John Dalton (1) (1963–)

Two days before the first session at the Kindermann Forest Summer Camp, the camp director fires his entire staff for participation in a lewd late-night pre-session celebration.

Enter Wyatt Huddy, genetically disfigured and trained by life to be pliant and agreeable, currently living in a back room of the Salvation Army. One of a dozen new camp counselors, brought in on the fly, Wyatt and his new colleages are quickly settled in and explained their duties, but not until the first buses of campers roll in are they told that for the first two weeks, the campers are not, in fact, children, but rather handicapped adults from the state hospital. Oops.

Aside from the initial sorting chaos and a few minor incidents, the session begins surprisingly smoothly and humorously. When one counselor begins manipulating staff and campers alike, the situation derails. Wyatt is faced with protecting someone weaker than himself, and his own experience-begotten insecurities.

The first section of The Inverted Forest, more or less indicated above, is an interesting, occasionally humorous, but only mildly surprising build up to an act of violence. The second section, though, turns the previous story on its head. Nicely and smartly flipped.

One of the best features of Dalton’s writing in The Inverted Forest is the careful generosity of it all. In a story with ample opportunity for offense and cruelty, his portrayal of Wyatt, his colleagues (save one), and his campers, even at their worst, is tinged with humor. It renders the reader’s shock at the transgressions greater, and makes the book’s resolution very satisfying. Very good.… (mer)

I must admit, I found this a little slow getting into; however, after about 30-50 pages, I was hooked. Heaven Lake really does touch on so many subjects. The travel in China was so interesting and so well depicted that I could easily see, hear, and smell the surroundings. The portrayal of the Chinese I found to be respectful yet not sugarcoated. The characters truly became people I felt I knew.

Vincent's transition from an overzealous Christian volunteer to one who fully learned to realize (if not understand) God's grace is not an easy one; he has no epiphanies; he just slowly grew into another person. In the middle of the book (page 304 -thanks to the Amazon search feature), the author so clearly and succintly summarizes Vincent's growth, his realization, that "you could navigate your life without knowing. Even more, you could occasionally be awed by the mystery. You could sometimes love the mystery as devoutly as the believers loved their gods."

The book is certainly not short on plot either. The twists and surprises easily keep the reader interested. Overall, this book is certainly worth a read. Anxious to read more from this author.… (mer)