Review of We Are the Light: A Novel by Matthew Quick

Novels that convey with depth, sophistication, and creativity a distinctly Jungian vision of the psyche are rare indeed.We Are the Light by Matthew Quick is certainly one of them.The novel is epistolary in style-written as a series of letters by Lucas, the protagonist of the story, to his Jungian analyst, Karl.But the letters begin after something unspoken and horrific has brought the formal therapeutic relationship to a sudden end, which is the impetus behind Lucas writing the letters in the first place.The tragedy at the center of the novel is only glimpsed piecemeal over time as Lucas himself attempts to put together the fragments of himself shattered by the event that has left him simultaneously widowed and without his analytical confidante.What we learn over time is that a massacre has occurred in the local and beloved movie theater.A teenage gunman killed 17 people from the close-knit community of Majestic, Pennsylvania-including Darcy, Lucas's wife, and Leandra, the wife of his analyst.The gunman was himself a member of the community, and the last to die on the evening of the mass killing-at the hands of Lucas.Lucas has become a local hero for stopping the onslaught and saving countless lives.But Lucas's heroism is not as clear-cut as it may seem, particularly to Lucas himself.The killer, Jacob Hansen, was a student at the local high school, where Lucas was his high school counselor.The complex interconnection between the entire cast of characters comprises the exquisite tapestry of the story within which Quick weaves depth psychological insights from Lucas's analytical experiences with Karl.But there are two different angles from which these insights are threaded.In his letters, Lucas is often recapitulating what he has learned from Karl, not only about Jung's work, but also about the process of undergoing analysis-particularly about the sanctity of the psychological container established between analyst and analysand.From these descriptions, we are introduced to the experience of transference and countertransference, and the often indecipherable, inexplicable threads of unconscious and conscious intertwining that create a therapeutic bond.But as mentioned, the bond has been broken.All we know is that Karl sent Lucas a letter, after the massacre, communicating that he was ending their work together.The assumed explanation, though not explicitly articulated, is that Karl is grieving the death of his own wife.However, through hints and asides, it feels as if there is more behind the abrupt ending.Lucas's conveyance of his relationship with Karl and what he has learned

Récupéré en direct depuis OpenAlex et désinversé. Les résumés ne sont pas conservés dans cette base de données : les index inversés représentent 8,6 Go des 9,3 Go de texte de la base, et le serveur dispose de 13 Go libres.