Twenty-four year old Jake Johnson Jr. is at the crossroads. After graduating from college, he wants to enroll in Columbia and become a teacher. However, his father, Jake Sr., demands he study business instead. Jake is also hiding the fact he’s gay, knowing his father is homophobic. Then, one day, he meets a strange man named Cosmo. Throughout New York summer, two men – one young, the other old – discuss life, the universe, and just about everything else.
John-Gabriel Hsu James begins COMING IN FROM THE COLD decades earlier, with Jake’s father barely out of his teens. Initially, this seemed needless but it turns out to be quite the opposite. As the author points out, people need to learn about their origins to understand their families and themselves. Jake is African-American and no matter how much he might try, he can’t deny how slavery and racism shaped his family and himself.
The majority of the novel is a series of talks between Cosmo and Jake but it turns out that Cosmo’s spiritual teachings are a bit of a mess. Characters will discuss the evils of colonialism and the trans-Atlantic slave trade one moment, then observe the way Zodiac signs affect history. Heaven and hell are real, but so are reincarnation and intergalactic alien observers. In general, the novel’s examination of issues–such as the long-term societal effects of slavery–are far more interesting than talks about positive energy vibrations and fourth-dimensional spiritual realms. While the author’s thoughts come from a place of compassion, they aren’t exactly ground-breaking. Evil begets evil. Be kind to yourself and others. Honesty and trust are fundamental for healthy relations. These are valid points, but the genuine challenge comes in applying these ethical lessons in everyday life. In addition, merely telling readers the moral of the story feels a bit dry. COMING IN FROM THE COLD is much more effective when it shows Jake trying to use Cosmo’s teachings while dealing with his doubt, anger, and love. His relationships with his grandparents and his lover, Hiro, are particularly touching.
Even as the author John-Gabriel Hsu James aims to take readers on a journey of spiritual self-discovery, COMING IN FROM THE COLD works far better as a story of a young gay man learning to accept himself.
~Danijel Štriga, for IndieReader