The Light of the Fireflies

Just imagine living in a basement for the entire ten years of your life. Your parents, your Grandmother, your sister and your brother are also with you. Things begin to change after your sister has a baby and not in a good way. This is a captivating read in that there is a lot of suspense built around that basement scenario. For me, I kept wondering about The Cricket Man...is he real or imagined? That was the 'who' part and then the 'why' appears - why has this family been in a basement for 10 years? Suspense abounds and mysteries surface....

Be forewarned, however, that there is emotional and physical abuse as well as an incident of incest. As one may conclude, this family is more than dysfunctional. The author does delve into the history of each of the main characters so the reader is able to grasp the reason for those problems.

The ten year old protagonist has several deep loves within his heart. His cactus, his 'chick' and his fireflies are at the top. One may only imagine the joy the light from the fireflies gives the little boy in the darkness of this enclosed space.

All in all, a solid read which held my attention from the beginning to the end. I also felt that the translation was done well.

Highly recommended.

Please note that this is my Kindle First selection for March.