Tin House Books, April 25, 2016.
Four Stars
This novel was a surprise – I’m not sure what I was
expecting from Ghosts of Bergen County,
but I didn’t think I would be so drawn in to this unusual, captivating debut
novel. Yes, there are ghosts here, but they are less the frightening kind and
more the “collective burden” of the mistakes of our pasts. The burden is based
on the guilt and complicity of the decisions we all make, and while this novel
is sorrowful, it is never bleak.
Gil Ferko is crippled by mediocrity – he works in the
financial world of New York, yet he is unfulfilled and feels almost like a
fraud when he is successful. His wife, Mary Beth, became hooked on prescription
drugs after the death of their baby, and she has barely left the house since. He
feels isolated at home and at his workplace. When Ferko unexpectedly reconnects
with former classmate Jen Yoder, life suddenly becomes exciting again. Jen was
always the cool girl, and Ferko finds himself drawn to her lifestyle – the friends,
the fun, and even the heroin addiction.
Ferko and Jen begin to skip out on work to explore
the seedy underworld of New York City. They go on adventures that could only be
entertaining if you were high on heroin, which they are. Jen even introduces
Ferko to her father, who wrote several books about ghosts. He explains to Ferko
the concept of ghosts as a collective burden, viewing guilt as the place from
which spirits arise. This theory applies to Mary Beth, who witnessed her infant
daughter being killed by a hit-and-run driver, as well as to Jen, who watched a
man fall/jump from the roof of a building – neither woman has recovered from
the experience, and their guilt haunts them.
Meanwhile, Mary Beth begins to spend time with a young
girl named Amanda who she meets in the forest near her home. She believes the
girl is a ghost, and delving into her mysterious appearance gives Mary Beth a
sense of purpose. Because Ferko and Mary Beth are both abusing hallucinogenic
drugs, it’s hard to know if Amanda is really a ghost, or if the apparition is
simply a case of folie à deux. Amanda exists while she serves a purpose for the
living, then she is gone.
Ghosts of Bergen County is a quiet novel to begin
with, but as the various plot threads come together, the pace increases – it is
truly exciting when everything comes together. I did guess some of the
outcomes, but certainly not all, and it was thrilling to witness the author
work his magic. There are so many levels to the story that eventually intersect,
and although some were a little convenient, it was still very enjoyable. The
characters are all very real, which makes their experiences truly
heartbreaking. In the end, when Mary Beth is asked who they are, she responds
with “Ghosts” – and says she’s never felt more alive.
I received this novel from Tin House Books and
NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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