Random Things Tours: Below Torrential Hill by Jonathan Koven

´In his throat, there was a scream waiting to be purged´.

In the small town of Torrential Hill, there are strange things going on. ´The night Tristen´s mother first heard the voices in the kitchen sink, a comet blazed in the sky´. As a story of coming-of-age - but more than that, Below Torrential Hill, winner of Electric Eclectic Novella Prize is a book about grief, mothers and sons, sons and absent fathers, sons growing up during difficult personal times. 

The words end and start in prose stanza, while the characters are wandering smoothly from the real world to the world of dreams and far beyond. The words are embracing both objects - the kitchen is ´immeasurably quiet´ - and humans - ´she became difficult´. There is as much life in the dark forest as in the sad story of Tristen mother. 

My biggest regret: I wish the magic of the story equally continues throughout the story, and not only stops once in a while to just reappear a couple of lines later.  

Novella is as difficult to write as a short story. Maybe even more difficult. A short story is expectedly short therefore the economy of the narrative encompasses a limited slice of time. There are awkward silences - as between Tristen and Lave - hopeful love - as between Tristen and Ava - and unlimited love - as between Tristen and his mother. Love, grief, distrust, trust, death, those simple life stories written over and over again. 

Language is the strongest point of Below Torrential Hill. It is the language who redefines over and over again the story. Through words life changes, we see beyond the appearances and realities are translated into realistic imaginary worlds. 

The cover reflects with acuity the intellectual alertness of the text.

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the blog tour, but the opinions are, as usual, my own