Where the Wind Blew by Bob Sommer Reviewed by Cynthia Reeser
A former member of a 1960s extremist protest group has been living under an assumed identity for decades. Now a successful businessman, when Peter St. John decides to run for the school board, an ambitious reporter from his daughter’s high school newspaper uncovers his past. As Marcia pieces his story together, she also, unwittingly, unravels his family. Adopting the life of a model citizen, the man who is really Peter Howell undergoes achingly painful self-examination as he runs from the inevitable. Questions are asked of him like, “What was left of [him] after so many years of lies, half-truths, equivocations?” Identity becomes all-important. How true are we to ourselves; how accurate are our identities, how authentic? The narrative of the past is presented alongside chapters in the present. As Peter runs, unsure of what to do or where to turn next, his family’s struggle to understand his past and how they will handle his sudden disappearance coincides with the story of the many youths in the ‘60s who were swept up in tidal waves of social change. Peter realizes too late that the heavily-mocked message of one of his aging professors is true—that he and other like-minded student protesters—are merely self-aggrandizing navel-gazers. Peter, in his youth, is overcome with belief in the all-important cause, but as he is engulfed by the group known as “The Circle,” he loses sight of what he believes in until he can no longer separate his own opinions from those of his peers. The Circle becomes angered by impotent protests and an administration they believe doesn’t care, and commits an act that will change all of their lives forever. To the author’s benefit, he avoids appealing to the reader’s sympathy; rather, there is an attempt to present the truth, with its mixture of the ugly, beautiful and everything in between. Peter had the chance to leave the group several times; his actions betrayed what could have been the love of his life, and even in the present they bring ruination to he and his family. Through decision and indecision, Peter’s story, both then and now, merges into a major crisis. Peter’s life hangs by no more than a flimsy, tenuous thread throughout most of the novel, and the events of the past are always looming, threatening to take over the rest of his life. There is always the question of where he will go next, what his family will do. Will he face his past or let it consume him? The subject matter is often intense, but is momentarily alleviated by a group of monks whose involvement in Peter’s life plays into the fabric of the tale. Some wonderfully hilarious and endearing moments result from their inclusion, making the reader wish this group played a larger part in the story. Where the Wind Blew is sure to ignite strong reactions, regardless of political affiliation. The novel is vividly-realized, bringing both past and present to life with what are often keen, objective observations. Sommer’s description brings the story into vivid illustration, and at times can bowl the reader over with the immediacy of its description. From the self-absorption of young protesters in the 1960s to the pain and frustration experienced by Peter’s family after he is gone, those who remember the turbulent decade will find themselves in it, and those who don’t will feel as though they’ve been there. Read Cynthia Reeser's interview with Bob Sommer. Read Bob Sommer's nonfiction essay, "No, We're Not from Texas" in this issue. Visit The Wessex Collective on the web.
Cynthia Reeser is the Editor-in-Chief and founder of Prick of the Spindle and is a staff writer for a military newspaper, where she writes a weekly book review column. Her reviews can be found on Bookslut.com, NewPages, Tarpaulin Sky and others; poetry on 42opus, elimae and temenos; and artwork on her website.
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