Review: Unique
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 02 6, 2014
I read Song of the Fireflies in much smaller doses than I usually read books. Most of the time you can’t drag me away from the novel I’m reading, but this story was so different I needed to continually come up for air. The book was filled with bad decisions and terrible consequences. Even the happier times of Elias and Bray’s childhood were blanketed with ominous feelings. But, even though their story is hard to read I wouldn’t label this a dark book. I think it’s hard to read because it’s a truthful, raw portrayal of how a young couples life could actually play out. It’s difficult because it’s something you may see pieces of in the news. This is not a “kidnap me and then we fall in love” kind of book. A book that’s twisted but the probability of it happening is so high that you can loose yourself in the fantasy. This is a “I feel squirmy when I read this because it’s too real” kind of book.I’m not saying that we’ve all gone on car trips with drug dealers or had to kick out our meth-addicted roommate. What I’m saying is, unfortunately these things do happen, and probably a lot more than we’d like to think. Accidents, wrong decisions, mental illness, addictions things people deal with everyday. Maybe not in the capacity that Bray and Elias dealt with but they’re still there.Bray and Elias were also hard characters to like. They had flaws and made ghastly decisions. I had a hard time telling if they were reliable narrators (was Bray really an addict?) and many times when they did tell the truth you were wishing they hadn’t. I especially found it hard to like Bray. She was constantly lying or withholding information, then she’d turn around and share things that would make the situation worse (why would she tell Elias something Caleb said offhandedly when she knew Elias would want to fight him?). But, even though I couldn’t connect with the characters doesn’t mean I don’t respect the author for making them so realistic.This book is definitely not for everyone. Honestly, I’m still trying to figure out if it was for me. But, I have to admire Redmerski for creating something so different.