his generosity, sense of humor, wisdom, and intelligence. He was beloved by many, and you wish you’d known him.
In the new novel “A Sudden Light” by Garth Stein, a young boy gets a chance to finally meet a distant great-relative who lives on the family estate. Or, maybe “lives” isn’t the right word.
Trevor Riddell was afraid of what was to come.
He knew there was tension between his parents. He knew they needed some distance, but when his mother left for London and his father took Trevor to Seattle , fourteen-year-old Trevor feared that a divorce was imminent.
repair, but his Aunt Serena wasn’t able to do it and his Grandpa Samuel was in no shape for that sort of thing. They lived in the moldering, ramshackle mansion but maybe not for long: Trevor’s aunt and father badly wanted to sell the old homestead to developers.
The money would be incredible. There’d be enough to take care of Grandpa Samuel for the rest of his life, and Serena wanted an around-the-world trip. Trevor’s dad hoped the money would win Trevor’s mother back; in fact, that’s what Trevor hoped, too.
But there was a hitch: Riddell House had been bequeathed to Samuel in an iron-clad will, held in a sort of trust that skipped generations. He’d lived in the house his entire life, and was currently suffering from dementia, believing that his dead wife was dancing upstairs every night. He heard her. He saw her.
He was not going to sign away the estate.
But if relinquishing Riddell House was the means to keep Trevor’s parents together, then Trevor was all for it. He decided he’d help, if he could – until he met his great-great-uncle Ben…
On the surface, this book seems to be a ghost story. There is a ghost in it and yes, there are some edgy pages full of spookiness and beauty, but mostly “A Sudden Light” is, no pun intended, quite lifeless.
I was not impressed, first of all, with most of author Garth Stein’s characters: “Clever Trevor” was just a bit too clever – but not enough to quickly grasp the light mystery in the manse. He was more intelligent than any of the adults that surrounded him, which says a lot. Add in a hint of incest, clichéd letters-from-the-past that serve to explain wordy plotlines, a warping of time and, well, I was quite less than dazzled.
Fans of old-fashioned gothic novels might enjoy this tale, but I truly think there are better Garth Stein novels and better ghost stories out there. Go find one of them, and you’ll be much happier. As for “A Sudden Light,” it’s rather dim.