Spoiler-Free Review
If you’re looking for a character-driven story in which the main character must process intense grief and bring his community together to heal through art, you’ll like We Are the Light.
Click here for content warnings.
What’s We Are the Light about?
After a community is shaken by a violent tragedy, Lucas, who insists his deceased wife visits him as an angel, forms an unlikely bond with an ostracized young man who has decided to set up camp in Lucas’s backyard.
This is a story about grief, loss, and community told through the lens of neurosis.
So much of this book is about the reader asking questions. What is really happening with Lucas? Is he mentally okay? Is he coping? Is this narrator reliable?
There were times I got the sense that Lucas was absolutely untethered from reality, and I had to ask if he’s truly sane. But then there are other times amidst his mental health struggles where you can see the real Lucas shine through, the version of him who cares so deeply for other people and his community. He also has some moments that to me spoke of some potential neurodivergence, which colored my view of his behavior and thought patterns.
Beyond that, Lucas would occasionally deep dive into Jungian/psychoanalytic jargon in such a way as to alienate the reader, but I think that goes hand-in-hand with our question of, “is this man alright?”
The epistolary storytelling really enhanced this effect, and I liked that we had to piece things together as we went. This book is told as a series of unanswered letters to a man named Karl, and the farther we go and the more invested in Lucas we get, the more we have to wonder – Where is Karl? Why wouldn’t he respond?
The community coming together to grieve, heal, and forge a path forward together was such a wholesome aspect that I appreciated much more than I thought I would.
Despite the darker aspects of this story, I would categorize this book as hopeful and it ends on an uplifting note. I definitely cried.
Should you read We Are the Light?
I recommend this to anyone who likes epistolary books and character-driven stories that emphasize mental health, loss, grief, and community. I would definitely say it’s not for everyone, as it covers some very real issues.
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2 responses to “We Are the Light: Emotional and hopeful”
Great review! I haven’t read this yet but I want to eventually read all of Matthew Quick’s books. I’ve finished several but my favorite so far is ‘The Good Luck of Right Now.’
I definitely want to read more from him now. I’ll check that one out!