Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie Lang
(Format used for this read: Print–Hardback)
Ohhhhhhh…..
This book was SUCH a lovely book, my friends.
This read was just what I needed, when I needed it and I had no idea that I even needed it to begin with.
I just relish in bookworm moments like these!
True literary delight 📚❤
It was such a phenomenal and unique literary escape that just has ALL THE THINGS.
Here is the official summary:
“Orphaned, raised by wolves, and the proud owner of a horned pig named Merlin, Weylyn Grey knew he wasn’t like other people. But when he single-handedly stopped that tornado on a stormy Christmas day in Oklahoma, he realized just how different he actually was.
That tornado was the first of many strange events that seem to follow Weylyn from town to town, although he doesn’t like to take credit. As amazing as these powers may appear, they tend to manifest themselves at inopportune times and places. From freak storms to trees that appear to grow over night, Weylyn’s unique abilities are a curiosity at best and at worst, a danger to himself and the woman he loves. But Mary doesn’t care. Since Weylyn saved her from an angry wolf on her eleventh birthday, she’s known that a relationship with him isn’t without its risks, but as anyone who’s met Weylyn will tell you, once he wanders into your life, you’ll wish he’d never leave.
Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance tells the story of Weylyn Grey’s life from the perspectives of the people who knew him, loved him, and even a few who thought he was just plain weird. Although he doesn’t stay in any of their lives for long, he leaves each of them with a story to tell. Stories about a boy who lives with wolves, great storms that evaporate into thin air, fireflies that make phosphorescent honey, and a house filled with spider webs and the strange man who inhabits it.
There is one story, however, that Weylyn wishes he could change: his own. But first he has to muster enough courage to knock on Mary’s front door”
This was a story about transformation…belief…doubt…fear…connection…loss….and love.
It is about growing up, growing older and growing wiser in a plethora of ways….learning and unlearning and then learning all over again.
It’s about becoming lost…geographically and emotionally…then being found again.
I want to say it is also about magic…but the “magic” in this book is never really defined as such….which is ironically what makes it so magical in the first place.
WHICH IS WHY MAGIC EVERYTHING IN EVERY WAY IS AWESOME.
Sometimes the unexplainable doesn’t really need an explanation though…just an understanding.
And even a whole hearted acceptance.
The journey you walk thru with Weylyn and all the other people he crosses paths with during his life is filled with so much wonder, fascination and curiosity….it is also filled with pain, joy, struggles and victories.
This is written in a multiple perspective narrative which is ALWAYS fascinating and fun for me to read….it is definitely one of my most favorite styles of fictional writing.
The more hearts that are genuinely revealed and direct personal thoughts we are allowed to peek into as readers, the more our understanding and empathy can grow for the characters.
The story as a whole just carries so much more impact that way.
I friggin ADORE how this author writes too…she has this special way with simple, straight forward sentences. They kinda just crawl into your brain space and wind into your heartstrings kinda suddenly without pretense:
“Don’t cry over the same thing twice. Get it all out the first time, even if it’s loud and messy. Then, it’s over.”
“Weylyn laughed the way adults do after they’ve been sad (when their mouths realize they’re happy before their eyes do.)”
“Don’t leave anything you can’t come back to.”
The ending of this book was just PERFECT too.
It’s filled with hope and sprinkled with tenderness….it gives you closure while at the same time allows for just enough open ended-ness so you can imagine many scenarios as to how the stories continue after the pages are complete.
Loved loved loved this read from page one to done, yall.
It’d be a great one for you to curl up with over the holidays too!
This was Ms Lang’s debut novel and oooooooweeeeeee…..I am PUMPED to read more by her in the future!