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    The Returned
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    The Returned
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    The Returned
    Ebook395 pages6 hours

    The Returned

    By Jason Mott

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Harold and Lucille Hargrave's lives have been both joyful and sorrowful in the decades since their eight-year-old son, Jacob, died tragically in 1966. In their old age they've settled comfortably into life without him . Until one day Jacob mysteriously appears on their doorstepflesh and blood, still eight years old. 

     

    All over the world people's loved ones are returning from beyond. No one knows how or why, whether it's a miracle or a sign of the end. Not even Harold and Lucille can agree on whether the boy is real or a wondrous imitation. But as chaos erupts around the globe, the newly reunited family finds itself at the center of a community on the brink of collapse, forced to navigate a mysterious new reality.  

     

    With spare, elegant prose and searing emotional depth, award-winning poet Jason Mott explores timeless questions of faith and morality, love and responsibility. A spellbinding and stunning debut, The Returned is an unforgettable story that marks the arrival of an important new voice in contemporary fiction.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarlequin MIRA
    Release dateApr 1, 2014
    ISBN9781460330081
    Unavailable
    The Returned
    Author

    Jason Mott

    Jason Mott holds a BA in fiction and an MFA in poetry and is the author of two poetry collections. His writing has appeared in numerous literary journals, and he was nominated for the 2009 Pushcart Prize. Jason lives in North Carolina.

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    Reviews for The Returned

    4/5

    190 ratings92 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I'm going to begin my review with an announcement, a caveat, a warning. The Returned isn't a zombie book. The Returned isn't even about what happens when one dies, nor is it particularly interested in why the dead are Returning to life. It is a literary novel looking into the deepest, darkest corners of human nature, and as such, is far more concerned with the living than it ever is with the Returned.The haunting premise of The Returned pulled me in the moment I first heard about it at a Harlequin event. Gorgeously written and realised, this book explores humanity in a way that I've never seen before: it explores what happens when the one certainty in life, death, suddenly becomes a lot less certain. How would you, as an individual, deal with it? How would your community, your country, the whole world, deal with the Returned?Jason Mott tackles the issue on a variety of levels: firstly with Harold and Lucille, and then with their small-town community of Arcadia, and finally with the whole of America and the rest of the world. The same confusion, desperation and fear are examined at these different levels, and one of the most interesting things the author proposes is that, while people are nice on an individual-by-individual basic, there is some number, some critical mass, after which we group together and discriminate against what's different.I love how the author examines this through Arcadia. This is one of those towns where everyone says sir and ma'am, where there's one major road and two traffic lights, where the same families have lived for generations, where there are no secrets. When the Returned first appear, the people predictably turn to their pastor for guidance and support, and they stay calm because he preaches acceptance and patience. But the longer they go without answers, the more agitated the townspeople become, and the Return of the Wilsons, a family who was murdered in the past, unearths deep prejudices, fears and secrets and threatens to tear the community apart.Mott uses a cast of relatable, dimensional characters to tell this story, including a FBI agent stationed in Arcadia and other inhabitants of the small town. Peppered throughout are short glimpses of what's going on in other areas of the country and other parts of the world. Taken together with the emotional story of the newly reunited Hargrave family, they paint a picture of a world struggling to accept the new reality it finds itself in.I love the story-telling style that the author has chosen, it's vivid and lyrical and enthralled me easily. The book is carefully and simply told, and one gets the feeling that every word, every sentence, is carefully measured and thought out. I think The Returned is exceptionally well told - it's a literary novel, and aside from the premise, there's not an iota of speculative fiction within it, which I really enjoyed because it made me think very hard about the things I've taken for granted for my whole life.A beautifully told, richly imagined novel, The Returned isn't the book to turn to if you're looking for an apocalypse, for a fight for survival against zombies in horrendous conditions, for guns and blood and hunger and desperation. However if you're interested in a deep but gentle exposition that looks into human nature, with the most interesting premise I have ever had the pleasure to read about, then The Returned is perfect for you!A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for review.You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic.
    • 4/5
      A few months ago, I met up with Leah @ Books Speak Volumes and Shannon @ River City Reading. And not only was I happy to meet up with them and explore the Fountain Bookstore, Leah surprised Shannon & I with a bookish gift!Leah passed on The Returned by Jason Mott, and after hearing so much about it, I just had to read it.One of the first things I noticed about The Returned was how familiar it felt. Why was it familiar? I googled it, and while it’s being made into a TV show and there have been other TV shows about it, there’s nothing I connected with. Until a fabulous Twitter user mentioned that Stephen King had written a story called Sometimes They Come Back, which is in one of his short story anthologies (Night Shift).For the full review, visit Love at First Book
    • 3/5
      In its way this is a sad tale. What would happen if loved ones, who had passed away, suddenly came back. The way they were before their death. What would you tell them? What would you do to keep them with you? For me the Returned acted as though they had unfinished business to complete. The difference being they are “alive” instead of being spirits. They have all the weaknesses of regular living people. They can die “again”. Worth reading. Just don’t be expecting answers or reasons for any of the happenings.
    • 4/5
      Super good anti-zombie book. What would REALLY happen if people started coming back from the dead? The focus on one family w excerpts from news around the world makes this v compelling.
    • 5/5
      tu esta vc ainda eu as vide isso amigo meu trabalho
    • 5/5
      sangat bermanfaat untuk pengetahua.yang tadinya tidak tau jadi tau..terimakasih banyak..
    • 5/5
      Really good .
    • 5/5
      Good .
    • 5/5
      Gobbled this book up in a little more than a day, days ago. I'm still thinking about it..... And having trouble concentrating on the next novel. WOW!!!
    • 3/5
      I listened to both this book and the three short story prequels that went along with it. The prequels really intrigued me. I loved them and could wait to get more. We got a little bit of that feeling in The Returned but it was drug out a lot more and the story got fleshed out a lot. I thought the characters of Harold and Lucille were well developed. In truth, I think that what The Returned is - a story about characters because there's not a lot of plot. But what characters they are. I enjoyed it a lot.

      Tom Stechschulte is a great narrator. I don't recall ever listening to any of his work before but I think he was terrific here and he will be a definite selling point on future audiobooks.
    • 5/5
      This is one thought provoking novel. Just imagine sitting in your living room and hearing a knock on the door. When you open it you see a government official and your 8 year old son who died 30 years ago. He is one of The Returned - dead people suddenly popping up all over world but no one knows how or why they are Returning. Are they human? If not, what are they?As more and more people Return the government scrambles to handle them and finally makes the decision to intern them "for their safety." But soon there are too many for the camps to hold and some of the living do not behave well. All the while the reader is given snippets of the lives of various Returnees who are just as confused.If you think of what might happen if the dead started coming back just imagine how it could cause consternation; the Returned have their memories so if they were murdered there are people who would now be afraid of discovery. There would be abusers in fear of being called out. Add guilt to the fear of the unknown and you have a world in total confusion. Mix in some Biblical end times and you have a novel that keeps you reading until the very end. Do you get all the answers? No, but you get a ripping good read with characters that are both distant and close, intense and cold. This is a book I'll read again for I suspect it will be a different book at a different time.
    • 4/5
      In the decades since their 8-year-old son’s tragic drowning, Harold and Lucille Hargrave have learned to cope with their pain. Although the death of their only child created an unfillable hole in their marriage, they have moved on and settled into a mostly comfortable life. However, old wounds are reopened when Jacob, their son, turns up on their doorstep looking exactly as he did on the day he died.Such occurrences have been happening all over the world. People who had died are returning to life, popping up in unexpected places. It’s clear that they are not zombies, but no one can agree what exactly they are or what should be done with them. This phenomenon becomes so common that an organization called The International Bureau of the Returned is formed to handle the formerly dead.When a man from the Bureau returns Jacob to his parents, who are now in their 70s, they are conflicted about their feelings. Lucille sees his second chance at life as a miracle and is thrilled to have her son restored to her, but Harold is unnerved by Jacob’s sudden appearance. The boy’s been dead for nearly 50 years; surely the child standing before Harold with all of Jacob’s memories can’t really be his son?The small, rural Southern town where the Hargraves live becomes somewhat of a hotspot for the Returned, and their presence causes a host of problems. Old tensions resurface as the town is confronted with the reminder of an unsolved mystery, and residents are divided by their convictions about what should be done with the Returned.The concept behind this novel is a fascinating one; we often wish lost loved ones could be returned to us, but how would we feel if they actually were? What would the greater ramifications be if dead people began coming back to life? However, I thought the execution was lacking. I was left with far too many questions for this novel to really be satisfying. I don’t need to know why the dead returned (because I think that if this really happened, we would have no idea), but I wanted to know more about their experiences. What’s the last thing the remember before returning? How do they feel about being returned? Do they see everything as it was before, or how do they so easily accept the massive changes that have occurred since their deaths? What do they want from their second shot at life? Not enough questions were answered.That said, Mott does a great job of evoking the setting of the close-knit town of Arcadia, and I liked the way he builds characters. I would have liked to know more about Harold and Lucille’s life since Jacob died, but I loved the way Mott slowly spins backstories that make some of his secondary characters come to life.I also really enjoyed how the main story is interspersed with short vignettes written from the point of view of different Returned people. Many of them were touching, sad, or warm, and I loved being able to read about the experiences of the Returned.All in all, this book has a great concept, but it left me with a lot of unanswered questions. It’s an easy book to become quickly absorbed in, and I would recommend it to readers who enjoyed The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker and The Leftovers by Tom Perotta.Read the full review at Books Speak Volumes.
    • 2/5
      So, the concept of The Returned is really interesting. It's actually the reason I chose to read this book in the first place. Imagine if the dead came back. Not as zombies, but as living, breathing people. Just the same as the way they were when they died. As the dead come back, what happens to the lives of the people who lost them? That's what The Returned tackles, just not quite the way I expected.

      What I was really hoping for here was a look at the way society can break apart in the face of something so big, and slowly start to deal with it. What I was given, was something a lot more flat than that. Despite everything, I never really felt connected to any of these characters. I think that if I had more knowledge of who the Returned were, why they came back, what their purpose was, I might have been more invested. Instead, everything was so vague. People come back, society tries to deal with them, they go away. End of story.

      I'm not sure what I was supposed to take away from this book. It was a quick enough read, but not something that every really grasped me. I think this was at one point a tv show? Or going to be a tv show? Maybe that would be a better medium, with more time to build things from the ground up. As for this book, I wasn't convinced.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5

      Its magnificent :)
    • 1/5
      r
    • 5/5
      I
    • 3/5
      ö
    • 5/5
      i really need to read this too:)
    • 5/5
      the very best novel I've read in years. a touching reflection on grief and loss with a thrilling and captivating narrative. I loved it.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      sadly intriguing
    • 5/5
      Great book!
    • 4/5
      I was quite moved by this book, there was some comedy and a surprize or two, I loved the good guys and hated the bad guys, was uncertain how I would have handled this situation and was proud of Lucille's bravery. I was disappointed that the bad guys did not meet a mpore horrific ending and wished that the book ended in such a way as to lead into a sequel because I wasn't ready to let go of the charcters I had come to love
    • 3/5
      This is a beautifully written book that will cause you to ponder a number of big questions. When Jacob returns from the dead, Harold and Lucille--now in their seventies—find themselves parents to a young boy again. the writer is amazing! The book really isn't just about "the returned" but about so much more!!! the things we take for granted, the way things work out, our fear of people who are differnet, religion, government, the list goes on!!! Also, the writer is from Bolton, NC which is close to where I live and he is a graduate from UNCW's MFA program!!!!
    • 1/5
      binkkkk jbikkkkk ujb j jbjn jj jn hb jjj jjkkjbbbbbb
    • 3/5
      89
    • 5/5
      What would you do if your dead loved ones suddenly came back to life? That is the premise for The Returned a debut novel by Jason Mott. Harold and Lucille Hargrave's only child, Jacob, tragically drowned on his eighth birthday in 1966. The couple, now in their seventies, were questioning whether or not the Returned were real people just before Jacob, still 8 years old, is returned to them by Agent Bellamy of the International Bureau of the Returned. Harold and Lucille have to decide if they want to accept Jacob's return and accept him as their son or as a miraculous imitation of their son. And, as they struggle with the meaning of the Returned, more and more Returned are coming back, threatening to overtake the real living people, which isn't going over too well with some factions.


      The numerous questions and emotions that would be swirling around in a world where loved ones come back for a time makes this a gripping premise for a novel. What was, perhaps, left unsaid could be shared. Hugs could be given. In some cases, closure could finally be found. But, alternately, how would the world cope with countless people returning to life, looking for their families or loved ones, not to mention overwhelming the resources available? And spiritual questions would naturally arise too. The logistics of a worldwide event of this magnitude are almost too numerous to list.


      Mott, primarily known for his poetry, brings a special love of language to the pages of The Returned. Simultaneously, the depth of emotions, dysphoria, and moral questions that emerge make the reader confront their own beliefs concerning the mystery of the sudden appearance of the Returned. Would it bring out the best or worst in you? Don't expect any explanation or extensive character development as the event and the plot drive the narrative. Mott ultimately provides little explanation for the Returned, focusing more on the emotional turmoil that would occur.

      Apparently The Returned may be part of a series. It has been optioned to be developed as a TV series by Brad Pitt's production company.


      Very Highly Recommended

      Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Harlequin via Netgalley for review purposes.
    • 5/5
      Good .
    • 1/5

      Thats sweet
    • 5/5
      Beautiful .
    • 5/5
      Nice...!! .