Where Things Come Back: Reflective Essay

Where Things Come Back: Reflective Essay

In the book Where Things Come Back the author will switch from one story to the next. By switching between stories, it has an impact on how the story makes sense and comes together in the end. Cullen, Benton and Cabot each have their own individual story and when they intersect it creates a thrilling climax. When the stories switch each chapter it does bring a sense of suspense because having to wait to continue reading that particular story does make the anticipation worse. Switching between stories does make the book slightly more confusing.

My first impression I had of the book was that both stories were happing at the exact same time. I was extremely wrong though. It didn’t dawn on me until the 18th chapter when Alma was invited on the double date by Lucas, did I make the connection that the stories weren’t perfectly coinciding with one another. In the beginning when they were talking about Alma’s ex-husband and then when she divorced Cabot I honestly just thought she had already been married twice and didn’t even think they could possibly be the same person. By John Corey Whaley deciding to switch between stories and times definitely had me confused for a while but by the end of the story everything does make sense.

One connection I did make was with Gabriel’s name. At the time I didn’t realize the significance behind his name but I quickly discovered how important it truly was. His name is the same of the angel Gabriel who is at God’s right hand. I believe the only reason Cabot did not kill or seriously hurt Gabriel was because he honestly believed that he was an angel sent from God. That is also probably why Cabot felt the need to keep Gabriel so long and to take him back to Georgia to question him for eight weeks.

When a book will switch between stories and first and third person narration it makes the story more complex. The reader will have to wait longer to understand the entire story and how it all...