Customer Reviews

The Evolution of Shadows

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This book read with such reality that I admit I went back and checked to make sure it was fiction. Well written, to the point that it felt so real to me, I entered into this emotionally charged book, unprepared for the emotions it would bring out in me.

The Evolution Of Shadows, while surrounding itself with the story of a war, is more about friendships than bombs. Sure there is the taste of war among the pages and you do feel this, but for me the war was within the three people that longed for answers; Lian, Emil, and Jack. Not sure if they are looking for the man Gray, or the remains of Gray, you feel that each of these characters has a longing and a fear of both.

Beautifully titled, these words "evolution of shadows" comes out of a sleepless night in the book. I love how that was weaved into the words.

Breathtaking and hard to put down, I pushed through the pages wanting to know the answers that each was seeking. What did happen to Gray? Would they ever know? What would they find? What if he is alive, how will they all react? What if they find what they fear the most?

For these answers - you will find not from me..... but from this book.

In 1995 in Sarajevo, American photographer Gray Banick vanishes. Years later, his former Chinese-American lover Lian Zhao receives a letter from Gray's interpreter Emil Todorovic who worked for the missing photographer asking about him.

Although she married someone more acceptable to her parents, Lian always loved Gray. She leaves Kansas City for Serbia hoping to locate him. In Sarajevo she meets Gray's mentor Jack MacKenzie whose family finally gave up on him when he spent more time in hot spots than at home and Emil. The three begin a quest to learn what happened to Gray.

THE EVOLUTION OF SHADOWS is a strong war drama that makes the case that those who see the horrors of combat even non fighters like reporters need bonds of friendship to emotionally survive; the US Army affirms this premise with buddies being a key element to prevent suicide amidst the troops. Each of the key cast members feel genuine even the missing Gray who is seen mostly though the flashbacks of his compatriots. Jason Quinn Malott provides a powerful character driven tale that avoids turning nostalgic or maudlin.

Harriet Klausner

An outstanding story and really extraordinary writing- I feel changed this morning, after reading this, as if there is a richness and depth in the world I have not seen lately.I loved the story, the characters, the redemption in the ending.

Thanks for sharing this book- fiction used to have the power to change the world, and this book reminded me it still has that power, if enough care is taken.

This novel is about the coming together of 3 unrelated people to search for Gray Banick, a news photographer who disappeared 5 years earlier in the Bosnian war zone. Lian was his girlfriend - and also the reason he went to Bosnia; Emil was the interpreter he met while on assignment, and Jack was a fellow news photographer who was Gray's mentor.

These three people come together to try to search for Gray, or Gray's remains, as a way to put an end to that chapter in their lives. Emil is still trying to find Mira, his fiancee who was taken away by enemy soldiers - in his head he knows she is dead, but in his heart, he refuses to give up hope. Katja, his current girlfriend, isn't sure that he will ever be able to let Mira go.

Jack has given his whole life to surviving in war zones. Where his homecomings with his wife used to be exciting - they have become alienated over the years and she now feels as if he has deserted her. Most of the big events in their life he has learned of over the phone, half a world away. Jack realizes that Gray is a surrogate son to him, to replace the one that his wife had miscarried 30+ years before.

That leaves Lian. She was always sure that her and Gray would not be together, but not because she didn't love him - even though she couldn't put it into words. Her family was bound by Chinese values and traditions, and those were put on her shoulders to carry forward. For this reason, she found herself engaged and married to Daniel, a Chinese doctor who works with her father. She realizes that she has been a coward her whole life, and hopes that by coming to Bosnia she will be able to come clean with Daniel about her past, and move forward in her life, on her terms.

That is, at least, how I viewed these three people. I cannot say that I "enjoyed" this book - as the setting isn't something that someone would "enjoy". But I found that I could not put it down! The story was told between present interactions amongst Emil, Lian and Jack and flash backs on their relationships with Gray. While there isn't a lot of action, it moves forward steadily, hauntingly, through war-torn Sarajevo and the surrounding countryside. While the setting of the story is tragic, there is an underlying romantic element of never losing hope. I highly - highly! recommend this book. It is a great debut novel and I can't wait to see what else Mr. Malott has to bring us.


For some reason, this passage has stayed with me:

"I will take pictures of the truth. They will be ashamed of themselves."
The man nodded. "But not until after my family is dead."
"I come from a sleeping people," Gray said.
"You are awake," the man said. "I must get back to my family." (p210)

Synopsis:

In 1999 Lian Jiang is surprised by a letter from Emil Todorovic in Bosnia-Herzegovina about Gray Banick who disappeared in July 1995. Emil has custody of Gray's remaining possessions and since he had spoken of her and written her over the years, Emil considered her his next-of-kin contact. The news comes as a shock. Though she is now married to an up-and-coming Chinese surgeon, Lian is driven to find Gray. She flies to Bosnia and meets up with two other people whose lives Gray Banick had touched.

Lian Jiang, Emil Todorovic, his interpreter and friend, and Jack MacKenzie, Gray's mentor gather in Sarajevo to find out what happened to Gray. With little information to go on, they retrace Gray's steps in the war ravaged countryside. Each person carries their stories of grief and love.

Review:

Carefully crafted, The Evolution of Shadows, brings us deep into the lives of Lian, Emil, and Jack while gradually hinting who Gray is as a person. Lian came alive through the flashbacks, her internal monologues during the moments of reflection and through what we learn of the man that she married. Emil is probably the most sympathetic character, in part because he is so battered by tragedy and yet continues to push on. Jack gives us a glimpse of the life of an older and veteran journalist whose has spent most of his career covering foreign wars - his combination of emotional isolation, cynicism and sense of hope. I enjoyed Evolution of Shadows, it's an unusual book and draws you in. Also, I thought that Jason Quinn Malot's handled the interracial relationship between Lian and Gray with sensitivity.

Publisher: Unbridled Books (October 20, 2009), 272 pages.
Courtesy of Unbridled Books.

I thought this book was well-written, with well-developed characters. The writer really thought about the war in Bosnia, and brought his own perspective to the subject. I recommend it highly.