In Sycamore, Bryn Chancellor writes of grief, of regrets, of love but most importantly of loss and the impact one mothers loss can have on an entire community.
One afternoon a new comer to town stumbles across what appears to be human remains in a desert ravine, over the next few days as the news makes it way round small town Sycamore, residents fear it may be missing teenager, Jess Winters, who vanished 18 years previously. Rumors swirl, stories are rekindled and recollections are shared.
The narrative flips back and forward between 1991 and 2009. As the story unfolds in snatches and snipets we learn more and more of the backstory of the differing townspeople; Each chapter is told from a different characters point of view and provides an alternative insight into their role, however large or small, in the disappearance of Jess Winters.
Chancellors writing is upbeat and fresh, while there are unusual changes in form and style throughout the work, they are devices that move the story along rather than faults. The story as a whole is heartfelt, powerful and well told. There are individual stories within the bigger pictures and they are captivating within their own right – it makes sense that Chancellors previous writing has been short stories.
Chancellor challenges us to think about our preconceived notions about age in relationships, How our communities function and how we interpret lust versus love. There are a number of themes that standout in this work, ones that are fairly stock standard ( A child of divorce, the urge to wander, parental abandonment and sexual exploration )but when combined they are even more interesting and when a flashback narrative is employed it increases the storytelling factor even further.
I thoroughly enjoyed Chancellors take on teen angst, confusion and loneliness and then the comparison provided in the alternate ‘adult’ chapters, the sense of betrayal and forgiveness they still felt as adults is so beautifully crafted – get to your local bookstore and pick up a copy!