A terrific story with elements of adventure, detective, tragedy, mysticism and fantastic – everyone will find something interesting in it for his soul. The first person narration helps the reader to dive deep into 17 years boy’s brain and feel what he feels, see the world who he sees it.
The moments or reflection are framed into “when one” construction in order to strengthen and visualize the picture: “When one is watching the girl he thinks is his girlfriend whispering into the ear of her ex, he immediately imagines Russell Quitman suddenly yanking out the tubes from his neck, breaking free of his wheelchair, and lifting Ada Taylor off the ground in one quick swoop….”. “When one is driving home from Libby Truett’s house and there is nothing worth listening to on the radio, he imagines his little brother sitting on the floor of Libby’s room and trying to convince her to kiss him. He sees Gabriel lean in and, gently resting his hand on Libby’s knee, close his eyes and wait for her to meet his lips. He imagines Gabriel flushed with embarrassment when nothing happens, standing up and then sitting as far away as possible and trying not to look up at her. He sees Libby walk across the room, wrap her arms around Gabriel’s neck, and squeeze him tightly. He hears her say she loves him. He hears Gabriel say it back. His brother, he thinks, was in love with everyone he knew”.
One more stylistic device, which is special for the story, is Dr. Webb’s thoughts – there is no information about him, he doesn’t act, he just speaks. He analyses situations, generalizes ideas and gives answers on Cullen’s questions: “Dr. Webb says that life is so full of complications and confusion that humans oftentimes find it hard to cope.” “Dr. Webb says that people like John Barling will always be looking for something, whether it’s a two-foot-tall woodpecker or the meaning of life; they are simply born and stay incomplete”.
There are three plotlines in the story, which gradually merge into one, centered on Gabriel’s kidnapping: the first one is Cullen and Gabriel, their life before the kidnapping and during this period, the second one is John Barling and his discovery of Lazarus woodpecker, and the last one is Cabot Searcy and his roommate Benton Sage.
The ending of the story is as smooth as the whole plot is – things just come back as if someone’s invisible hand brought back time.
