The Illumination

Kevin Brockmeier's latest novel The Illumination, like much of his other work, incorporates magic into the everyday or, rather, strives to make everyday experiences magical. When physical pain suddenly and inexplicably becomes visible in the form of a beautiful bodily glow that officials call "The Illumination," the novel proceeds to follow this pain-light through its characters' lives. While manifestations of the phenomenon appear nationwide, a journal detailing the love of a man for his wife is found at the hospital where the woman has died and is then passed around by several characters taken with the beauty of the husband's adoration: in this way, pain and love circulate among the novel's population. As each character's story segues to the next, Brockmeier asks whether pain and love connect or distance us, while convincingly showing versions of both. Where Brockmeier stumbles is with his dialogue, which often seems like unintentional parody. This is particularly true when it comes to a group of self-mutilating high school skater punks who speak like hard-edged Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. At its worst, The Illumination is a cute pseudo-Buddhist philosophical tale populated with two-dimensional teens and sad-sack loners. At its best, it illuminates the grief of a lonely cast of characters while acknowledging the universality of pain for everyone.