A Beautiful Book About Connections

There have been books about the small, seemingly insignificant moments in life that connect us to each other.  Sometimes those small connections help shape who we are in a profound way.  Perhaps Simon Van Booy does this better than anyone in his beautifully written book The Illusion of Separateness. 

What do an elderly caretaker at a retirement home, a man with a severe head injury from WWII, blind Amelia and her fiance John is a fighter pilot in the war, seven-year old Danny, and other characters have in common?  Did I mention the story takes place over a roughly 70 year period, so many of these people do not know each other at all?  Van Booy takes the reader into the life of each character, moving forward and backward through time.  Each little connection becomes more apparent as the story moves forward.  The writing style is very lyrical and I found myself rereading passages.

I simply could not put this one down!  It's an incredibly quick read, but Van Booy is able to pack an enormous punch into such a small work.  What it says about the human experience and how our actions can affect those we have not even met is beyond beautiful.  Pick this one up and set aside a few hours because you will not want to leave the lives Van Booy creates.

Chris May- Manager of Adult Services