We reveal ourselves to those who will look. It has been said we are illusions, nightmares and dreams, the disturbing and tense apparitions of the mind. We are always restless, carrying the dreams of children and the elderly, the tired and sick, the poor, the wounded. The removed.

Release Date: February 2nd, 2021

Genre(s): Adult fiction, literary fiction

Publisher: Ecco

Pages: 288

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️.25

Synopsis

The Removed follows the Echtora family, who lost their teenage son, Ray-Ray, to a police shooting fifteen years ago. The family grieves quietly, each member of the family in their own way. The annual bonfire is coming up, signaling the Cherokee National Holiday, and the anniversary of Ray-Ray’s death. Maria attempts to call the family together at this time to openly discuss Ray-Ray’s memory, but as the days to the bonfire draw nearer, the family finds themselves caught in a blur between their lives and the spirit world.

Review

I came across The Removed while browsing 2021 releases and looking for literary fiction novels in particular. And while I enjoyed the author’s writing style and the exploration of each of the family members, I did find myself wanting a little more from this book.

There are so many heavy topics that are explored in this book, some of which including racism and police brutality, drug abuse and addiction, and coping with loss. With each of these characters, you see the many ways that they’ve been dealing with the loss of Ray-Ray, and how that loss and pain remains fifteen years later. Throughout The Removed, you also see how the family encounters racism frequently, adding to the pain that Ray-Ray never saw justice. This is all interwoven with both the anniversary of Ray-Ray’s death and the Cherokee National Holiday, as well as the introduction of a foster child to their lives.

There is so much that is discussed in The Removed, and I do wish that many of these topics were covered in greater depth. For many of the characters, I feel like these heavier topics were covered at a surface level and deserved more exploration. As I continued reading, and especially towards the end of this book, I wondered whether this was intentional. Stories, just as in life, do not often wrap up neatly. Many of the issues that the characters face have existed for a long duration (some their entire lives), and are issues that they will continue to face for some time. That being said, looking at these issues from this angle may be a direct representation of that.

In a similar way, I do wish that all of these chapters were more connected to the foundation of this novel – the loss of Ray-Ray and the upcoming Cherokee National Holiday. The book largely focuses on the characters individually and what their lives are like fifteen years later, but I felt like there was less focus on the events that the characters’ individual stories were leading up to.

With all of this in mind, I think The Removed is going to be a really good fit for not only those who enjoy character-driven literary fiction but also for those who prefer short stories. The style of writing in this novel (in addition to the points above) reminded me quite a bit of short story collections I’ve read in the past. I say this because this is the kind of story where there’s a lot to ponder and discover from beyond what’s on the pages. Regardless, this is definitely a book that’s been on my mind a lot since I read it, and one that I think will continue to for some time.

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