We Are the Light

We Are the Light 

We Are the Light from author Matthew Quick is the latest novel to be checked off my constantly growing to be read list. My to be read list is over four hundred, if you’re curious. This is the first book from Matthew Quick that I’ve read, and I love discovering new authors. 

“The boy is the way forward.” 

Matthew Quick, We Are the Light

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Have you read We Are the Light? Come on in and let me tell you about it! 

About We Are the Light 

From Matthew Quick, the New York Times bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook—made into the Academy Award–winning movie starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper—comes a poignant and hopeful novel about a widower who takes in a grieving teenager and inspires a magical revival in their small town.

Lucas Goodgame lives in Majestic, Pennsylvania, a quaint suburb that has been torn apart by a recent tragedy. Everyone in Majestic sees Lucas as a hero—everyone, that is, except Lucas himself. Insisting that his deceased wife, Darcy, visits him every night in the form of an angel, Lucas spends his time writing letters to his former Jungian analyst, Karl. 

It is only when Eli, an eighteen-year-old young man whom the community has ostracized, begins camping out in Lucas’s backyard that an unlikely alliance takes shape and the two embark on a journey to heal their neighbors and, most importantly, themselves.

From Matthew Quick, whose work has been described by the Boston Herald as “like going to your favorite restaurant. You just know it is going to be good,” We Are the Light is an unforgettable novel about the quicksand of grief and the daily miracle of love. 

The humorous, soul-baring story of Lucas Goodgame offers an antidote to toxic masculinity and celebrates the healing power of art. In this tale that will stay with you long after the final page is turned, Quick reminds us that life is full of guardian angels. 

Thoughts on We Are the Light 

We Are the Light is a relatively short novel, at just two hundred and fifty six pages. But let me tell you, it packs a punch! It is written in the form of letters, which reminded me of Evidence of the Affair, in that regard, and I’ve found I actually really enjoy that format. 

Matthew Quick touches on a lot of sensitive subjects within We Are the Light. Mass shootings, grief, death, mental illness, and healing. Sounds horribly depressing, right? Hear me out though… I’ve said it before, that there is beauty in tragedy, and it is worth repeating. Because that is exactly the message that I get out of Matthew Quick’s writing, and that isn’t depressing. That is a message of both hope and healing. I am in awe at the beautiful way Matthew Quick writes We Are the Light. 

“There’s gold in our shadows.” 

Matthew Quick, We Are the Light

This is the most beautifully written and really emotional novel that I’ve read in a very long time. It is rare that stories will stick with me long after I’ve read them, but this one definitely will. 

I don’t want to give away too much about the book, because I feel like it will only take a single sentence to spoil the entire thing, and I don’t want to do that. It is simply amazing and deserves your time to read it. 

Final Thoughts on We Are the Light 

“That’s us up there in that beam of light – all of the people in this room and many other Majestic citizens. Us.” 

Matthew Quick, We Are the Light

This was the first novel from author Matthew Quick that I’ve read, as I had never heard of him before. But I know if his previous work is anything half as good as We Are the Light, it is worth reading! This is the kind of novel where it is abundantly clear that he poured his heart and soul into it. 

I honestly can’t begin to do this book justice by trying to describe it to you or how it made me feel. But I will tell you that if you don’t read it, you really are missing out on the amazing message that is within the book. I can’t recommend it enough. 

Go pick this book up. Now. You won’t be disappointed. You’ll thank me, I promise. 

Discussion 

Have you read We Are the Light or any other writing from author Matthew Quick? Are you a fan? Let me know your thoughts in the comments! 

About the Author 

Matthew Quick is the New York Times bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook—which was made into an Oscar-winning film—and eight other novels. 

His work has been translated into more than thirty languages, received a PEN/Hemingway Award Honorable Mention, was an LA Times Book Prize finalist, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, a #1 bestseller in Brazil, a Deutscher Jugendliteratur Preis 2016 (German Youth Literature Prize) nominee, and selected by Nancy Pearl as one of Summer’s Best Books for NPR. The Hollywood Reporter has named him one of Hollywood’s 25 Most Powerful Authors. 

Matthew lives with his wife, the novelist Alicia Bessette, on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. 

Purchasing We Are the Light 

If you are interested in buying the hardcover version of We Are the Light, click here.

Click here for the Kindle version.

Click here for my favorite Kindle I currently own.

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