The Wonder of Lost Causes: A Novel
By: Nick Trout / Narrated By: Christina Delaine
Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
Reeeeally liked this a lot… with oooooone caveat… and then I’ll shut up, I promise!
Okay, I have to admit something here…
You know. Characters have to have their arc of growth, so we get that oh-so-satisfying sense of wonder and redemption at the end of a story. As such… You know. I s’pose the characters have to start SOMEwhere, SOMEtimes at a slightly despicable starting point. You know. To where you, oh, say, kinda sorta LOATHE them.
And such was it with The Wonder of Lost Causes, wherein I wanted to throttle Kate Blunt, single-parent extraordinaire for a gooooood loooooong part of the novel. Why?
Kate’s a struggling single-mom, struggling veterinarian at a struggling kill-shelter. Her heart, her Life, is devoted to her son, Jasper, who is himself struggling with cystic fibrosis, the horrifically incurable lung disease that promises bouts of extreme air-hunger throughout a shortened lifespan. Okay. I see Kate has her hands full, sooooo much on her plate…. BUT!
Jasper, who valiantly trundles along, carving a life out for himself as a newly-minted Anglophile and a player on the school’s soccer team where his vast knowledge of All Things Soccer has him more respected than the Coach, is terribly lonely. And the story opens with his desperately trying to breathe and calm down, with him feeling a sense of terror, impending doom, a sense that he’s done something bad.
The gist? A big burly dog, in totally bad shape, scarred, mistreated, terrified, has just been brought into the shelter. And Jasper has somehow been physically channeling this dog’s thoughts and emotions. Right off the bat, Jasper and the dog, Lucky, have such a huge bond that soon Jasper realizes that this dog is actually named Whistler. How does he know? He just does. Whistler told him.
Repeatedly passed by for adoption, Whistler’s time at the shelter is drawing to a close, euthanasia on the horizon. Seeing the huuuuuuge love and devotion between her son and Whistler, does Kate do the right thing, the loving thing?
Nope. She BRUTALLY brushes off poor Jasper’s desperate longing, his boundless love, for Whistler. And when he relays what’s going on with Whistler, she BRUTALLY cuts him down, it’s mumbo jumbo, everybody’s gonna think this troubled kid is some sorta freak. Yup, she goes there. I mean, I can see her worried about dander and all that stuff as it relates to his fight with cystic fibrosis, but Jiminy H. Cricket, show some compassion, act with faith and love.
And oh yeh? She snaps and rails at Everyone!!! It gets to be exhausting.
Fortunately! this story is NOT all Kate, and we’re treated to the most delightful pairing of boy and dog, of just how wonderfully Whistler guides and assists Jasper, even to the point of helping him during a verrrry important soccer game, calm, stoic, wise. A truly charming scene that had me cheering where I sat, absolutely enchanted with the way their relationship was being crafted.
The story is heavy on the illness, and one knows that it’s author Nick Trout’s own experiences with the wretched disease as a much-loved child of his has it. Kate’s thoughts, misgivings, worries, despair, all ring true; one NEVER dismisses her trials and tribulations, her battles are real, and she fights with fierceness, all well, all acceptable, no matter how much one wishes to pop her upside the head and tell her to let her child LIVE while he’s here, to let him LOVE while he’s here, to just let him be a kid.
Eveeeeentually, her story arc does indeed show her growth… thank good golly gosh! and the story becomes a truly delightful tale of wanting the best for each of the characters, Whistler included. Top it off with a rousing climax, and yeh yeh yeh: Lump in the throat, some loud cheering went on when I got to that part of the story. My only kvetching (You know, after I spent the first part of this review railing against Kate….) is that there’s a WONDERFUL summation of events, the Mighty HUZZAHS! and then? There’s settling the problem, which takes dithering and loads of empty minutes, AND there’s an Epilogue that, yes, answers one very important question the Listener will have, but which is, for the most part, just extra words that rather detracted from the sheer joy, the vibrant culmination, the beautifully, wonderfully, touching climax.
Can’t have it all, I s’pose. But I’ll end my kvetching, yes, and go onto aNOTHer Mighty HUZZAH: Christina Delaine’s superior work here as narrator. Big Sis actually thought this had two narrators as Jasper’s voice is soooo well done, as she very much becomes a raspy-throated (From so many CF treatments that have affected his throat) young boy. Kate is well done too, her shrill responses are aptly shrill, thereby totally adding to itchy fingers wishing to throttle, but then Delaine mellows her tones to capture Kate’s mellowing, her epiphanies, her warming into a loving mom who’s not only warm, but is accepting as well. So YAY!!! I’d liked Delaine in other works, but now I see I shall HAVE to seriously seek her work out….!
All in all, yeh yeh yeh, I know I’ve done a lot o’ whining, but really! I very much liked The Wonder of Lost Causes, think it’s one of Trout’s best as it was wisely-crafted to not throw in a romantic relationship to SAVE Kate. No, Kate’s fine on her own, thank you very much, strong and capable of carrying a LOT. Romance? Maaaaybe later, when the story’s done and finished. Just a hint, mind you.
And dude! As with aaaaalllll of Trout’s works: Animals!!! Here, a wise old dog to root for. Again with a Mighty HUZZAH!!!
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