Book Info:
The nether side of passion is madness. Nathan Price is a college professor with crippling impairments, seeking escape from his prison of necessity. One day, in a package of seventeenth-century documents from Salem Village, he stumbles across a letter by his best friend, Jamie, who had disappeared six months before. The document is dated 1692—the height of the Witch Trials. The only potential lead: a single mention of Carthage, a tiny town in the Wisconsin northern highland. The mystery catapults Nathan from Chicago to the Wisconsin wilderness. There, he meets Alanna, heir to an astonishing Mittel-European legacy of power and sacrifice. In her, and in the gentle townsfolk of Carthage, Nathan finds the refuge for which he has long yearned. But Simon, the town elder, is driven by demons of his own, and may well be entangled in Jamie's disappearance and that of several Carthaginians. As darkness stretches toward Alanna, Nathan may have no choice but to risk it all...
Moving from the grimness of Chicago's South Side to the Wisconsin hinterlands to seventeenth-century Salem, this is a story of love, of sacrifice, of terrible passions—and of two wounded souls quietly reaching for the deep peace of sanctuary.
Author Info:
Christopher Zenos is a pseudonym. The author is a well-published university professor who has contended with mental illness all his life, and knows the beastie well. Hence the mask: As this novel's protagonist puts it, successful Passing is now a survival imperative for crazies like him. "Autumn in Carthage" developed, in large part, from his need to sing of this world he inhabits: The realm of the stranger, the odd one. The man standing at the window, bracing against the wind as he gazes in wonder at the light and comfort on the other side.
My review:
This book was a tricky one for me. I wanted to like it but in the end I just didnt. The premise of the book was quite interesting for me and overall the book was well written, but the book is supposed to be about, a mystery a friend who's missing and might be in 1692 now. Here the problem comes in, the original mystery is not really focused on and goes off on other paths in the book. Yes a book can and should have other aspects but it cant really forget its original premise which I think this book has. The characters were not relatable either and I didnt find any that I really liked as well. I will commend the author for coming up with a fresh and different plot but in the end sadly this book was not for me.
My final verdict:
I think this book had a lot of potential but overall fell short and I would not recommend it.
I would like to thank Rebecca from the Cadence Group for letting me read and review this book.
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