When Cohen Marah steps over his father’s body in the basement embalming room of the family’s funeral home, he has no idea that he is stepping into a labyrinth of memory. As the last one to see his father, Cohen is the primary suspect.Over the next week, Cohen’s childhood memories come back in living color. The dramatic events that led to his father being asked to leave his pastoral position. The … position. The game of baseball that somehow kept them together. And the two children in the forest who became his friends–and enlisted him in a dark and dangerous undertaking. As the lines blur between what was real and what was imaginary, Cohen is faced with the question he’s been avoiding: Did he kill his father?
In Light from Distant Stars, master story weaver Shawn Smucker relays a tale both eerie and enchanting, one that will have you questioning reality and reaching out for what is true, good, and genuine.
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This book was a slow starter for me, but I found myself reading rapidly once I truly got into it. The first chapter finds Cohen Marah in the basement of his father’s funeral home, stepping over his father’s dead body. Instead of calling for help or telling anyone, Cohen goes about his normal routine.
One thing that I didn’t like about the book was the switching between the adult Cohen’s story and the story about what happened to him the year he was 14. I found it a little confusing with all of the constant switching.
That being said, Shawn Smucker is a wonderful storyteller and his descriptive prose really paints a picture for the reader. The story unfolds slowly, but keeps the reader engaged throughout. Cohen feels at least partially responsible for his father’s death due to a heated argument between them the day before his “accident”.
Cohen’s guilt drives him to his church frequently to confess his sins. “The more often I come to confession, the more I have to confess.” No matter what the priest tells him, he still feels like he has more to confess. But, I also have to say that after several of his trips to confession, I began to feel weary of their repetitive nature. The author repeated the confession ritual each and every time, which I thought was a little much.
This book is also a bit of a conundrum because of Cohen’s encounter with “The Beast” when he was 14 years old. During this part of the story, I was reminded of books like “It” and “Stand by Me”. A bit of a supernatural feel or is it just evil that Cohen is fighting?
Cohen’s family falls apart when his father, who is a pastor, is found to be having an affair with a young woman in his church. At that time, Cohen’s strict mother leaves, taking Cohen’s older sister, Kaye, to live in another city. Cohen’s feelings toward his mother shape much of his life and his father’s downward spiral into alcoholism adds to his problems.
As Cohen faces his demons, both real and imagined, he also learns a lot about himself, finds forgiveness and grows closer to those around him. He finally finds peace with his feelings toward his father when the priest tells him, “The one who came to you in the dark and comforted you, held you up, loved you, that was your true father.”
There is a lot of Biblical and Christian references in this book, but the author works it into the story seamlessly. In my opinion, one thing that makes a book memorable is the fact that it gets you thinking about things in a different way and sticks in your mind for a long, long time. This book definitely fits that in a big way.
This book was provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group through Interviews & Reviews.
After I read the first 10 pages of this novel, I decided that it wasn’t my kind of book and I wouldn’t finish it. I decided to read a little more and gradually got caught up in the life of the main character and the way the story was told and didn’t put the book down again until I was finished with it. I found this haunting story to be mesmerizing and unforgettable. The writing is beautiful and parts of the story are heartbreaking but the overall theme is one of hope for the future and forgiveness of the past.
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
Light from Distant Stars is my first read by author, Shawn Smucker. From start to finish, this book has a compelling story about a dying father and his son, Cohen, who may be responsible for his father’s death. The story starts off a little slow, but the father and son story finally pulled me in. I found myself rooting for Cohen, especially during his late night confessions. It’s there where he truly transforms as a character. Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for something with a little bit of mystery and a whole lot of family drama.
I received an ARC from the publisher and this is my honest review.
[TW- child abuse, violence]
“Father, are there things that cannot be forgiven?”
This is the story of Cohen Marah, beginnings and endings. Cohen finds his badly hurt father in the basement of the funeral home they both work at, and Cohen must come to grips with a past riddled with holes as he feels he is spinning out of control. In a series of flashbacks we see his attempts to understand if he was his father’s killer.
I spent an intense 5 hours reading this book today. This is how Shawn Smucker’s books hook you and you almost devour them and then spend time figuring out what you just read. This is a book where the past is truly prologue as Cohen, using his faith as a touchstone, deals with trauma, grace and wonder and begins a long recovery of the wholeness and holiness faith promises us all. As a retired minister and a trauma survivor I highly recommend this book. 5/5
[disclaimer: I received this book from the author and voluntarily read and reviewed it]
Just awesome! Couldn’t wait/hated to get to the end.
(1.5 / 5)
The book opens on the main character, Cohen, finding his father dead in the basement of the funeral home where Cohen works with his father. In the ensuing difficulties that come from such an event, Cohen finds himself beset with memories of his childhood and adolescence, split definitively by an event that basically destroyed his family. The story seems to a bit of an examination of father-son relationships.
As you can see by my rating, I did not care for this book. For one thing, I was expecting more of an investigation into how the father died than was presented, especially considering that most summaries I read ended with, “Did he kill his father?” As it turns out, it was more introspection and reminiscing.
Even as I started to realize that this book was more drama than mystery, it still presented me with little of interest. There are two threads followed–Cohen in present time dealing with what happened to his father and his memories of significant events of his past. The present-time storyline is fairly uneventful, filled with light conversations with his pregnant sister, confessions to a retired priest, and then sudden action near the end of the book that I didn’t really understand the point of. The past-time storyline has a lot more going on, though it drags a bit here and there too.
There are 2 more significant events in his past, one of which led to the split that broke up his family, and the other of which comes across as a supernatural element, which is maybe a bit confusing in this book. After some time, I came to suspect what was really going on, and turned out to be correct. However, it is severely lacking in explanation–not about how this supernatural memory came to be, but about how it actually made sense even in context.
Building from that, because of the supernatural element, as well as a particular scene in the present-day storyline, I had a very difficult time knowing what was real later in the book, and I am not sure that was meant to be the case. It led me to be fairly unimpressed by the sort-of twisty action scene that happened near the end. Also, there was one huge plot thread just left hanging…something that happened during Cohen’s adolescence that came to light near the end that should have had repercussions, and instead, somehow just became a catalyst for Cohen’s realization (or reminder) that his father was not quite how he’d always seen him.
I wanted to like this book. I read a couple of reviews by others that were glowing, and the premise sounded interesting. However, by the time I was 75% through, I felt like nothing had happened, and I just wasn’t getting the point of it. There is also quite a bit of description and figurative language, which bogged down the story for me. By the last half of the book, I had started to skim the descriptions, especially every time the narrator, whether as a child, teenager, or adult, stared at the sky or the city. This happened often. It let me to wonder if there was some sort of symbolism I was simply missing.
Final thoughts: The book is labeled as Christian, though if I’d not seen that label on it, I never would have guessed it was meant to be Christian. The main character does visit a church and confess several times through the book, and there is a bit of a heart change near the end, but to me, it was fairly shallow. This book is simply not my taste, but for those who enjoy descriptive and figurative writing styles and drama and introspection, it may be a great read for you.
Thank you to Netgalley and Revell for providing me a copy of this book to review.
I had no idea this was more of a fantasy book when I began to read it. So, unfortunately, that genre does not appeal to me AT ALL! While discovering how grief affects individuals is something I can appreciate, this did not work for me. However, I was moved at how this broken family sought healing and forgiveness.
Thank you to NetGalley and Fleming H. Revell for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
Light From Distant Stars, Shawn Smucker
Cohen finds his father, Calvin, bleeding, gored by an instrument used to suck the blood from the dead. His family dynamics are complicated. His minister father turned funeral director and mortician raised Cohen, for the most part, while Kaye, Cohen’s sister lived with their mom.
Reliving his past in remembrances, Cohen tells how he discovered a secret that split their family and changed their life forever. He recalls the children who chased a beast with him, real or imagined is hard to tell. In his foray into memory, Cohen sees the one time that Calvin didn’t fail him as a father and was really there for him.
Drama plays out in the hospital where Calvin’s life hangs in the balance. As an emergency situation overtakes the building, Cohen and a young friend he meets in the hospital assist Kaye in bringing new life into the world.
Cohen tries to let go of the past and hold onto the good, the parts that held light. Taking part in the tradition of confession to a priest helps him see what the light from distant stars reveal.
I loved the author’s voice, great poetic writing style!
There was a part of the storyline that I didn’t quite get. I can’t say too much, or I’ll spoil it. There was one main connection that I didn’t make. I couldn’t tell if it was the character’s imagination, their reality, or if the story somehow slipped into fantasy.
I prefer some kind of marker like a time stamp or italicized font when a character slips into memory. It was a little hard to orientate myself in parts of the book.
I’m glad I stepped outside of my usual genre of Historical fiction to read this book!
This book is about the story of Cohen Marah, who is the son of a funeral home owner. Cohen has a sister, Kaye, who left with their mom when their parents separated. This book takes place over 5 days in the life of Cohen. It starts with him stepping over his dad’s bloodied body inside the funeral parlor. His dad is brought to the hospital and an investigation is started. During the course of the investigation, Cohen encounters Ava, a girl from his childhood, who is now a detective. Cohen wonders if he killed his father but he isn’t sure. During the course of this week, he relives a time from his childhood where he encounter Hippie and Than, siblings who are desperately trying to escape The Beast. Cohen joins them in their search with a disastrous ending. He had buried these memories and isn’t quite sure why they are coming out now. While visiting his dad in the hospital, he befriends a young boy whose grandfather is in the next room.
I have never read a book by this author before and I almost gave up when The Beast was introduced but I stuck with the story. It was a good story but a bit hard to get through.
Light From Distant Stars by Shawn Smucker is a beautiful Christian novel that looks at life and where love lives.
It is a novel surrounding a middle aged man who contemplates defining moments in his childhood whilst sitting by the hospital bed of his father. The reader sees how fathers appear to let us down but when we really need them, some are there. Whereas others do damage with their tongues and actions. Fathers shape the men their sons become. In contrast God is our faithful Father. Whether we can feel or hear His presence or not, God faithfully walks alongside us every step of our lives.
The past may rise up to haunt us. We can all learn lessons from our pasts but we must not live in them or we will miss out on the present and the future God has in mind for us.
We all have regrets, regrets over things we have done or things we should have done. Regrets will imprison us if we continually focus on them. Regrets only have the power we give them.
Within our memories are defining moments in our lives. We are meant to learn from these and move on, not continually rehash them or they will trap us at a moment in time.
Within the novel there are searches, some are literal, one is spiritual. A character ‘lost’ the God of their childhood. “He [God] seems silent to me… I used to believe God heard us.” God is not ‘lost.’ It is us who wander off from Him and lose our way. The character searches for his way back to God. When we earnestly seek God, we will find Him waiting for us.
Confession is good for the soul. It cleanses and brings healing.
Life is a spiritual battle. “There is evil in the world… most people live their lives content to ignore it. But someone has to do something. Someone has to stop it.” There is darkness in this world. We must defeat the darkness with the light of God.
The whole novel is a journey of discovery, an awakening from despair to hope. From death to life. From lost to found. It is beautifully written and will leave you feeling serene.
I would like to leave you with this most powerful quote:
“We are all broken. Hope remains. There is a Mender.”
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.
Shawn is a vivid storyteller!!! I’m not usually a fan of books that go back and forth between past and present, but it worked in this book.
The characters were deep and believable, and I found myself reflecting on my own faith and hope for the future.
It did take a few pages to actually pulled me in, but once it did I was hooked and couldn’t put it down.
I won this book from bookfirst and this is my honest opinion
#ShawnSmucker, #Faith #Bookfirst #LovedIt
When I began reading this novel, I kept questioning what I’d missed in the first chapter, so I went back and reread the chapter. Questions remained unanswered. The toss-up between what was real and unreal and whether Cohen Marah actually killed his father kept me turning the page.
In some sense, the context had me wondering if the novel was written along the lines of a Frank Peretti thriller or was Smucker walking the reader through Cohen’s imaginary past or maybe his nightmares? Were the dark shadows Cohen saw symbolizing demons or was he simply afraid of the dark and forced to face his fears of living in the family’s funeral home? Regardless, I cannot imagine the impact of a child being raised in a funeral home and encountering dead bodies on a daily basis.
This eerie thriller took me on a journey in the life, actions, and thoughts of Cohen Marah. Cohen as a young boy and Cohen as a grown man. If you like thrillers, you’ll find this novel challenging and somewhat intriguing.
I was given a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher for my honest review. All comments are my own.
This story takes place over 6 days but covers years of Cohen’s life. During the last 6 days of his fathers life, Cohen remembers much of his childhood. He remembers things that he had forgotten about. Everything that he remembers helps to lead him to being a better person. I really enjoyed every bit of this story. I received a copy of this book from Revell for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
My first book I have the pleasure to read by Shawn Smucker and it was a novel that holds one’s attention right from the beginning. It opens with the main character Cohen stepping over his dead father in the embalming room of a funeral home. Did he kill him? He wipes the blood from his shoe from where he stepped in the pool of blood and leaves. He tells no one and waits for some one else to discover the body………Thus begins this riveting tale. Smucker takes you back and forth from Cohen’s childhood memories to present day and examines the hatred he feels for his mother and father and why. There are some very intense moments from the past and also in the present as his father lays hooked up to life support in the hospital. A lot of suspense and action makes this an interesting read…….My thanks to Revell for a great book.
I’ll be honest……I had a hard time getting into this book. I liked the characters, and even thought the plot was good. However, the plot developed way too slow for me. The book bounces back and forth between the present and the past, all too often, and without warning. There is no indication of which time frame given, you just have to read far enough on the first page of each chapter to find out.
The story revolved around the death of 40-ish Cohen Marah, and events of his childhood that split his parents and caused problems in and for his family ever since.
Other readers may enjoy the story, and I honestly hate to leave a negative review…….but I do give an honest one. This one just wasn’t my cup of tea.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.
This is the first book I’ve read from this author. His writing style is a bit different than I’m use to. He has strong characters though which he develops slowly like peeling an onion with precision.
Cohen is a complex person who has had a troubled relationship with his father. They seemed to disconnect after Cohen’s mother leaves with his sister. It must have been hard to be separated from his mother. I enjoyed the letters he received from Kaye, his sister as they grew up.
The story is a very dynamic look at a father and son relationship. It’s not unusual for a son to want approval from his father and Cohen desired that more than anything. He wanted his father to be proud of him, but he seemed to disappoint him on a level that was hard for Cohen to understand.
He made lots of trips to church and after awhile I wanted to tell him to listen to the wisdom he has been told and move on. I don’t want to take away the obvious topic of relationships because the author does a great job of examining how Cohen felt guilty of not really letting his father know how much he loved him. Cohen just seemed not able to let go of his guilt and it hurt to think he may not get the chance to tell his father how important he has been in his life.
For me the book does make you think about your life and how your relationship is with family. Life is too short to let a day go by being angry because of your pride. It looks like the author accomplished a very important message through this book. Be thankful for everyday and let those you love know how important they are to you.
I received a copy of this book from Revell Reads Blog Program. The review is my own opinion.
Never having read a book by Shawn Smucker before this one, I really didn’t know what to expect but that’s what makes reading a new to me author exciting. I started reading this one evening and at first I wasn’t sure how I felt about the storyline but by the third or fourth chapter I became interested in what would happen in the life of Cohen Marah.
This is a pretty intense story with Cohen finding his injured father and then staying by his fathers hospital bed as he is flooded with memories of his youth. Lights from Distant Stars is unlike the majority of the books that I have read this year and that was a good thing because it brought me out of my comfort zone Cohen is a complex character dealing with family, his past and his faith.
The author takes his readers from present to past throughout the novel, doing it seamlessly so I never felt a jarring or interrupted pace in his writing. I greatly appreciated his writing style in this book and will read his other work now, too.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and was under no obligation to write a favorable review. All opinions are my own.
Light from Distant Stars by Shawn Smucker is more than a tale of a grown man coming to terms with events from his childhood and his rocky relationship with his father, all with a hefty dose of Christianity. Cohen Marah’s adolescence consisted of baseball and lying under the pew each Sunday listening to his father’s sermon, but a spontaneous decision based on jealousy and confusion sets life-altering changes in motion for both Cohen and his family.
The overall story seamlessly flows between Cohen’s present at age 40 and his past when his childhood took a heart-wrenching turn. In the present, Cohen confronts his feelings of responsibility for his father’s impending death through the sacramental act of reconciliation and through the swirling memories of when his family splintered beyond repair. Shawn Smucker profoundly presents a story that on the surface is about a son remembering his childhood and a far-fetched, mystical memory of when he meets two children and together they confront an unknown Beast. But on a deeper level, this story reveals universal truths about family, childhood, and relationships. Families are never perfect, parents are fallible, and children sometimes become confused between reality and fantasy as a form of self-preservation.
What is this Beast from Cohen’s past? While that mystery is eventually revealed, the symbolism of the Beast gives this story an interesting depth. What if the Beast represents the struggle of adolescence and the coming of age in a household that is anything but stable? Or perhaps the Beast represents betrayal and the inability to forgive oneself and others. Maybe the Beast is a stand in for loneliness or sadness when a child must navigate into adulthood alone. Parents who hurt their children are also Beasts. Each reader will see this frightening shadow differently, and that is what makes this novel so fantastic.
Light from Distant Stars explores many emotions and often travels down dark and threatening paths, both real and imaginary. Just as the light is forever linked to its distant star, so is our past forever linked to our present as we traverse through life. The hospital is an interesting setting as Cohen and his sister, Kaye, who is pregnant with twins, watch their father’s life slowly slip away. Death and life are engaged in a slow and heartbreaking dance here, and the author beautifully presents the two with dignity and wonder, mixed with a little bit of terror.
Shawn Smucker’s writing is excellent, and he skillfully paints characters, scenes, emotions, and actions with a tantalizing literary brush. His ability to combine drama, horror, and magical realism and still maintain an air of credibility firmly positions him high on the list of authors to follow, to read, and to wait anxiously for that next book.
If you have yet to read a fiction book from Smucker, get ready for an experience! In Light from Distant Stars, Smucker’s effusive descriptions and eloquent description and prose drive you in yet leave you scratching your head at what, exactly, is going on.
Cohen Marah’s journey between past and present takes a little getting used to, but once it becomes routine, you’re sure to dive into the exploration of relationships—most specifically those of family—and redemption will draw you in. And if that’s not enough, there’s also a small mystery that, instead of a big reveal, is peeled back layer by layer.
Sometimes eerie, sometimes blurring the line between truth and imagination, and once in a while, teeming with hope, Light from Distance Stars is a reading feast of delight from Smucker.
Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher. This is my thoughtful and honest review.
Spanning two timelines, one in the present as a man and the other in the past as a child, we follow Cohen in his journey to figure out what happened to his father. Very early on, it becomes known that Cohen’s relationship with his father was strained, and by alternating between the past and present, the author’s deft storytelling created not just an unsettling and suspenseful read, but a masterful character study on family dysfunction. Events that occurred during Cohen’s childhood shaped the dynamics of this entire family, and in order to somehow cope in such a devastating predicament, an element of magical realism is introduced to help Cohen work through and process his emotions. Because Cohen is reflecting on this period of his life as a now grown man, this becomes not only a beautiful exploration of memory, but also on the idea of whether Cohen himself can be a completely reliable narrator.
“He was fourteen and finding things out, fourteen and seeing his father for the first time, or a kind of father he had never known before: a human father, a failing father, a rock-bottom father.”
Even though it’s my job to do so, I can’t even begin to do justice to how amazing the author’s writing style truly is! This story is so emotionally riveting and incredibly thought provoking. I found it difficult to put down and have thought about it long after I turned the final page. Whatever your relationship with your own parents or whether you are a parent yourself, the story really opens readers up to really looking at the legacy we leave behind.
“Cohen wonders how other children and parents go on through their lives, choosing what to forgive, what to ignore, what to become embittered by.”
For all of his father’s failures, Cohen still holds high some very esteemed moments that ultimately provide just enough stability to keep their relationship steady. And yet despite everything, Cohen becomes a father figure along the way to several young boys in desperate need of guidance and a feeling of security.
The book is woven with enthralling lines that speak so much truth to the roles, and sometimes the reversals of those roles, that exist between children and their parents. In much the same way as a parable, this story is one that I will definitely return to time and again to learn new spiritual lessons, while also always having those learned previously at the forefront of my contemplation.
“Everything he hated stood there in front of him in the form of that darkness, and he sprinted toward it.”
The use of light as a metaphor for truth was absolutely stunning and so well done! Despite the somber tone, the story is laced throughout with the sense of hope, grace, and redemption that leads to a touching and satisfying feeling of closure for not only Cohen, his father, and their family, but also for the reader as well.
Every now and then a book comes along and stamps itself on your heart, and with this story, I found exactly what I needed at this moment in my life as I continue with my own grief from my father’s death. If you read nothing else this year, do yourself a favor and read this book.