Scribner, January 24, 2017.
Three Stars
The Signal
Flame follows three generations of a European
immigrant family as they carve out an existence in Pennsylvania’s Endless
Mountains. First settled by Austrian Jozef Vinich, he lives out his life on his
family farm in 1971, with his widowed daughter Hannah Konar and her remaining
son, Bo. The Vinich-Konar family has experienced love and loss for years
through the filter of three different wars, including the Vietnam war in which
Bo’s brother Sam is currently missing in action.
Jozef survived the trenches of WWI as an
Austro-Hungarian soldier, before emigrating to America and raising his
daughter, Hannah. Although Hannah’s husband Bexhet was born in Hungary, he
fought in WWII as an American soldier – and was imprisoned for desertion under
mysterious circumstances. After surviving war overseas, Bexhet returns home
only to be shot in a tragic hunting accident on his own land. And while Bo is
Bexhet and Hannah’s firstborn son, it is his brother Sam who follows the family
military tradition in Vietnam. Bo is grieving for his brother but also has hope
for his return to the land they both love – and he soon finds out that Sam has
his own family to return to, when Sam’s girlfriend reveals her pregnancy.
Krivak’s first novel followed Jozef’s life, but I wouldn’t
call this novel a sequel. It has echoes of the war and memory that have haunted
this family for generations, although it is also an exploration of old values
versus new ways of coping with grief and loss. The prose is quiet and moves
slowly, giving the reader a feeling of expectation – of a life on pause.
Although the novel talks about several wars, it is actually the periods of
peace in between that make this family what it is.
Because of Bexhet’s death, the Vinich-Konar family has
been feuding with his killer’s family – the death was an accident, and the
hunter was responsible for a poor family struggling to find sustenance, but
Hannah still finds it impossible to forgive him. It is in the next generation
that Sam and Bo find understanding and forgiveness, especially as they and the
hunter’s family are joined in unexpected ways. This novel is filled with small,
intimate moments that are rich in character and place. Their emotions feel
truthful and real, although I often found it hard to see below the surface of
their actions.
The Signal
Flame is a contemplative story, even when major
dramatic incidents are occurring. The novel is bleak and tragic, but sprinkled
with moments of hope. In each new generation, there is a rebirth of the family
and the possibility of a future lived in peace. After decades at war, the
Konars have hope for a future in which Sam’s child can grow up in safety and
peace, in the Endless Mountains that they love.
I received this book from Scribner and NetGalley in
exchange for an honest review.
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