The God of War by Marisa Silver

Review by Lizzie
In a nutshell: On the toxic shores of California’s Salton Sea, twelve-year-old Ares lives with his hippy mom Laurel and mentally disabled brother Malcolm. With Laurel in denial about Malcolm’s condition, Ares bears the burden of responsibility for the brother whom he dropped as a baby. Conflicted about growing up, Ares both yearns for the fierce independence of a neighbour’s foster child, and longs to retreat to the fantasy world he shares with Malcolm.

Three Words to Describe: Intimate, touching, tearjerker

Indicative quote: “Malcolm walked at a distance from us, charting his own path. That year he was six, exactly half my age. I was struck by the fact that this was the only time in our lives when we would meet in this mathematical symmetry – I his double in years. I knew there was something important and fragile about the singularity of this, that something would soon be lost.”

Reason I liked it: It made me have a genuinely satisfying cry that left me sleeping soundly.

You’ll like this book if you liked: What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?

Book club ideas: Hop onto your bicycles and cruise about an industrial wasteland (Pickering Nuclear Power Plant or Ashbridges Bay Sewage Treatment Plant would both work nicely). Pretend to shoot each other with wire hangers. Continue to a rusty playground and see how many times each of you can swing across the ring set.

Verdict: Marisa Silver immerses readers in unexpected beauty. The beauty of poisoned landscapes, flawed characters and disabilities. She wraps us into the contradictions of the childhood mind: the misperceptions and the stunning clarity. It lingers like a hot summer day, slow yet intense.

Perfect present for: Fans of Oprah’s book club