Book Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.75 / 5 stars)
Despite how the world might darken, there is always a way to find light. There is always a way to face adversaries, even when everyone turns against you. Caleb knows that more than anyone as he fights to keep his farm, and he will stand his ground to protect his land, his hens, and his friends.
In a poetic story, Koontz takes us into a post-apocalyptic southern home, with a deep message: you can fight no matter how many people turn against you. While the story is short, Koontz does a fantastic job painting a picture of this world, taking us into the struggles of Caleb’s farm against adversaries, and what he must do to keep it. It’s a very vivid reminder to all of us, no matter how good or bad things get, you need to keep fighting. But if you must fight, fight with those you care about…fight with your friends and family.
Yet, while much of the prose is written in a way reminiscent of poetry – and poetry, as a whole, can avoid some grammatical conventions – I do think the story would have benefited from being proofread once more to catch any mistakes. In addition, as I find with many short stories, some need to be longer to really paint the picture. There is so much that could have been delved into…but time was of the essence.
Overall, We Come Undone is a poetic and wonderful read. If you want something to read one gloomy afternoon to remind you to keep fighting, check it out!
What’s it about?
The thing about life is that even on the darkest of days, there’s still a glint of hope. It’s the stars, peeking through the smoggy sky. It’s the moon burnt red in fire. It’s strings of lights run by glints of copper, twining through the trees and the old rafters. The hen that pecks at a dying land. The gears that keep turning. And the thing about life is that even when we come undone, there’s always going to be someone or something to pick you back up, help get your feet moving again, help you find another light to cling too, another ember to fan into your own burning flames. Ian’s been moving through the ashes for far too long, and Caleb might not have realized his flames were burning so low. But the way that the world works, is that it tends to put you in exactly the right spot, at exactly the same time. Or maybe that’s just luck. Some could even argue it’s bad luck. No matter what it is, though, it’s there. And you have to deal with it.
OTHER INFORMATION – When an old friend shows up at Caleb’s farm, he finds the full wrath of the Capitol Council brought down upon him. When given a choice between keeping Ian safe, or keeping ownership of the last farm in the country, Caleb knows that there’s only one choice he can make. Keep them both, of course.*a genre mash-up with flavors from fantasy, post-apoc fiction, and western hints. *We Come Undone is, at heart, a story about healing, farming, and finding your own family.
E.S. Barrison 