The Promised World

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While millions of people watched her brother die, Lila sat in her quiet office at the university, working on a paper about Herman Melville’s later years. Someone else might have found it ironic that, on that very afternoon, she’d been thinking about Melville’s son, who shot himself. Lila herself didn’t make the connection until much later, and by then, she was so lost she could only see it as obvious sign that should have known, that she’d failed Billy when he needed her most.”  -first paragraph

This is a fantastic story, because for most of the book, I never quite knew who to believe.  Tucker does a wonderful job of parceling out secrets and keeping the reader guessing.

Lila Cole is a twin.  When her brother Billy commits “suicide by cop,” Lila is devastated.  She is even more devastated when she discovers that Billy hadn’t told her he was separated from his wife and children…and accused of child abuse.

As Lila becomes lost in her grief, those around her begin to uncover pieces of the twins’ lives.  However, each person has a different take on Lila and Billy.  And to complicate things even further, each other.

Ashley, Billy’s estranged wife, is convinced the twins were deeply troubled.  Although she loved her husband, Ashley was frustrated by his moodiness, his devotion to Lila, and his distance from his own family.  Pearl, Billy’s eldest child, wants nothing more than to understand her beloved father.  William, the middle child, loved his father and is struggling to understand and live up to his father’s mysterious expectations. Patrick, Lila’s husband, is also struggling to understand.  His wife has always been close-mouthed about her childhood, and Patrick has never pushed.  However, he’s beginning to think that might’ve been a mistake.  To add to all of the confusion over Billy’s death and the past is the fact that Lila cannot remember her childhood.  She has always relied on Billy to reinforce the story. Now that he’s no longer around, Lila is finding the story has gaping holes.

“She did say several times that she’d ‘lost the plot.’  Is that her way of saying she’s disoriented?”

Patrick said yes before he realized he honestly didn’t know what Lila meant by that phrase. She’d been using it for years, but not often, and usually after she’d spent time talking to her brother. He’d always assumed it was one of Billy’s ideosyncratic expressions that needlessly complicated the situation. Whereas most people would say they couldn’t remember something, only Billy would say he’d “lost the plot.”  Was that what it meant, that Lila couldn’t remember? Or did it mean she was confused?

As everyone digs deeper into the lives of Lila and Billy, the past rears up in unexpected ways.  One of the best things about this book is reading everyone’s divergent viewpoints, wondering, and waiting to see what the truth actually is. There is also one other character that I’m not mentioning, because you need to read this one to experience her yourself.  Suffice it to say, I can’t get her out of my mind.

Besides being un-put-downable, this is a very powerful story.  It deals with childhood abuse, both physical and emotional, and the repurcussions of such abuse.  It also delves into the murky world of altering the truth…and how people look differently at the truth and what is and isn’t acceptable.

I read The Promised World as part of a TLC book tour…and I’m so glad I did.  Many thanks to TLC and Lisa Tucker for the ARC and inviting me to be a part of this tour.

Other reviews:

• Dar at Peeking Between the Pages
• Wendy at Literary Feline