Title: The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley.
Author: Shaun David Hutchinson.
Rating: 4.5 of
This is the second book I've read that is set up in a hospital. The first one was Unborn by Rose Christo and while it was just as depressing and dark(what else can you expect from a book that's set up entirely in a hospital?), there were plenty of light, funny moments that lift up your spirits and you sort of forget in those moments that some of the characters are actually on the edge of their lives and are barely surviving, and you find yourself smiling while your heart is breaking and your mind is still reeling from the horror of the characters' backstories. It is something I admire about Rose Christo a lot because not everyone can pull off that kind of humor in a setting where the characters are surrounded by death and grief. The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley, on the other hand, is so heavy and filled to the brink with Drew's guilt and misery that the emotions almost press down on you like some kind of weight on your shoulders. They are so palpable, so tangible, your heart clenches in agony in response to Drew's pain. The fact that the book had that kind of impact on me says a lot about Shaun Hutchinson's writing. It's beautiful, but not in the way I find Melina Marchetta's or Charlotte McConaghy's writing beautiful; the kind that makes my breath hitch by the sheer beauty of words or the kind where my eyes roam again and again over the words until I feel like I have memorized them. No. Shaun Hutchinson's writing is beautiful in a melancholic way. It has a distinct mournful quality to it. The kind that makes you cry and you don't even realise you are crying until you taste the salt of your tears on your lips.
