‘Above the Thunder’ above the rest

ight now there is no book I can recommend more than Renee Manfredi’s “Above the Thunder.” \nThis is one of those books that causes me to jump up from the couch cheering, “No, don’t read that. Read this!” \nThe book has everything: humor, delight, tears, imagination. It’s one of those books you don’t want to end, that you savor every last chapter and word of because you don’t want to leave the lives of the characters with whom you’ve become involved. \nManfredi, who graduated from IU’s Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing, writes a gorgeous novel about an unexpected family coming together and the moments of life that face them.\n“Above the Thunder” tells the story of a woman named Anna, a widow in her 50s. She works in the medical field, and her husband’s death some years earlier has left Anna with feelings of unyielding grief. Anna’s daughter Poppy has been estranged from her mother for 12 years, ever since she ran away with Marvin, a man she met when he came to buy her family’s used van. \nPoppy calls Anna one day and asks if she and her family, which includes Marvin and their 10-year-old daughter Flynn, can visit. When they do visit, only Marvin and Flynn show up, and Poppy, ever estranged, has once again fled from her family. \nThe novel alternates between Anna’s story and that of a gay couple, Jack and Stuart, who have been together 10 years. Jack’s infidelity, despite his deep love and devotion to Stuart, has left the couple in a tumultuous state.\nEventually, the lives of Jack and Stuart intertwine with those of Anna, Marvin and Flynn entwine when Anna meets Jack and Stuart at a support group. They eventually form a family united through experience, loyalty and personalities.\nIt is also the little girl, Flynn, who serves as one of the story’s gems. The brilliance and innocence of childhood come alive through the girl. Manfredi could not have crafted a better vision of a 10-year-old child. \nFlynn names her new puppy Baby Jesus, swears she can communicate with the spirit world and pines for her mother, who has long since fled the family with no indication of returning. This is a girl who has a remarkable strength in the midst of all the changes ongoing in her life: her missing mother, her new life with Anna and the trouble she encounters at school where she is teased for her wild imagination.\nAfter I finished the novel, my first instinct was to go back and re-read it to pick up on all the insights I may have missed the first time. Manfredi’s novel reminded me why I need to keep Post-it notes by me while reading.\nI originally felt that the novel began to move slowly before coming to its peak, but in reviewing the novel afterward, I realized it had to build itself before peaking, and we as readers need to understand the characters fully in order to feel empathy toward them.\nAnd Manfredi is able to evoke empathy from her characters, while subtly weaving the ongoing story of their lives. \nThere is too much to say about this book; it is one of those novels where reading it yourself will help you understand how Manfredi creates a world that seems all too real, where the characters are ones you feel live right down the street from you. You will be shocked, as I was shocked, and you will cry as I did.\nManfredi has a gift of constructing beautifully rendered stories out of the lives of ordinary people.