Book Review: We Are the Light by Matthew Quick
Heavily focused on mental health, a tragedy, and dealing with grief, We Are the Light by Matthew Quick is perfect for readers who want heavier emotional reading material that isn’t necessarily too heavy. My We Are the Light review will tell you everything that I loved about this novel and what I think the author does so so well.
Book Information
Lucas Goodgame doesn’t seem to be impacted from the tragedy that wracked his small town as much as it has impacted others. He has a secret, though: his dead wife is now an angel and she visits him every day. So, why would Lucas hurt as badly as the others when who he lost really isn’t lost?
That is, until Lucas starts to spiral out of control. For a time, it seems that he gets better as he helps Eli, a troubled teenager, graduate high school. But no one knows how dark it is in Lucas’ thoughts except Lucas himself.
Review | Heidi Dischler
We Are the Light took me a little bit by surprise in many ways. The number one way? Its extraordinary focus on grief and mental illness. It was so well done and executed that you often wondered as the reader if mental illness really was at play. Grief, on the other hand, was always present in this novel, and it came out as it so often does in many different ways for many different characters.
As for characters, Darcy often confused me, but eventually all made sense in the end. Lucas was so on and off that his untethered grasp on reality made me dizzy. Eli was amazing and what Lucas was doing for Eli made my heart melt. There was a lot of forgiveness in this novel, and I so appreciated that. Without forgiveness, for ourselves and others, it’s hard to move past what hurt you in the first place.
As for the plot and the writing, it was really great. The plot often felt untethered, but that makes it even better because we experienced these happenings through Lucas’ mind. The way that we moved through the plot fit perfectly with how Lucas’ inner self was functioning. The writing style wasn’t necessarily my favorite just because we got the story in letter format, but it also wasn’t my least favorite.
Overall, I believe this is a beautiful example of recognizing yours and others’ mental illnesses, the different ways that different people process grief, and the undeniable healing power of forgiveness. I adore these qualities, which is why We Are the Light gets a well deserved four-star rating.
Source: Personal Copy
