The Returned

A Novel

By: Jason Mott

Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte

Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

"Jacob was time out of sync, time more perfect than it had been. He was life the way it was supposed to be all those years ago. That's what all the Returned were."

Harold and Lucille Hargrave's lives have been both joyful and sorrowful in the decades since their only son, Jacob, died tragically at his eighth birthday party in 1966. In their old age they've settled comfortably into life without him, their wounds healed through the grace of time.... Until one day Jacob mysteriously appears on their doorstep - flesh and blood, their sweet, precocious child, still eight years old.

All over the world people's loved ones are returning from beyond. No one knows how or why this is happening, whether it's a miracle or a sign of the end. Not even Harold and Lucille can agree on whether the boy is real or a wondrous imitation, but one thing they know for sure: he's their son. As chaos erupts around the globe, the newly reunited Hargraves find themselves at the center of a community on the brink of collapse, forced to navigate a mysterious new reality and a conflict that threatens to unravel the very meaning of what it is to be human.

With spare, elegant prose and searing emotional depth, Jason Mott explores timeless questions of faith and morality, love and responsibility. A spellbinding and stunning debut, The Returned is an unforgettable story that marks the arrival of an important new voice in contemporary fiction.

©2013 Jason Mott (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Makes you think...

A very different perspective on death. It was an interesting story. Not sure I would have picked up the book, but glad I got to listen...

I Wanted To Love It...

I really did. The First free short story was inviting. The next two, good. The actual novel though written quite well, fizzled for me. The story bottomed out and left me flat. There were so many places to go, but the author chose to freeze time and not take the story to any daring places. I feel like I already know what was revealed. I feel as though most of us already know it very well, so no new light was shed. No revelations.

Enjoyed this book

If you could sum up The Returned in three words, what would they be?

Sci-fi soon to be classic.

What other book might you compare The Returned to and why?

Feels like a classic science fiction book. Unusually thoughtful in its characters and story.

Have you listened to any of Tom Stechschulte’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Not sure if I have listened to the performers other productions. He was great however !

If you could rename The Returned, what would you call it?

They all came back !

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed the story and the performance. I rated it higher, mostly because the performance was really done well !!

Unexpected and moving

This was not a predictable story. You think that you know what will happen next and thrn as the story moves forward you begim to expect the unexpected. Wonderful book!

It's an ok concept book.

The best I can say about this is that it is a great idea, but it never quite makes it past just an ok read. Kudos to whoever rewrote this for the TV series.

The Returned by Jason Mott

The narrator was really good and had a lot of fluctuation in his voice which is really nice. Overall the book is really well written and was a good listen.

Great Character Story

I listened to both this book and the three short story prequels that went along with it. The prequels really intrigued me. I loved them and could wait to get more. We got a little bit of that feeling in The Returned but it was drug out a lot more and the story got fleshed out a lot. I thought the characters of Harold and Lucille were well developed. In truth, I think that what The Returned is - a story about characters because there's not a lot of plot. But what characters they are. I enjoyed it a lot.

Tom Stechschulte is a great narrator. I don't recall ever listening to any of his work before but I think he was terrific here and he will be a definite selling point on future audiobooks.

More interesting then the TV version.

What did you love best about The Returned?

The story from start to finish was about more than just the people coming back, it was about a family and a community dealing with the loss of a child, a loss that is not erased even if the child returns.

What did you like best about this story?

The new relationship between Harold and Jacob, and the sacrifices made.

Which character – as performed by Tom Stechschulte – was your favorite?

Harold was my favorite character. His honest and raw reaction to his son's return really made me sympathetic to him.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I've watched the French show The Returned and I'm currently watching the US version of the book - Resurrection. Mr. Mott's vision of the story really drew me in and made me finish the audio sooner than I had planned (binge listening). He drew a picture of the characters, the community, the "prison camp" and town that was easily visualized. Not sure if I like the twist the television series is taking away from Mr. Mott's original story line, but time will tell.

Thought provoking.

Wonderful story. How I wish I had more time with my parents. Great reading too.

Freaky

I was a little disappointed. The story is freaky. I wasn't a big fan of the ending.