These Nameless Things

by Shawn Smucker

Overview

Before Dan opened his door to find a wounded woman who had escaped from the tormentors in the mountain, his life had become rather quiet. He and the eight other people in the mostly abandoned town had become friends. They spent peaceful evenings around the campfire and even made vague plans to journey east one day and leave the ominous mountain behind.

But the woman's arrival changes everything.
Who is she? How does she know so much about Dan's brother, who is still held captive in the mountain? Why are long-forgotten memories rising to the surface? And why does Dan feel so compelled to keep her presence in his house a secret?

Visionary writer Shawn Smucker is back with an unsettling story that invites us to consider two challenging questions: To what lengths will we go to assuage our own guilt? and Is there a limit to the things we will do for the people we love?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493423132
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	06/30/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	NOOK Book
Pages:	336
File size:	9 MB

About the Author

Shawn Smucker is the award-winning author of Light from Distant Stars, the young adult novels The Day the Angels Fell and The Edge of Over There, and the memoir Once We Were Strangers. He lives with his wife and six children in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. You can find him online at www.shawnsmucker.com.

Editorial Reviews

06/01/2020

Dan and the rest of his small village have escaped unspeakable horrors, but they are still living in the shadow of the mountain where they experienced so much pain. The rhythm of plowing, sowing, and harvesting helps some to heal, but many still do not remember life before the mountain or what exactly happened there. Dan knows only that his brother Adam is still suffering somewhere in the depths of the mountain. Each day, he waits patiently, hoping his brother will escape. When a beautiful and wounded stranger knocks on the door of his cabin, Dan suddenly begins to remember his brother more clearly and to consider the cost of mounting a rescue mission. Smucker (Light from Distant Stars; The Day the Angels Fell) carefully chooses names and descriptions to create a haunting and suspenseful tale. VERDICT Those who enjoy Jolina Petersheim, Carrie Stuart Parks, and Tosca Lee and who appreciate mind- and genre-bending fiction will want to add this to a reading list. However, readers who are not familiar with Dante's Inferno will miss a lot of symbolism and be confused by the plot, especially the ending. Recommended for those looking to try something completely different.—Christine Barth, Scott Cty. Lib. Syst., IA

Library Journal