Mark A. Gibson’s ROSES IN DECEMBER (Hamilton Place, Book II), continues the story begun in A Song That Never Ends by telling readers what happened to its hero’s son, James Hamilton Jr. It makes a reasonably good standalone book, but the work is much better when read in its proper sequence. When the previous novel ended, James had just been born and his father, Jimmy Hamilton, had been killed in Vietnam—his body lost, seemingly for good. Nearly drowning in grief, his mother was pressured by her greedy mother-in-law into marrying her brutish older son, Mack Lee. Consequently, young James suffered a rather damaged childhood until a sudden accident set them both free.
The discovery of his photographic memory set him on new paths, and he became a brilliant but temperamental surgeon. The tragedy of 9/11 sent him to Afghanistan, a medic like his father, and set wheels in motion that resulted in his learning the true secret of his birth, as well as the true hero his father had been. His life story, like his father’s, contains moments of pure joy, love fulfilled, success, catastrophes, heartbreaks, and disasters. In his case, both are amplified by his literal inability to forget the past. Just as with the previous book, the catastrophes and wars of James’s generation (especially 9/11 and the subsequent Afghan war) are touched on in a personal, rather than political, dimension. These are human events that affect individuals, destroying some lives and sending others off into new directions. This deepens their emotional resonance with readers and reminds the audience why they mattered so much.
There is a fascinating exploration here of both the blessings and the downsides of James’s photographic memory. On the one hand, memory, as in the Barrie quote that gives the book its title, gives us “roses in December.” On the other hand, a clear memory of one’s painful moments can be a devastating curse. The method that James learns to control his most painful memories is intriguing, though the author admits in his notes that it is his own invention, merely based on the “memory castle” concept described by Cicero. The final revelations of this novel bring the two-book series to a satisfying conclusion, and more emotional readers may want to keep a handkerchief handy.
Like its predecessor, Mark A. Gibson’s ROSES IN DECEMBER is a book that does not shy away from brutality, tragedy, and heartbreak. However, it does have a satisfying ending with an ultimately hopeful and heartwarming message.
~Catherine Birzer for IndieReader