I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by NetGalley. I was not compensated for this review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I was not required to write a positive review.
What Blooms from Dust by James Markert Published by Thomas Nelson Incorporated on June 26, 2018
Genres: Fiction, Historical, Magical Realism, Religious
Pages: 352
Source: NetGalley
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"The closer he got, the brighter that red became. It was a rose--a rose that had no earthly business growing there, right in the middle of all that dust."
Just as Jeremiah Goodbye is set to meet his fate in the electric chair, he is given a second chance at life. With the flip of a coin, he decides to return to his home town of Nowhere, Oklahoma, to settle the score with his twin brother Josiah. But upon his escape, he enters a world he doesn't recognize--one that has been overtaken by the Dust Bowl. And the gift he once relied on to guide him is as unrecognizable as the path back to Nowhere.
On his journey home, he accidentally rescues a young boy, and the pair arrive at their destination where they are greeted by darkened skies and fearful townspeople who have finally begun to let the past few years of hardship bury them under the weight of all that dust. Unlikely heroes, Jeremiah and his new companion, Peter Cotton, try to protect the residents of Nowhere from themselves, but Jeremiah must face his nightmares and free himself from the guilt of his past and the secrets that destroyed his family.
Filled with mystery and magic, this exquisite novel from award-winning author James Markert is a story of finding hope in the midst of darkness and discovering the beauty of unexpected kindness.
This is the second book about the Dust Bowl I’ve read in the last 12 months. Honestly, it’s the second book about the Dust Bowl that I’ve read in my entire life. You would think that this is something I would have read about more. I mean, I’m knowledgeable about this time period both from family stories as well as choosing to study the history, but I’ve not come across a lot of fiction that is specific to this era. I’ve talked before about my family history of this period in American history here. My Daddy is technically a dust bowl baby born in the summer of ’39. I think, from a personal standpoint, this would be difficult time period to incorporate into fiction. I mean there are only so many ways you can describe dust ya know? Both books I’ve read have been well written and engaging but . . . dust.
There’s something to be said for an author that can take layers of grit and dust and weave it into a memorable story. However, much like the layers of earth that peeled up to create the dust this story had layers that needed to be peeled up and sometimes I just didn’t ‘get’ it. Some things became clearer over time, sorta like digging out after a duster, but some things remained buried just out of my grasp. Some of this I feel was intentional, because with a story like this there are certain things that I believe should be left to the reader. However, I think some of it was because I was in the middle of a week of chaos that limited reading time and so my take on this story was disjointed. Despite that the story did peel itself up and dust me with completeness. I feel like for a moment in time I lived the dust, felt it’s grit on my skin and in my hair. I smelled it’s earthiness and staleness. I felt it’s despondency. For a brief period of time I was Nowhere, Oklahoma.
I really enjoyed this book. It gets into your head and onto your skin. Nowhere, Oklahoma brings out both the good and bad in people. And in life. It doesn’t matter that it happened 80 years ago, or yesterday, hard times bring people together or tear them apart. Sometimes, they do both. The Goodbye twins are the perfect reminder that things aren’t always as them seem. That second chances are sometimes first chances to make things right. That just because we believe the lies we tell ourselves doesn’t make them truth. And through all of this, community is everything. This book has so many layers and you ultimately decide how deep you want to peel them back. The reader decides how much they want to truly invest. And investment is worth if. And reading it again is almost a requirement.
About James Markert
James Markert is a novelist, screenwriter, producer, and USPTA tennis pro from Louisville, Kentucky, where he lives with his wife and two children. He has a history degree from the University of Louisville. He won an IPPY Award for The Requiem Rose, which later became A White Wind Blew. He is the writer and co-producer of the new feature film and tennis comedy, 2nd Serve, starring Josh Hopkins from Cougar Town.
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