There are never enough words, or enough of the right words, to describe what it feels like to discover a book so great it is in a class of its own. I believe Chris Whitaker’s new novel ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK belongs in a class of its own and I will now try to find the right words to tell you why.
When I first read Harper Lee’s TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD I knew I was being exposed to greatness. When I encountered Pat Conroy’s THE PRINCE OF TIDES I knew I was reading something that would become a classic. I felt that again when I read William Kent Krueger’s ORDINARY GRACE. And now, having read ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK I know I have read something that will live as an epic novel.
This book has a storyline that starts in 1975 when its main characters are in their early teens. It is there we meet the one eyed boy called Patch, and his best friend who is a girl called Saint. There will be other enchanting characters introduced as the story evolves but overall the book belongs to Patch and Saint.
The basic plot involves a serial killer and Patch’s involvement in saving one of his planned victims. This sets off a story of the pursuit of justice and also of a not to be denied obsession. It will take Patch and Saint on many adventures and readers of this book will eagerly accompany them.
The secret of the book’s success is the power of Whitaker’s writing. With this book Whitaker is not so much a writer as an artist who paints with words. Characters, storyline, locales are all painted on a beautiful canvas reflecting all the colors of the darkness being told. It is an artistic flourish of such drama and overall tenderness that it takes the reader through the looking glass and into Patch and Saint’s world.
There have been very few books that have brought me to my feet as this one did. They all got ovations from me but this one lasts the longest.
