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A review by jennifermreads
Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian
3.0
This was a brutal look at homelessness and disasters that can drastically alter lives forever. You will shiver from the first page: from the cold – which you will feel along with Emily and Cameron – and from the thought of how close you yourself could be from being in Emily’s shoes if disaster hit your own life.
Why three stars instead of more? Only because I have read other of Chris Bohjalian’s novels and there are several that resonated with me much more. I do not anticipate this book haunting me like The Sandcastle Girls nor did this book intrigue me like The Light in the Ruins nor was I ever surprised and shocked like I was in The Double Bind. It also took me many more pages than usual to hear Bohjalian’s characters rather than the author’s voice or plain words. In the other books I mentioned, I remember being instantly absorbed into the characters’ voices and stories.
Yet Closer Your Eyes, Hold Hands is terrifying. Think of how close we all lie to our lives being significantly changed by a disaster. It is not something we think about; it is decidedly uncomfortable. But, when I read the pages of this story that explained the title’s origins (page 238 – the title is the words said by a teacher or police officer to the young children in December 2012 as they were lead out of the school in Newtown, Connecticut following the massacre), it was a startling realization that “this could be me” or “this could be my niece/nephew.” Nuclear disaster is mentally “far away” for me – yet the possibility is geographically close in Northern California. But disasters of all kinds lay around every corner. So Emily’s life? That could be our life.
As a side note, two years ago, my husband and I toured Vermont and fell instantly in love with the beautiful state. We ended that trip with a few days in the Northern Kingdom. So reading this book was like reliving parts of that trip: each city and landmark that was mentioned brought back wonderful memories. And then utter horror when I thought how quickly beauty, wherever it is, can be eliminated.
Thought provoking? Yes. A setting that drew me in? YES! Chris Bohjalian’s best work? No – but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be read, thought about, and absorbed.
Why three stars instead of more? Only because I have read other of Chris Bohjalian’s novels and there are several that resonated with me much more. I do not anticipate this book haunting me like The Sandcastle Girls nor did this book intrigue me like The Light in the Ruins nor was I ever surprised and shocked like I was in The Double Bind. It also took me many more pages than usual to hear Bohjalian’s characters rather than the author’s voice or plain words. In the other books I mentioned, I remember being instantly absorbed into the characters’ voices and stories.
Yet Closer Your Eyes, Hold Hands is terrifying. Think of how close we all lie to our lives being significantly changed by a disaster. It is not something we think about; it is decidedly uncomfortable. But, when I read the pages of this story that explained the title’s origins (page 238 – the title is the words said by a teacher or police officer to the young children in December 2012 as they were lead out of the school in Newtown, Connecticut following the massacre), it was a startling realization that “this could be me” or “this could be my niece/nephew.” Nuclear disaster is mentally “far away” for me – yet the possibility is geographically close in Northern California. But disasters of all kinds lay around every corner. So Emily’s life? That could be our life.
As a side note, two years ago, my husband and I toured Vermont and fell instantly in love with the beautiful state. We ended that trip with a few days in the Northern Kingdom. So reading this book was like reliving parts of that trip: each city and landmark that was mentioned brought back wonderful memories. And then utter horror when I thought how quickly beauty, wherever it is, can be eliminated.
Thought provoking? Yes. A setting that drew me in? YES! Chris Bohjalian’s best work? No – but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be read, thought about, and absorbed.