We Burned So Bright

As always, TJ Klune smacks the reader with so many thoughtful questions. This book says so many wonderful things about life and humanity, and that beauty continues to bring me to tears. Don and Rodney are fun protagonists to follow, and I love the many interactions they have with the community. They're a good pair and play well into each other's strengths and weekends. While this is down to personal taste, my frequent gripe with TJ Klune's writing is the "reading level" of the stories. (Of course, I keep reading them because TJ Klune is very good at plucking my heart strings). That being said, I felt that "We Burned so Bright" suffers less from that. It's still an easy read, but by being so the book feels more personal than what could otherwise be a lofty philosophical nightmare. The ending of the book, only in regards to the disaster set to end the earth, is a bit... cheesy. TJ Klune mentions this in the acknowledgements at the end, but it doesn't detract from the story as a whole. In summary, a short book worth the read with hijinks typical of TJ Klune's writing style.

What if, no matter how hard you try, no matter what you do, what if your best isn't good enough? What if you fail? What does that look like, and how do you go on after? What does that guilt do to a person? How does it manifest? These were the sparks that gave birth to We Burned So Bright. T. J. Klune’s short story is penned through the lens of husbands Don and Rodney as they deal with the approaching end by embarking on a cross country journey. Along the way, they meet little pockets of humanity. They picnic with veterinarian John, his pregnant wife Megan, and their two children Jamie and Lauren. They officiate the unofficial wedding between hippies Pantomime and Juniper. They encounter compassionate psychopath Amelia. They skinny dip with Gen Z lovers Amy and Becca. They are rescued by a Good Samaritan with dreadlocks Jerri and her crotch sniffing German shepherd mix Naks. All in the quest for a prodigal. He burned so bright. They all did. All bright flashes of light in the distance. Too bright to look at. Like the sun had exploded. Like it was time…Earth begins to break apart, everything humanity had ever known begins to end in what seems like failure on the side of a forgotten road in Washington. Maybe if they'd gone faster. Maybe if they hadn't stopped as much as they had and allowed themselves to become distracted by people. Good people. Bad people. Luck and happenstance. Sometimes it is horrible, devastating. But sometimes, it can lead to a life we couldn’t have predicted. A good life, even if it hurts. Out of everything in the universe, Don and Rodney wonder, what were the chances that they’d find each other. That any of us find each other. Perhaps that is part of the human condition: always having hope, even when it seems hopeless. If it is luck that brings us together, then we’re the luckiest people in the world. While this short story diverges in length from Klune’s traditional novels, its impact is equally philosophical, poignant and powerful. We Burned So Bright is an incendiary success!