Some days I wonder if it was worth learning to read; especially, when I pick up something that is just downright awful. But then I know it is a good thing when I find something that is amazing. Of course, there is always that title that is In Between. I question and confirm both answers simultaneously. Yet, I might never come to a solid conclusion to which is the right answer. We Burned So Bright by T.J. Klune is an In Betweener. What sealed the deal for reading was I needed a short read.
Well, this short book took me on one HELL of a roadtrip. I would like to say this is a story about two gay men and their last road trip. But it is more than that, because it is everyone’s last road trip. You see, the Earth has a black hole deciding to visit, and well, they are not a very nice house guest. They will not only eat all your food, trash your house and stay way too long, they eat everything and everyone and really trash the whole universe. The staying part isn’t too bad as you’ll not be around to see how long it does stay.
So I will say this book is about two men who, literally at the end of the world, decide to go cross country in a fugly, old RV camper to keep a promise. To whom this promise was made is part of the story. As are the people they meet along the way. A family (mom, dad, two kids); two young hippies (female, male) who want to get married; two lesbian women and how Texas and queer history plays a role in their love story; a young girl isolated from everything, including reality; an older woman living on the edge of where it is all ending. We see how love, life, death and the insanity of it all might just become clearer when you are faced with the end of it all.
The clock is how much of the universe has been destroyed. We have three weeks to start and it goes from there. There is actually a smidgen of fact tossed in here and there, but don’t try to write your science paper on if Jupiter would split into four pieces or Mars would go before Earth. This time clock formation is both fabulous and annoying.
This is an interesting read. I gave it a four as I felt a lot of things. I liked A, but don’t get me started on B. I think one character is very realistic, while another is too far-fetched. I didn’t like that they just had to get stoned one night (but then again, at the end of the world? Who knows if I would have, too). Though skinny dipping isn’t such a bad idea. It’s a nice description of how it happens, by the way, the skinny dipping. It’s sensual and erotic, without being pornography. Of course, I wonder how much of the Presidential character is a reference to a particular real life counterpart, but also, is a very generic portrayal of an incompetent, politician. And I can go on.
In the end, I am glad I read this book. Do I think I will read more Klune? Probably not, but never say never. I do know that I still do not know if I liked this book or not. But that’s okay, I still have time left before Jupiter splits into four pieces.
