For September's book club meeting we drove to the Northland Inn in Crookston, MN where we were treated to a delicious meal by our Crookston pal, Larry! There we discussed Evidence of Things Unseen by Marianne Wiggins.Judy suggested this book and I'm glad she did. Since she'd read this one in July, she decided to try another Wiggins book rather than reread this one. She enjoyed John Dollar, but would recommend that readers just dive in and avoid finding out too much about the book before beginning. She felt that some of the surprise and wonder was stripped away by knowing the "gist" of the book before she began.
Andrea, Judy and I all finished the book and Larry and Brian were at about the same spot in the story. We discussed Wiggins' writing style and while Judy and I enjoyed the poetic, rather "literary style" of language, Larry found Wiggins' writing style grating. I enjoyed the character descriptions and really did love the characters and the way they were portrayed in this novel-- the watery-eyed, blinking, science nerd Foss, his young wispy white-haired wife Opal, the sometimes drunken, womanizing, says-it-like-it-is, Flash. We also were impressed with the time span of the book and the historical references made to things like the Scopes Monkey Trial, WWI trench warfare, prohibition, ku klux klan, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Manhatten project. The story is a tender, intriguing, often heartbreaking look at a young couple's journey through these years reflecting both his desire to contribute to science and passion for things that are luminescent and their mutual desire to have a child.
Wiggins uses imagery relating to fish, to things that are illuminated, and of course there is the the frequent reference to things unseen. I really enjoyed this book and those that finished it seemed to as well. There was some comment that the ending seemed a bit "pat," or a bit too neat, but that didn't really detract from the overall experience for me. I would recommend this book.
