The Illusion of Separateness

Summary (from the publisher): The characters in Simon Van Booy's The Illusion of Separateness discover at their darkest moments of fear and isolation that they are not alone, that they were never alone, that every human being is a link in a chain we cannot see. This gripping novel - inspired by true events - tells the interwoven stories of a deformed German infantryman; a lonely British film director; a young, blind museum curator; two Jewish American newlyweds separated by war; a lost child on the brink of starvation; and a caretaker at a retirement home for actors in Santa Monica. The same world moves under each of them, so that one by one, through seemingly random acts of selflessness, a veil is lifted to reveal the vital parts they have played in one another's lives, and the illusion of their separateness.

Review: I received an Advance Reader Copy from HarperCollins.

The Illusion of Separateness is told from six varying points of view and spans the decades from 1939 to 2010 and travels from Los Angeles and New York to France to England. Ultimately, each individual is connected due to a series of events that take place during World War II. Although most of the characters do not know one another and never will, their actions greatly affect others in the story, and their lives are intertwined in ways they cannot know.

It's difficult to review this book because I don't want to give anything away concerning how the varying plot lines ultimately reveal to be related. However, I can say that this book was deeply moving. I teared up while reading it. I also read the whole novel in one day, which is relatively rare for me. Most of the characters, particularly those who are in WWII, have deeply sad life stories. For example, Mr. Hugo, a former German soldier, was shot in the face during the war. He cannot recall anything beyond fragments of his life before his injury, his head is deeply deformed, and his name is based on a book by Victor Hugo that was found in his pocket at the time of injury. Mr. Hugo spends his life as a janitor, enjoying simple pleasures like growing tomatoes, and fondly remembering the little boy who used to live next door to him, Danny. His story is heartbreaking, because as a reader I imagine how his life could have been had the war not destroyed his health and mental abilities.

Another story is that of John, an American soldier, who goes missing for a substantial period of time. His family and wife Harriet believe him to be dead, a fact that John realizes during his ordeal, when he expects that he will not survive; "News would have reached Harriet and his parents some time ago. He imagined them at the kitchen table trying to get used to the idea. A hush over the restaurant that would last decades. Sadness in the kitchen, and in the cake pans, and on the plates with the eggs and hash browns." 

As a writer, I image it takes much planning and skill to execute so many disparate and yet interconnected story lines. Van Booy does an excellent job in weaving all the stories together by the conclusion of his novel. Yet he does so in a subtle way, relying on the reader to make connections between the different characters' narratives. Van Booy has hit the nail on the head when it comes to showing versus telling. If anything, my only complaint was that I wish this book was longer so that I could have kept reading longer and learned more about the lives of the characters within its pages.

Stars: 4