Genre: Literary Fiction
Release Date: Expected 1st August 2023
Publisher: World Editions (Translated from the original Dutch)
In the Sound & Love Commune, four people live on the edges of the modern world spending their days searching for their path to enlightenment. But now, they're taking it further than just shunning technology and modernity, they shun eating too - deciding they can exist solely on light and love.
Until Elisabeth dies and the light goes out. She was the oldest member of the commune, loved and cherished - but now she's the victim of a suspicious death investigation, with her sister Melodie and housemates Muriel and Petrus being arrested as suspects.
Everyone tells the story differently depending on where they're looking from - but what's the real story? And what happens next?
"But we're a collective, a commune. Our stories are all the same. We've been living together for so long, our own version of events is our story."
A striking story not just about love, but the many things that pretend to be love - manipulation, control, jealously, desperation.
The story is poetic and lyrical, invoking rich detail and absorbing settings. It's full of metaphor and imagery, and once you find the tone it's very easy to get lost in it. Our narration shifts and moves, coming from external, unseen forces and people looking on in an almost curiously voyeuristic way. It moves slowly in a dreamlike way, snapshots and moments, thoughts and tangents all woven together.
It isn't exactly a linear story - in fact, not much happens at all, but it holds the reader in these timeless moments and explores the people involved and their lives in those moments - it was gripping but at times a little too drawn out, sentences lasting far too long without going anywhere.
The atmosphere was strange, charged with a nervous energy - we watch as the surviving commune members are separated, as the investigative team try to figure out what's going on. And we as outsiders see the potential for abuse and control within the commune that they just don't which makes for an extremely uncomfortable experience. There's definitely a sense of connection with the characters on a deeply human level, especially for Elisabeth even after she passes away.
At times there was a noticeable tone shift, moving from it's epic prose to almost reciting information and breaking the well-crafted flow of the story. And there were some comments throughout that didn't feel necessary to the plot or the world building; comments that were rather homophobic or ignorant and whilst these were used to show the traits of other characters they weren't necessary for it.
We Are Light raises powerful questions about responsibility and accountability - who is responsible for Elisabeths' death? Is it her fault? Was it Melodies for taking advantage of her? Was it everyone who didn't intervene? This is an entirely unique, conceptual story that explores humanity through a curious lens.
"We are the story. Slowly and predictably we head toward our conclusion - climax or anti-climax, it remains to be seen. We suspect it's going to be an anti-climax, if the writer carries on this way."
⭐⭐⭐
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