I saw the light in your window tonight: TAKE ME WITH YOU.

Take Me with You by Steven Rowley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This wasn’t my favorite Rowley, but it was an interesting read to say the least.

Norman and Jesse have been married for some time when Jesse awakes and sees Norman disappear in a pool of light in their backyard. Jesse races and out clings to Norman’s legs, but Norman disappears into the beam of light, nonetheless.

Jesse’s response? No calling the police. Instead, he mainly returns to his normal life. Sure, he starts exploring some paranormal/galaxy-related phenomenon in the Joshua Tree area. And, oh yeah, there’s the giant hole he starts digging in the backyard. But otherwise, he throws himself into teaching his classes, finding himself, and exploring and ruminating on the pieces of their marriage that didn’t always work.

He lies to Norman’s sister Lalley when she shows up, wondering if she can use the embryos she helped create for Norman and Jesse a while back. He lies to the private detective Lalley hired to find Norman. He lies to their quirky neighbor who takes him star gazing. Honestly, the whole thing is just odd.

It’s really not a bad book, it’s just different. There is a lot of talk about marriage and relationships. The problem with Norman and Jesse is that we spend so little time with them together, mostly a few flashbacks, that I wasn’t really invested in their marriage. It was hard to care if Norman came back and difficult to root for their marriage to succeed. I’m sure Rowley was making a lot of deeper points with the beams of light and stars and relationships, but I’m not smart enough for all that.

This is a contemplative and thoughtful book about marriage, family, and the ties that bind us. If you like cerebral stories about relationships, this one is for you.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons in return for an unbiased review.

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