Review – Book of Days

Cameron Vaux is losing his mind. Eight years earlier, his dying father predicted he would suffer from incredible memory loss and that in order to be healed, he had to find a book that records the days of everyone’s lives. Cameron brushes off the idea until he starts losing memories of his recently deceased wife. This pushes him to search for the Book of Days, which leads him to Oregon.

Along with an unlikely partner, Cameron looks into the might-be-real legend, becoming more desperate and reckless with every passing day. The townspeople are more of a hindrance than a help, and very secretive, but he presses on. Cameron dares to believe the book is real. But so does Jason Judah, a strong cult-type leader who desires only his own gain. What will he do to find the book first? Who knows the truth, but will not divulge it?

This is going to be a strange, maybe even a bit confused book review. The reason: because I’m not exactly sure what to say about it. I was expecting a fast-paced, suspenseful, tale. The concept for this book has incredible potential—a very cool idea. The book cover is great and so is the copy on the back. However, it moved slower than I thought it would and fell a little flat for me, at least as far as the plot pace and the style of writing. It seemed a little choppy and contrived. I hesitate to type these words because I know how hard it is to write and perfect a novel, but that’s how I felt when reading.

I believed in the main characters, however. I liked Cameron, although he had a little too much inner monologue going on. The author made us grow to like Ann and Taylor as well. I think the more antagonistic characters talked a good game but never did a whole lot when it came down to fighting for what they wanted (save one). I guess I wanted the outward stakes to be higher for everyone. A revelation or two attempted to make the story more interesting, but I had already guessed one of them before the hints were dropped.

One thing the author did capture well was the pain of losing a spouse. I’ve never gone through this, so I can’t imagine it, but Rubart did a good job of helping me to do so. Although the myriad flashbacks of Jessie were a little much, they did shed light onto Cameron’s quest and the pain of him losing those memories. This story is less about suspense and more about conquering grief, inner demons, and fears. And about trusting God no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in.

For those readers who want a journey of faith, an interesting story with a slower pace, and a happy ending, this book should satisfy.