A Small and Remarkable Life

A Small and Remarkable Life, by Nick DiChario, is an interesting book.  It is a science fiction novel in the style of the movies E.T. or Batteries Not Included. You know, the type of deal where a charming/cute naive little alien teaches us all a lesson in life, laughter, and caring. On a side note, I find it weird that there is this entire sub-genre of life-affirming-cute-aliens stories. Why not life affirming manatee-men? Or maybe tiny rapping dinosaurs that wear cool shades?

ANYWAYS, A Small and Remarkable Life is in fact a twist on this type of story. The book is set in the mid-1800s, in an America that has yet to be domesticated, civilized. Although much of the book takes place in upstate New York this is not a gentle pastoral tale. It is a bloody story, filled with hard men, frontier justice, and mercy killings. As one can imagine, the collision between the brutal setting and the lovable little magic alien makes for an interesting conflict.

And a A Small and Remarkable Life succeeds. For what it is worth, the book is positively packed with both ignorant people living hardscrabble lives and a little guy who can heal both bodies... and souls.  I'm just not sure the conflict of tone is enough to sustain the whole book. While the setting and writing shines, the plot feels slack, empty in a way. The alien, Tink, is born, has a ton of traumatic encounters, dies. Tink forges no great friendships with anyone. And while he ends up helping some people, most of the inspiring stuff happens "off screen."  There are themes: the nature of the soul, the nature of mercy, etc. there isn't any real message, just sort of a muddying up of philosophical waters.

Wolverine of the X-men makes a guest appearance in the book.

Despite its short comings A Small and Remarkable Life is worth a read. Its short enough that you could read it in one sitting, even if you don't find it quite to your taste, as I did. And the prose is clear, the atomsphere is strong, the characters are multi-faceted. Its hard to argue with that. A Small and Remarkable Life recieves 2 out of 3 prize jams.

Disclaimer: Wolverine isn't in A Small Remarkable Life. That was a lie.