The Returned by Jason Mott Review!!

Harold and Lucille Hargrave's lives have been both joyful and sorrowful in the decades since their only son, Jacob, died tragically at his eighth birthday party in 1966. In their old age they've settled comfortably into life without him, their wounds tempered through the grace of time…. Until one day Jacob mysteriously appears on their doorstep—flesh and blood, their sweet, precocious child, still eight years old.

All over the world people's loved ones are returning from beyond. No one knows how or why this is happening, whether it's a miracle or a sign of the end. Not even Harold and Lucille can agree on whether the boy is real or a wondrous imitation, but one thing they know for sure: he's their son. As chaos erupts around the globe, the newly reunited Hargrave family finds itself at the center of a community on the brink of collapse, forced to navigate a mysterious new reality and a conflict that threatens to unravel the very meaning of what it is to be human. 

The story is basically about people rising from the dead, but not in a dead zombie type of way, but in a way that they were never gone. One thing I loved and hated was that he gave no explanation as to why this was happening, why the departed were suddenly returning as if they had never left. As a reader, I always want an explanation but as an author, I understand his lack of explanation. Sometimes in life, things can’t always be explained and you either have to go with it or waste your life searching for answers. In this case, the characters Harold and Lucille tried finding an explanation, but eventually just accepted the fact their son Jacob was back, after all those years and took it as a blessing.

Not every character felt the same about the returned. The returned showed up and looked for their loved ones and the living constantly had issues coming to terms with how their world was changing. Most importantly, this book forces you to take a serious look at humanity and how we as a people treat others who are different. Or treat people differently because they are something we don’t understand. I think it’s a great way for Jason Mott to have spoken about the nature of people in this world today.

I also liked how each chapter alternated between what was happening in Arcadia, the city where the book takes place, and personal stories of other people, strangers, finding their loved ones. It was interesting to read what other people in other parts of the country and world were experiencing.

The book overall is a great read. It is slightly dark and a bit depressing at times, but more mystical and interesting. The ending isn’t the way I would have ended it, as I would have provided an explanation, but going along with the theme of the book, I understand why Mott ended it the way he did.

....Kara Kelly, guest reviewer

Received a copy of this book from Netgalley and was not monetarily compensated for the review.