michael klerck

Jace, middle aged, and successful as a financial broker and trader, finds himself at a turning point when his wife dies of breast cancer.

Recently retired, life seems to present him with challenges never before imagined – his aging mother, suffering from dementia requires attention and, without his wife by his side to stand in for him, he finds the double bind of loving his mother Cecille, and resenting her for her lack of parenting almost unbearable. Jace enters therapy in order to deal with these issues, and emotions long since buried in the distant memories of fighting in the Border war in Southern Africa find their way to the surface. In having to deal with his mother’s relocation into frail care he recalls his incarceration in boarding school – his memories of both happy and brutals times in the sixties are movingly portrayed throughout the book.

Where The Light Is is a compelling read – the journey of a man seeking meaning amidst his own personal anger and memories; this, along with his need for intimacy, seldom seen from a man’s point of view, is beautifully portrayed in a novel that will make you cry, and laugh out loud.