A boy named Karl finds a beautiful, near-perfect seashell while digging for worms with his friend on the beach. He can’t quite place the species, and, when he lifts the shell to his ear, hears a child’s voice whispering his name and telling him to “remember.” An adult Karl comes back to himself with the shell in his hand, found among his recently passed father’s possessions as Karl and his wife clean out the house. Karl knows he had an older brother, Alex, who died thirteen years before Karl was born (Alex was not quite three). Karl never heard Alex’s voice, but he somehow knows it’s his brother speaking to him through the shell.
Karl struggles with guilt, having suspected, on some level, that he somehow “replaced” Alex—that his birth gave his parents permission to forget their first son. As he listens to the voice, he falls through memories and his grip on reality becomes increasingly tenuous.
Written by Kip Koelsch, RESONANCE is a brief work—more of a short story than a novel or novella. Its premise is effective; the distance of time between Alex and Karl makes their connection both impossible and powerfully moving. Karl’s guilt feels real and lived-in, making his extreme reaction to the shell and Alex’s pleas plausible and affecting.
However, its brevity means that the story could use a bit more detail. We know very little about Karl and Alex, and next to nothing about other characters like Karl’s wife or his old friend Jack—or even his family, beyond some specifics about Alex’s short life. This lack of context leaves readers to simply accept some of what they’re told, which robs the story of a little power. One can imagine a longer, more fleshed-out version of this story that would really show the guilt, confusion, and terror that Karl experiences.
But the brevity works to the story’s advantage in other ways. The ending sneaks up on you, for instance, though it might have been more easily anticipated if the story were lengthened. In any case, RESONANCE is a quick, enjoyable read that lands on its feet.
Short and punchy, Kip Koelsch’s RESONANCE is an emotionally charged horror story that leaves a mark.
~ Jeff Somers for IndieReader