THE RAPTURES BY JAN CARSON

 

The Raptures

by

Jan Carson

 

Doubleday

2022

 

I finished this novel a couple of hours ago and went out for a long walk.  It was all I could think about.  It is that powerful.  It is the story of what happens when tragedy occurs in a sleepy Northern Irish village, Ballylack.  Friends of young Hannah, the main character, fall foul of a mysterious illness that is both scary and relentless in its spread through a group of young schoolchildren.  Hannah stays healthy and feels guilty about it.

 

The story has many ingredients including family tensions, fear, worry, panic, mystery, strict religious convictions, flaring tempers, suspicion, crime, vigilantes, as well as imaginative weaving of aspects of the supernatural.  It is also a story well-laced with humour - darkness and light in the hands of a brilliant storyteller.  

 

In its way, The Raptures is a coming-of-age story as we follow and feel for Hannah, how she processes the tragedies around her and considers what her adult future will hold after, hopefully, the trauma eases.  (I am trying very hard not to dish out any spoilers!)

 

To use a favourite Jan Carson word here, there is a rake of twists, turns, surprises, emotions and comedy in this wonderful book.  

 

I began my interest in Jan’s writing with her award-winning novel, The Fire Starters, followed by her collections, Postcard Stories, Postcard Stories 2 and The Last Resort.  And I’m glad I did.  The Raptures is a fine addition to her impressive writing CV.  Jan Carson deserves all her successes.   

 

Bravo!