Still, I must say it was such a disappointment that their talks were (mostly) superficial. I got it that Miles wasn't good with words. Instead I had to accept that Adam treated the topic with Lisa. What I found irritating was the fact that Adam and Miles didn't address the big elephant in the room. Up until the 70 % mark the story went rather quietly, like water that bubbled gently. Since twelve years he is suffering from agoraphobia and lives a lonely and asocial life as a hermit at a rundown cottage surrounded by a lake and trees. The book title is very apt and provides plenty of connotations and I really liked the calligraphy. It's very unfortunate that it didn't happen for me. I would have loved to feel this intense connection that you need to rate a book with five stars. I'm especially sorry for my friend Sheri whom I adore for her enthusiasm for this specific book. A few days ago I read another book that featured a rock star Metal Heart and Illumination is not as good as Metal Heart. I really did but a higher rating wouldn't be justified because…well, I can't gush about it like others did. I saw Evie punch him earlier from upstairs. You were born gay- Neil had to practice bein' a dick. I'm standing in the rain, my heart in my hands I would give anything, my life, my dreams, my fateīut the thing I want the most to give is the one thing you won't takeĭo you know what this hole in my chest signifies? To hear the whisper of your voice, to feel the touch of your skin I'm one big regret and no one knows what that's all about Missing you isn't just a feeling in the way my life shakes out Though you're far away and not behind the glass When I see your face in the windows that I pass It's not just the good-bye in the last time I kissed you It's a song Adam has written.ĭo you know what I mean when I say I miss you? Most memorable scene of the entire book, at least for me.

Somehow, the man who's never home and the man who never leaves it must find the strength to fight for a future together.ģ.5 stars.***Review posted October 4, 2013 And Miles, uncertain of Adam's true feelings, is battling demons of his own.

Adam soon charms his way into Miles' bed, and they lose themselves in a summer idyll, safe from the compromises and claims of reality.īut Adam's life, with all its demands, is waiting for him. When he discovers Adam asleep in a deck chair, he's furious but intrigued. Alone but for his parrot, he spends his days illuminating manuscripts and hiding from the complexities of life. Miles Caldwell is a brilliant artist, tied by agoraphobia and social anxiety to his family's lodge. After the final concert of their latest tour, he flees the after-party in pursuit of memories of lost summers and carefree days, until he passes out on the patio of a shuttered lake resort. Lead singer of the hard rock band Black Varen, he's tired of the empty life of groupies, paparazzi, and hotel rooms.

Illumination by rowan speedwell