A Million Heavens

Readers, I quickly decided which book to delve into next: A Million Heavens by John Brandon. I don't know why I chose it, but I'm glad I did. I finished it yesterday.

It's written all in third person but with many perspectives; a wolf, a mayor, the father of a young boy fallen into a mysterious coma, a gas stain owner, and more. My favorite perspective is a character named Cecelia. She is a college student and, until the death of one of her band-mates, played guitar for a band. Reggie is his name, the one who died, and he has his own sections. His story is one of the craziest ones, for he is in a purgatory of sorts, where he is equipped with a piano, a library, a bar. He eventually realizes he's to make music, or decides he wants to, and in some strange way, it is Cecelia who receives this music. It is unclear as to how this happens but that's not the only unanswered question.

The young boy in a coma fell into that state after playing a beautiful piece on a piano in a first lesson, something he had no history of playing. It is revealed that the piano teacher, shocked by the caliber of the music, stopped his playing and, as he lost consciousness right after that, she blames herself. How did this kid, Soren, learn such a song without ever having played? By the end of the novel, it is revealed that Soren and Reggie are in some wasy connected. There are some who, hearing about Soren's genius, keep a vigil outside the hospital room one day a week, and in many ways this vigil keeps the characters connected. Two characters whose perspective the reader gets, Dannie and Cecelia, are part of this vigil. By the end of the novel the vigilers have stopped meeting at the hospital, but there are other things that give them meaning. 

The book is, without a doubt, depressing. Death is prevalent in the novel, and many of the characters feel stuck, alone. The good thing is, though, that they all try to be courageous. Even if that means doing something totally unwarranted, dangerous, and extreme, like lighting someone's barn on fire, or facing the desert alone for forty days. I find myself rooting for these characters who may have made mistakes but seem ready to try and take life in their own hands.

There are some magical elements to the novel, apart from Cecelia being given Reggie's music and the boy's genius. I mentioned the wolf earlier, and though he was one of my favorites at first, with few sections that were very nicely written, he has become one of the least engaging parts of the novel. That music that Cecelia is hearing/receiving has become important to the wolf, so much so that he goes kind of crazy whenever he doesn't get to hear it. Torturing other animals, crazy. I remember when I started A Million Heavens I thought it was daring for Brandon to open the novel with the perspective of a wolf. I can't figure out if this book is for "young adults," but if it is I would understand this option more. Regardless, it was successfully engaging, keeping a balance of being realistic while maintaining cognition in the animal. By the end, with the music and all, the wolf parts get just a little weird but even then I don't hate it. The book in general keeps the reader engaged, and, as I had read in articles before, Brandon maintains a style that is by no means showy but precise, and often beautiful.

I chose for my next book Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut, another purchase from Book Fair. Vonnegut is a gem, making me laugh out loud one paragraph and in the next feel the sadness of war and meaningless death. I'll write another post soon. It's Thanksgiving tomorrow!! As last year, I am thankful for my blog and my readers, my family, my books. I'm thankful for the beautiful weather this year! And for the health of us all!