Review: A poignant and very intimate read
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 11, 2014
There are many protagonists and interesting characters in this latest Robert K Swisher Jr novelOld people feeling imprisoned and coming to the end of their lives very often feel useless and wonder why they have to live another day when they see no reason to do so.The rest home here becomes the protagonist, in a way, as all the old folk come to terms with their residency there, the way to handle their days in it, and how to put some excitement and reason to go on, within its walls.Harold is obviously uneducated and has trouble articulating his words, yet it is he and not the strong, Mrs Dearheart who spurs the rest home's community into believing in something more hopeful than their dreary days and nights, waiting for death to take them.The fact that they, the residents actually flew or not is neither here nor there, because it is the hope of flying that lifts the spirits and awakens dreams.I loved the way in, which this novella was written, and how involved I got in the entire progression from despair and defeat, to Harold's mission to bring hope and his victory was very uplifting.The story is mostly dialogue, which makes it all the more personal and necessary when there are so many characters. The humour was there and realistic, yet not overdone. The different personalities jelled together even though they were all diverse and with positive and negative outlooks.I take my hat off to Mr Swisher Jr. This was a grand read, most enjoyable and poignant.I would also like to say that this story has many lessons for us all to take away and use long into our futures:"Just because we as humans grow old and decrepit, it doesn't mean that we lose our dreams, our thoughts, our characters...and our hope. Our bodies may wither but the human spirit should be allowed to reside within us until our last breath, and no man should attempt to take that spirit and hope away from us, no matter how old we are or what our withered bodies look like."