Accustomed to the Dark by Thomas DeConna

TITLE INFORMATION

Accustomed to the Dark

Thomas DeConna

Black Rose Writing, 209 pages

9781685133153, 11.16.2023

Overall Rating = 4.75

Storyline & Concept = 4.5

Writing & Delivery = 5

Editorial = 4.75

Beginning as a story about a career-making interview between young journalist Jenny Smith and legendary, reclusive author AJ Kenton, the novel quickly changes directions. Instead of answers to carefully prepared questions, Jenny is invited to listen to one last story, which is actually many stories that make up a portrait of life in 1960s small-town America. Kenton tells her about a period in his life when, as a thirteen-year-old, he went door to door selling flower seeds to earn a prize. As he visits his neighbors’ homes, he crosses into their private lives, revealing a complex and fragile world.

The author excels at creating atmosphere. Each household AJ enters feels distinct and authentic, presenting a rich cross-section of American life at a particular moment in time. AJ’s growing awareness of his own abilities and the problems within his family adds insight and emotion to the novel. His coming-of-age is not marked by a single dramatic event, but by an accumulation of perceptions that feel intensely human. This book kept me reading long into the night, and when I was finished, I went back and read the first chapter again, fully appreciating the author’s talent to create meaning and depth with his writing. Thoughtful readers who appreciate character-driven fiction, social insight, and quiet emotional power will find this book deeply rewarding.

Sublime Line: “A beautifully reflective, multi-layered novel that gently dismantles the myth of the “ideal” American middle-class family.”

Sublime Book Review

sbr@sublimebookreview.com

www.sublimebookreview.com