Pale Highway

Gabriel Schist is spending his remaining years at Bright New Day, a nursing home. He once won the Nobel Prize for inventing a vaccine for AIDS. But now, he has Alzheimer’s, and his mind is slowly slipping away.

When one of the residents comes down with a horrific virus, Gabriel realizes that he is the only one who can find a cure. Encouraged by Victor, an odd stranger, he convinces the administrator to allow him to study the virus. Soon, reality begins to shift, and Gabriel’s hallucinations interfere with his work.

As the death count mounts, Gabriel is in a race against the clock and his own mind. Can he find a cure before his brain deteriorates past the point of no return?

*May Contain Spoilers*

 

Nicholas Conley creates a different world in his novel, Pale Highway. A world where AIDS has been cured by a brilliant doctor. Sadly, this doctor is now suffering from Alzheimer's and his life as a scientist seems to be over. Then the Black Virus appears, a virus that imitates other diseases. The genius Gabriel Schist is the only one that can cure it, but he must do so within the confines of Bright New Day nursing home.

 

Gabriel Schist is a man demonized by his memories and the struggle to remember them. He's always been a loner, an imitator, a man amazed by the immune system. Gabriel has never fit in and therefore turned to alcohol at a young age in order to blend in with the crowd. He cursed his intelligence after he was deemed a crackpot by the scientific community. Readers will feel empathetic toward Gabriel as they witness his flashbacks and see how many obstacles he overcame. They'll connect with him sympathetically through his loss-of-love story. Alzheimer's is such a debilitating disease, readers will undoubtedly feel for Gabriel through his steady decline.

 

The plot of Pale Highway is an emotionally charged delusion. I have a two theories as to what the book is actually depicting. The first is that the novel does actually take place in a parallel universe in which a scientist did in fact cure AIDS. Once Gabriel Schist begins suffering from Alzheimer's, as his friends in the nursing home die one by one, he believes that some disease is terrorizing them and therefore convinces himself that he can cure them. The administration goes along with it in order to keep him calm. He creates a world where an alien race of slugs and the grim reaper is helping him try to save humanity. 

 

The second theory is that there is no Black Virus, there is no AIDS cure, there is no Nobel Prize winning Dr. Gabriel Schist. There is only Gabriel Schist, recovered alcoholic and Alzheimer's patient who has lost his memory to complete delusion. If the first theory is correct, then the depiction of the world outside his mind is the only truth that readers can depend on. Other characters do acknowledge that Schist created the AIDS vaccine and 'help' him with his study of the Black Virus. If the second theory is correct then the entire book is a dream in which Gabriel Schist struggles to forgive himself for the mistakes he made throughout his life. Both of the theories work as long as readers accept that Gabriel is the character calling all of the shots. If readers believe that other characters in fact say and do what the narrator describes, then the novel has to take place in another universe. Regardless of which theory readers go with, Pale Highway is an imaginative book that explores Alzheimer's from the patient's point of view. Of course, there is always the third theory in which everything the book depicts is true. Though, in that case, I'd label Pale Highway as an emotionally charged science fiction novel.

 

Rating: 3/5 Cups

 

The Rockin' Chair

Memories are the ultimate contradiction. They can warm us on our coldest days or they can freeze a loved one out of our lives forever. The McCarthy family has a trove of warm memories. Of innocent first kisses. Of sumptuous family meals. Of wondrous lessons learned at the foot of a rocking chair. But they also have had their share of icy ones. Of words that can never be unsaid. Of choices that can never be unmade. Of actions that can never be undone.

Following the death of his beloved wife, John McCarthy (Grandpa John) calls his family back home. It is time for them to face the memories they have made, both warm and cold. Only then can they move beyond them and into the future.

*May Contain Spoilers*

From secrets hidden behind carefully forged masks to ghosts that haunt their waking lives, every family has problems. This McCarthys are no different. Steven Manchester reveals their heavy hearts and their journey to light in his novel, The Rockin' Chair. 

When Grampa John requested his grandchildren to return to their Montana home, he was only thinking how much it would mean for them to see their grandmother before she passed on. He wasn't expecting to discover that despair had overwhelmed the lives of each of his family members. When he learns how much help his family needs, Grampa John vows to stay on earth long enough to help each member find their way out of darkness. 

The greatest thing about this novel is the variety of characters. Each reader will be able to connect with at least one of the members of the McCarthy family, if not more. Grampa John has just lost his wife and is determined to put the pieces of his family back together. Hank is John's son and has never felt accepted, nor completely loved by his father. Their relationship is estranged, even though they live on the same farm. Hank wants trust and openness with his father, but his stubborn nature threatens to keep the two men apart. 

Elle is Hank's wife and she's always been strong, for other people. She puts everyone ahead of herself and doesn't think twice about it. She takes care of her mother-in-law as she suffers from Alzheimer's while remaining solid in her role as a wife. 

The grandchildren each have their own demons that Grampa John soon recognizes. George is in the military, just returning from an overseas tour where he killed a young boy. He feels nothing but guilt and remorse as he tries to adjust to civilian life. Readers will feel the regret in George's heart and connect with him easily. Evan has just lost the love of his life - or so he thought. With Grampa John's advice and age-old wisdom, Evan learns to live for others and come to terms with the fate of his relationship. Readers  won't have any problem relating to Evan. Though he can be a little too soft-hearted (maybe even corny) at times, his personality comes through stronger in the second half of the novel. Tara dreamed of being an actress but instead fell into alcoholism and drug addiction. Though she's the least explored character in the book, readers will connect with her plight to overcome her ailment. 

The plot of The Rockin' Chair is simple and straight-forward, emphasizing the growth of the characters instead of the events that occur around them. As the McCarthy family heals, the reader/character connection strengthens. The dialogue has an awkward feel at times, and certain situations allow for more fictionalized reactions, but the overall sense of the novel is powerful. It's amazing to see a family pull together after a tragedy and Manchester captures the essence of familial love in this new novel.

 Rating: 3/5 Cups