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Lorraine Devon Wilke

A fierce, sometimes painful, beautifully told coming-of-age tale

Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2017

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It is usually within paragraphs, sometimes sentences, that I can assess the quality and depth of a writer's skill… M.O. Walsh had me from the get-go.

As an avid reader who too often finds the offerings of popular writers to be predictable, generic, and easily forgettable, I'm always thrilled when I come upon a book, a story, an author whose work stands out, jumps off the page, holds my attention with both literary skill and a compelling, memorable story.

My Sunshine Away, told from the point of view of the boy -- later, the man -- whose perspective propels the narrative forward, is a coming-of-age tale that not only finds the realism of a boy's life in the very particular southern city of Baton Rouge, but captures the tone, the angst, the endemic, obsessive passion of young love in the midst of perplexing, often painful, life. What's unique about this version of such narratives is its through line involving the ripple effect of a young girl's rape -- the very girl at the heart of our protagonist's obsession.

There is no triteness in this theme or this story as a whole. The author has a unique, evocative way of defining place, time; the rituals of boyhood that are both shocking and immediately recognizable, and his choice to use the plot point of sexual violence and its effects not only the victim but on every single person with whom that girl comes in contact, lays a complex foundation for discussions of family dysfunction, female oppression and powerlessness, male entitlement and bravado, and the push-pull of an evolving perception of compassion, understanding... adulthood.

That Walsh finds the poetry in all this, the heartbreaking tenderness and cruelty of young love, the sucker punch of life's unpredictable violence, imbues his story with a sense of literary wonder. It is a story that is both difficult and touching, and by the book's end I was in tears, wanted to remember certain moments, select passages… like this one, in reference to the power and purpose of memory:

"It reminds us that every moment of our lives is plugged in. Every moment is crucial. And if we recognize this and embrace it, we will one day be able to look back and understand and feel and regret and reminisce and, if we are lucky, cherish."

Beautiful.

Lovely Debut Novel

Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2016

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“I want to rely on my memory. It’s important that you understand this. What else, besides love, do we have?”

M.O. Walsh’s narrator wanders to and fro through the sultry days and nights of 1989 Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A summer when he was somewhere between a boy and a man, consumed with a love only dreamt of by the young with Lindy Simpson, a fifteen-year-old free-spirited girl. Neighbors.

"It was the summer everything changed...."

Their charmed childhood unravels the moment Lindy is the object of a violent crime, and life is forever changed for Lindy. The feeling of safety evaporates like a ghost, leaving only memories of feeling secure and protected within these streets. The streets feel darker, more fraught with evil. Neighbors look at neighbors wondering who could be so despicable as to perpetrate this crime.

“…the lawn appeared to be full of bodies, full of the people they’d made mistakes with in life now tethered to them and ill-rested and serving no purpose but to remind them of the one awful thing that life is made up, ever increasingly, of what you cannot change.”

A very atmospheric read, elegantly told through a dream-like prose, this is a dark, but also charming, coming-of-age story not to be missed. On family, our memories – be they good or bad, and how they shape the selves we become, the power of hope and ultimately to forgive. We all have memories that follow us through our whole lives, and just when we’ve begun to let them go, to return to some other land that time forgot, they tap us on the shoulder again, and we sigh. With fondness or sadness or regret.

A lovely debut novel.

Idarah

Creepy good!

Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2017

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"There were four suspects in the rape of Lindy Simpson, a crime that occurred directly on top of the sidewalk of Piney Creek Road, the same sidewalk our parents had once hopefully carved their initials into, years before, as residents of the first street in the Woodland Hills subdivision to have houses on each lot."

The first sentence of this novel just sucked me right in; I couldn't rest until it was finished. Even though it revolves around a crime and a mystery, what I found most interesting was the account of the author growing up, getting through his very awkward and painful teens. Always at the center of his adolescence and the novel is Lindy, his obsession. The cataclysmic aftershock of the violence perpetrated against her affects the whole neighborhood. Walsh expertly weaved different stories and moments in time to craft a beautiful tapestry. The final quarter of book came right back to the crime, and it was so gripping and more than a little creepy. Overall, the word that came to mind was grotesque as it was used to describe Southern literature written by Flannery O'Connor and William Faulkner. Gritty, razor sharp but elegant. A killer summer must read!

blewis

Childhood revisited

Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2020

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I had read a sample of this book and was intrigued enough to buy it. It was a pretty good story and although some parts were a trifle tedious, I kept going wanting to know the point of the story.
it is written in first person, so it becomes a most intimate relating of events in a young boy's life, beginning with the rape of a adolescent girl who lived two houses down the street. This singular event shapes his teenage years in a most profound way. It is interesting to visit inside the mind of a teenage boy as the man visits these confusing a and tumultuous years. It is at in a very white middle class neighborhood in the late 1980's and 90's in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The neighborhood and it's !location become an important character in the story, providing that facade which hides pain and even evil. But the reader also sees the happiness and innocence of childhood recollections and how we lose that innocence. It was a good read and I enjoyed it.

Top reviews from other countries

Jennifer's Reviews

Introspective Debut Novel

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 11, 2016

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This novel began beautifully, evoking Woodland Hills, Louisiana; it made me feel as though I was right there. The story began with an ancient crime and an excellent hook; I presumed it would then move to the present day and the reader would see how it the crime was solved.

I suppose I was hoping for a novel a bit like 'I Let You Go' by Clare Mackintosh, which I thought captured rural Wales whilst unfolding the solution to the central mystery, chapter by enthralling chapter.

For me, 'My Sunshine' didn't work out like that. I enjoyed the parts that showed me what it's like to live in Louisiana, and I enjoyed the initial mystery. I didn't enjoy the narrator's sexual fantasies, not because there's anything wrong with those per se, but because they were all about him and showed, I felt, no empathy at all for the victim. I did understand that the teenage boy depicted may have had no incentive to learn about compassion, pity and love - but I'd have like to have been reassured, earlier, just by the odd hint, that the adult narrator had done so.

The end of the novel was very moving - almost as good as the beginning. However I felt it was 'all sewn up' in one chapter when the reveal could have been managed differently to keep the reader's attention all the way through.

I shall certainly try M.O. Walsh's next novel, if there should be one.

Suitable for those who like a 'coming of age' - contains a fair bit of mild sexual fantasy.

Amazon Customer

Riveting

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 5, 2015

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A compelling read, written so cleverly, you are kept guessing and wondering right to the end. An anecdote on aspects of life others wouldn't attempt to consider, but amazingly thought-provoking. The author draws you in to a world, that, by choice, you probably wouldn't want to visit, but ultimately you are glad you did.

Gingernut

I enjoyed this book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 17, 2016

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I enjoyed this book, but as I was nearing the end, I grew tired of the narrator's voice. I feel that the author was including things just for the sake of it and that didn't actually add to the story or characters.

Good writing, could have been slightly shorter and tighter.

melsie

I felt sad at the end of this tale - that lives ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 8, 2016

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I felt sad at the end of this tale - that lives had been blighted by one event, the outcome of which could have been resolved at the time. I felt that the writing was a little less tight than it could have been to keep the reader going, but I appreciated the story.

Sally Anne Edwards

Unusual and gripping

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 11, 2016

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A very unusual, but gripping story. It unfolds layer upon layer of intrigue. Keeps you guessing. Enjoyed it very much.

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