My Sunshine Away

by M. O. Walsh

[violetpeanut]

I really loved this book. Our narrator, writing as an adult in present day, tells us of his teenage years in Piney Creek Louisiana, centering on the summer of 1989 when his neighbor, Lindy, was raped. This book is really two things: it's a mystery surrounding the crime and who could have committed it and it's a reflection on memory and how we are affected by them.

First, the mystery. It was compelling and there are clues peppered throughout. I thought I knew what would happen but nothing (and everything) was as it seemed. There are a few creepy scenes (not horror or paranormal creepy, just voyeuristic and invasive) and the book is very atmospheric.

That brings me to my next point. I loved the description of the setting. I felt like I was experiencing a Louisiana summer; like I could really feel the heat and humidity, see the moss hanging from the trees, feel the sweat dripping, and taste the lemonade. Even the mood of the community as a whole was felt. The author really created a complete sense of place.

Where this book really shines, though, is in the recollection of youth. The narrator describes his memories with a nostalgia that is very relatable but also with a wisdom that can only come from a lifetime of experiences. Anyone who grew up in the 80's will recognize references to the Challenger explosion, Jeffrey Dahmer, talking for hours on the phone before there was internet and call waiting, running around the neighborhood until (and sometimes after) dark with friends. In many ways, the 80's marked the death of innocence for our society in general, and this narrator's reflections on his childhood mark the death of his. It's a great parallel.

Many readers may be put off by how this book is paced and structured. It's told in bits and pieces that are mostly in order but occasionally veer off onto what seem like unrelated events, much like the recollection of memory. Some readers may feel these are parenthetical scenes but I felt that they all tied in to the overall growth of the narrator. Indeed, this book is much more about the narrator than it is about Lindy and her rape.

Overall, I really loved this one. The nostalgia, the atmosphere, the importance of memory viewed from a distance of years, all of these things were great. I loved the writing. I loved that the author captured the feeling of adolescence so perfectly. I found it very hard to put this book down and highly recommend it. In fact, my original rating after finishing was 4 stars but I just can't stop thinking about this one and the more I think about it the more I love it. For that reason, I'm bumping this up to 5 stars and I'm pleased to own a physical copy for my bookshelf.