Have you ever encountered a book that you questioned whether or not to read. Maybe too scary, or too sad, or any other reason you may have. See How Small by Scott Blackwood was such a book for me.
My mother visits, bringing books to read, leaving them behind after she completes them, then adding to my bookshelves. See How Small has probably been on my bookshelf for six years.
Once in a while, I would pick it up and read the back blurb, which begins One late autumn evening in a Texas town, two strangers walk into an ice cream parlor shortly before closing time. They bind up three teenage girls who are working the counter, set fire to the shop, and disappear. Then, I tell myself I cannot read this.
Last weekend, I decided I would be brave and read it. The first chapter gave me every reason why I was right… I read the description of the atrocity of the crime before I knew the teenage girls. The brutality is sickening, and then the grieving begins. That was when I realized I was committed to reading the rest of it.
Scott Blackwood wrote this book with a gripping understanding of the ghostly victims and the compassion of those left behind to deal with the aftermath of such a brutal crime. I witnessed private thoughts I should not be privy to and overheard conversations that made me feel like I had my ear to a wall eavesdropping.
Yes, it is a sad and mournful story but it reads beautifully, almost lyrical, as the words roll from dreamlike existence to the reality of grief, living every day life trying to seek answers for no-name killers, except for the man, Michael, who was an accessory. Michael dealt with personal tragedies of his life; divorced parents, death of his brother, and living with his mistake ending up at the crime scene in the first place.
The teenage girls tell their stories of memories of childhood, while watching their parents from another realm of existence, which was unforgettable. Even they did not know who had violated and killed them. The criminals took delight in the girls being in the ice cream shop when they were not supposed to be, making this book more tragic.
There is no denying Scott Blackwood is an artistic and skilled writer, to be inspired by and appreciate how he wrote such a horrific subject matter so poetically.
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Scott-Blackwood/author/
