A Certain Slant of Light

A Certain Slant of Light is the debut novel of Laura Whitcomb, published in 2005. The book follows the story of Helen, a ghost who refers to her existence as “Light” and has been dead for 130 years. She remembers little about her physical life and has been attached to several hosts, whom she must stay with in order to be saved from Hell, in the time since her death. However, this is not a ghost story. It is a love story.

The reader joins Helen’s journey while she is with her most recent host Mr. Brown, an English teacher. The novel begins with this line: “Someone was looking at me, a disturbing sensation if you're dead.” Helen quickly learns the name of the culprit, James, and what follows is a series of events and a romantic tale of forbidden love.

The problem with A Certain Slant of Light is the narrative. The text is full of dramatic similes and metaphors and an over-use of endless adjectives. An example of this can be taken from the opening of chapter Seven (p. 95):

As the twilight before dawn began to form objects out of what had been invisible, the window frame cast a cross on the wall, turning the little room into a chapel. On the floor beside the bed, James sat up with a start, like a dog that hears gunfire.

This vigorous use of description is common throughout the book. Some readers may enjoy this style of writing – in which case you will probably love the book - but unfortunately I do not fall into that category.

The plot is well constructed and interesting. If you find the narrative annoying the plot can make the book a bit more enjoyable. Whitcomb has thought up a very original idea, one which cannot be easily compared to another book so it's not one of those books that will blur with others in the back of your mind once you finish reading it. The characters are fairly well developed and each have a distinctive personality, which is quite refreshing even if your mind begs the question that Whitcomb may have made the lives of the two in love a little bit too different.

However, parts of the book are unbelievable. The ending suffers a lot because it is so rushed. I won’t ruin the story for any potential readers but the connection between Helen and her family member is extremely hard to believe and the whole ending in itself seems extremely farfetched. In the principal's office with Mr. Brown on p. 228 Helen states that, “I saw in his eyes that he felt something powerful between us.” This just feels like some kind of fantasy, like how a school girl would over analyse a crush's actions into making herself believe that he likes her. Helen and James' physical relationship while Helen is still Light does not make sense either. She can touch his hand but can also put her hand through him, showing a lack of consistency.

A Certain Slant of Light requires you to like a certain style of writing in order to enjoy it. The plot is very interesting and because of that it’s not a book you could easily stop reading half way through, even if you really hated it. However, many aspects of the book are simply far too over exaggerated and therefore, for me, it was not a pleasurable read.

Rating: 2/5