Book Review: Wake

Wake by Elizabeth Knox

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I am a huge fan of Elizabeth Knox, but I am not a huge fan of horror, which is how this book is categorized. So I admit I hesitated in picking it up. But eventually, my wish to be lost in her voice again won out. The story concerns 14 survivors (as well as a mysterious man in black) of a strange, plague-like incident, and though there are some horrific elements, Wake is really about how these people come together to create a community, the relationships they form with each other, and how hope and despair change the landscape. The book starts with a bang, but it wasn't until about a third of the way in that I realized I was completely hooked, and by then it had a truly insidious emotional pull. Added to this are some cool twists as Knox plays with the vagaries of time and space and emotional truth, as well as the mystery of worlds beyond our own. When I was finished, I thought about it for days. Complex, layered, fascinating and poignant.



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