Aftermath Paperback – 29 Jan 2009

Scott Campbell’s novel, Aftermath, grabbed me and held on tight. I knew, from reading his earlier novel, Touched, that I would be in for an extraordinary experience. UPS delivered Aftermath at 4:30pm. By 9:30pm, I had read every word and wanted to start over again. The more I read, the more absorbed I became with Harry, Lindsay, Michael, Marjorie, David – very real, tortured people, stumbling toward deliverance. Only a powerful writer can create characters drawn so precisely, so candidly, so complexly, that, even if we might not always like them, we agonize over their mistakes, bear their sorrows and urge them toward more promising outcomes. Aftermath is a magnificent portrait of a modern family, each dealing separately, inadequately with heartbreaking loss until reality slowly emerges in the process of creating a work of art. Both the painter and the family members are finally able to begin to relinquish their fantasies and tentatively reach out to each other, toward truth. And, because of this book, we readers, also, learn how to better deal with loss.

I saw the movie first, just finished the book today complex characters and i enjoyed the art aspect of the book. The characters had so much despair in them from all of there pain.

Aftermath by Scott Campbell is a wonderfully written book in which the characters leap off the page straight into your imagination. I could not put this book down and finished it in three days. The characters completely captured me. I liked them, disagreed with them, found myself to be angry with their decisions, and I worried about them. It is a book that you see yourself in at times, and sometimes find yourself struggling to understand the characters' decisions. It is true to life and a beautifully written book. Well done, Scott.

Scott Campbell's "Afterlife" is an extraordinary novel. The premise -- a painter who is commissioned to do a portrait of a brother and sister -- is fertile ground for exploring longing, loss, and finding the courage to move on. The characters leap off the page in their vulnerability and complexity. This is a novel without villains but rather with ordinary, flawed people who are trying to find a way to love in a world that can be harsh and unpredictable. I recommend this book most highly.

Scott Campbell has written a wonderfully conceived novel that drew me in from the first pages and held me to the end. The protagonist is commissioned, in essence, to paint grief. And in the act, he discovers and reconnects with his own. Campbell's story illustrates the power of suicide on those left behind. It also shows the healing power of human interaction as it interesects with the creative spirit. Painting, dance, and music play key roles in this unique and thoughtful story about loss, forgiveness, and acceptance.