I just finished reading Jason Mott’s brand-new debut novel, The Returned. In this book, Jacob Hargrave, who died on his eighth birthday in 1966, arrives on his parent’s doorstep fifty years later, unaged, and very much alive! Now elderly, his parents, Harold and Lucille Hargrave, aren’t sure what to believe about the return of their young son. As people’s loved ones all around the world begin to come back from the “beyond,” the reemergence of these “Returned” brings out both the best and the worst in the living.
I just cannot stop thinking about this novel. Isn’t that the sign of a good book? Apparently, Brad Pitt’s production company was impressed as well. The Returned has already been optioned to be made into a film! Now is your chance to read it before you see it!
Want more books that speculate on the afterlife? Here are some others I’ve enjoyed:
A Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier
The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue
This Body by Laurel Doud
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
Hope you find one of these to your liking! I for one think that finding a good book is just heavenly!
-Carol
Read it or Weep 