Pieces
When Lynch published Iceman in 1994, it was his second novel. Almost two decades and dozens of books later, Lynch returns to Eric and Duane, siblings and best friends—though things have changed. Pieces opens in a hospital as Eric struggles to accept Duane’s death and to consent to organ donation. A year later Eric must decide if he wants to meet the recipients. He attends a high tea where he meets the beneficiaries: sweet, friendless Phil; obnoxious masher Barry; and fragile, beautiful single mother Melinda among them. Eric feels ready to move on, until Martha, Duane’s ex-girlfriend and Eric’s eternal crush, appears, determined to meet the recipients herself, and things become messily human. Lynch paints a cast of indelible characters, even secondary players, with a deft, sensitive hand. And despite the specificity of Eric’s circumstances, his complicated, shifting emotions are immediately resonant. Though the complex family dynamic (and strange affinity for death) explored in Iceman adds nuance to the proceedings here, this novel stands on its own, rewarding new readers with a tender exploration of just what it means to be whole. Grades 8-12. --Thom Barthelmess