Alone In The Light is much more than a book or a story…it is a deeply moving, personal experience from which you must recover.
I finished reading/listening to Alone in The Light a few months ago. It has taken me quite a while to get to a place where I could write about the book. First let me say, Benjamin Bass has written an astounding debut novel. On the surface, this is a story about men and women in the National Guard. They have been called to serve in the war in Iraq. As we all know, “war is hell.”
After suffering an injury, Josh appears to no longer have any interest in Mary. Yet, she continues to care about him. Mary can see the change in Josh. Mary goes through her own private hell as she watches the man she loves sink deeper and deeper into depression. Josh has become an angry man. Mary fears the man she cares so much about, might be gone forever.
Author, Benjamin W. Bass brings his readers complex characters of depth. Readers grieve right along with Mary. We wonder what is happening to the Josh we were introduced to in the beginning of Alone In the Light. But here and there we may see signs that Josh may not yet be completely broken. Somehow, through it all, Josh continues to care about his comrades. But he soon learns he his not the only one who returned mentally broken. We see Josh do what he can to rescue a friend. But try as he may, Josh is not mentally strong enough to save anyone, not even himself. PTSD is now what is controlling Josh.
Benjamin Bass expertly depicts Josh’s downward spiral. Our hearts break right along with Mary’s. We watch helplessly as Josh suffers both inwardly and outwardly. We wonder if Josh will ever be able to rescue himself back to the happy, friendly man he once was. Bass has created authentic characters with the power to pull readers relentlessly into Alone In The Light. If you read one debut novel this year, or if you just read just one novel this year, let it be Alone In The Light.