It’s hard to describe Chris Whitaker’s new novel, All the Colors of the Dark, without giving too much away. Like its cover, which shows a sweep of burgundy paint across a twilight forest, you want to follow the line to see where it leads and what it all means. And if you do, the journey is unforgettable.
It begins with 13-year-old Joseph “Patch” Macauley, who was born with one eye. He wears an eye patch and envisions himself a pirate. In 1975 in his hometown of Monta Clare, Missouri, girls are mysteriously disappearing. So when Patch sees a masked man assaulting a girl in the woods, he attacks the man and saves the girl, but the predator kidnaps him instead. Patch wakes up in total darkness where a mysterious girl sometimes visits him and tells him stories about her life and the girls who have come before.
What follows is part slow-burn mystery, part intense thriller, but most of all a sweeping story of love, loss and hope. Whitaker’s characters are richly drawn and perfectly flawed, and his sentences feel more like poetry than prose. It’s a singular writing style that might not appeal to every reader, but if you like the beginning, you’ll want to hold on for the whole remarkable ride.
At about 600 pages, All the Colors of the Dark takes its time to paint detailed characters and a complex story over 25 years, but its micro-chapters move the story along at a lightning pace. This novel grabbed me, held me and seeped into my soul in a way few books have. An instant modern classic.
