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Liam is the boy, lying in the hospital, in grave condition, a bullet lodged in his head. Otto is his father, a commercial artist whose marriage has collapsed in the wake of the disaster. Paul Griner’s brave novel taps directly into the vein of a uniquely American tragedy: the school shooting. We know these grotesque and sorrowful events too well. Thankfully, the characters in this drama are finely drawn human beings―those who gain our empathy, those who commit the unspeakable acts, and those conspiracy fanatics who launch a concerted campaign to convince the world that the shooting was a hoax. The Book of Otto and Liam is a suspenseful, edge-of-your-seat read and, at the same time, it is a meditation on the forms evil can take, from the irredeemable act of the shooter himself, to the anger and devastation it causes in the victims’ families. Griner has managed to make an amazing, incredibly powerful book, one that is like no other.
Two days ago I finished reading “The Book of Otto and Liam”. This is a story that will stay with you. Otto is father to 8 year old Liam. We learn very early on that there has been a school shooting and Liam is severely injured, but survives. The book opens on the third anniversary of the shooting. This is the story of Otto, his wife May and their son Liam. It is also the story of Liam’s best friend Latrell and his father Lamont. Importantly there is a parallel story, the one of “hoaxers” – those who believe the school shooting never happened; no dead children, Liam uninjured (that is if he ever existed at all). It has been many years since I read a novel with characters so well developed and believable. Griner achieves this feat in a book of average length (356 pages) notably with some pages containing only a short letter, a poem or perhaps a drawing by Liam or Otto (a freelance artist). Time moves back and forth from the time of the shooting (2015) to the present day. Although the book establishes its own rhythm, Griner orients the reader with dates at the beginning of each chapter. With this structure, Griner lets us observe family dynamics well before and after the shooting. At times both funny and enormously sad, we watch Otto and May as they try to process what has happened; learning to deal with grief and with each other. Secondary characters are also very well developed and help move the story forward: A detective, a friend, a co-worker, potential employers, even a hoaxer named Kate. In the face of great tragedy, the book contains both humor and hope. Like all good books, I didn’t want it to end. It is an important book to read this year: very timely and unfortunately, all too relevant.
