Clay Carmichael’s Brother, Brother shines as an expertly crafted character study and a portrait of a breathtakingly beautiful place, the influence of which shapes the story and the reader. This is an internal journey of self-discovery, a journey into the meaning of family, and a road trip to a wind swept island where love, power, and jealousy tore a family apart. Slow moving, thoughtful and though-provoking, and described in vibrant detail, I was lost and then found as I rode al
ong with Brother, his faithful, wise dog Trooper, as they wandered from a place of loss and confusion into a place of forgiveness, hope, and redemption.
When Brother Grace’s only family, his beloved grandmother “Mem”, dies, the dull inertia that has become his life hits home: he’s let his ambition and his dreams fade into the background of a life spent caring for Mem in the last stages of her cancer. Alone in his grief, Brother makes a world-shattering discovery: he has a twin brother, a family he never knew existed, and a connection, however tenuous, to both power and money. Bewildered, confused, and angry, Brother and Trooper set off in search for answers, even though he knows in his heart that the last thing he can expect is a welcome with open arms.
Along the way, Brother assumes care-giving responsibilities for Jack, the orphaned and often abandoned little brother of Brother’s sometimes best friend Cole. Brother also meets and falls under the captivating spell of Kit, a headstrong, fierce, and wise-beyond-her-years young woman. The trail leads them to a secluded private island off the coast of North Carolina, called Eden, where a family compound is overrun with the betrayals, resentments, and long-harbored ghosts of a painful past. Both caught up in the confusion and standing outside it as witness, if Brother is to find the answers to the questions he seeks, he must lean in, listen, ask questions, and think for himself. Only then will his truth be known, which is, ultimately, good advice for us all.
- Posted by Cori