After a surfing accident leaves him in a Persistent Vegetative State, Westlake Soul finds he has developed "superpowers," among which are the ability to communicate with his dog and other animals (but not humans, for various reasons having to do with "normal" people's psychology), and the ability to astral-project his soul. He is fully aware of the sights and sounds around him, yet is unable to communicate this fact to his family, who must make some life and death decisions about him.

This was my first exposure to Rio Youers other than hearing him sitting in on the 3 Guys With Beards podcast, and it has made me an instant fan of his, eager to read more. This book shows him to be an incredible writer, a skilled craftsman, forging raw words into a masterpiece of art. Every word is perfectly placed, every scene is flawlessly set. Within these pages, you will experience the thrill of a surfer catching a barrel, the wonder of swimming with whales, the heartbreak of love unfulfilled, and the horror of joy turning to despair.

The story propels the reader along a wide spectrum of feelings and emotion, from empathy and sympathy, to humor and pain, love and loss, and, most of all, hope.

Hope.

For, as Anne Frank said, “. . . where there's hope, there's life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again.”

This is one book I look forward to re-reading. Highly recommended to any readers of speculative fiction. ( )

This book is poetic in its descriptive beauty. Rio Youers has a distinctly unique gift. ( )

What a weird one for me.

I'd been told by a couple of different writer friends that this book was phenomenal, and that I had to read it. So, after a bit of this, I ultimately caved and picked it up.

And, if I'm honest, I was immediately underwhelmed by the narrative voice. Not because it was bad, it absolutely wasn't. I guess I'd just anticipated a much different voice, and this one was kind of dopey, kind of irreverent. And yet, it also suited the book, so after a while, while it never fit comfortably, I was at least able to slip into it.

But there were other choices the author made—primarily around things like Hub, the dog, talking very much like Westlake himself—that just rubbed me the wrong way.

And the whole Dr. Quietus thing? It was just fucking silly to me.

To be honest, I'd fully planned on panning the shit out of this book.

But then, goddamn it, along came Yvette, and the book took a corner. And then a couple of other plot points happened.

And I will fully admit, the last fifty-odd pages of this book, I was just barreling through, simultaneously not wanting it to end, and needing it to end so I'd know what the hell happened.

And then, without spoiling anything, along came the wall...or, perhaps that should be The Wall. And this author, Rio Youers, actually had me in tears. He got to me, and he got me good. The bastard.

So, I can say that this was a novel that completely confounded my expectations, it took some conventions of writing I tend to hold sacred and tossed them out the fucking window. But somehow, it all worked...and worked really well.

I guess I'm gonna be one of those people that'll tell you this book is phenomenal, and that you have to read it. ( )

I loved everything about this book. It is a beautiful accomplishment. ( )

BRILLIANT ( )

Egalley thanks to ChiZine Publications
So, I opened this book expecting a light superhero's story. Not so much.

I would never ever look at or think of people who are stuck in a permanent vegetative stage in the same way I used to look them. And that's what this powerful heart wrenching book did to me.

Westlake is a former golden boy, talented surfer and a charming person generally loved by all. He's got a girlfriend whom he loves deeply and who he thinks is his future Mrs. Soul. He's got his best friend, his cool dog Hub and his family. Until an accident on a surfing board damages his brain to the extent where he slips into a coma and becomes a vegetable.

What it would be like if your soul and brain, your subconscious could astral project all over the world, if you could feel everything and read people's thoughts but could not physically express any of yours? A permanent hell, that even Westlake's cheerfulness can't overcome.

He's been like this for two years, travelling all over the world with his mind, speaking with animals, especially with his dog and fighting Dr.Quietus which I presume is his definition of death, but now his parents decide to switch off his life support which means his feeding tube is taken out and he slowly starves to death.

It's excruciatingly painful and Westlake has only up to 2 weeks of life left to try and come back or he is going down.

I was nearly sobbing by the end, he was so beautiful, our Mr Soul! His perception of people around him, his nurses or caretakers, his grief stricken parents and their tearful goodbyes were almost too much to bear.

The end... The end leaves you on the edge of desperately trying to believe in miracles. I really don't know what happened beyond the last sentence and I'm not sure I want to know.

This is one of those books that stays with you forever. Beyond amazing. Tearful. Grand. ( )

The story is a journey through emotions and feelings. The struggle of a superhero who cannot escape his own body is compelling and a page turner. This is a tremendous book and it could not have been any better.

This is a book that will be read again and again in my household. A true modern classic and something I could not recommend enough. ( )

Westlake Soul dwells in a permanent vegetable state following a surfing accident and he is now lives (if you can call it living) back home with his family. Although he cannot communicate, through his mind and his thoughts we travel with Westlake as he spends what remaining time he has in the presence of those he loves and who in turn love him....there are so many poignant moments in what undoubtedly is a memoir of a young man who constantly asks....what if? Nadia, the girl he was with, on that fateful morning cannot bear the pain and suffering and so there is one final visit....

" Those two words again: if only. She put her ipod and headphones back into her beach bag and stood up. The soles of her sneakers squeaked on the floor as she walked toward the door. One final look over her shoulder, the last wedge of snow sliding from her roof. I lay among my tubes and lines like a torn parachute. My cardiac monitor chirped. The door closed softly behind her." The family decision is taken to stop intravenously feeding Weslake and to grant him release from this living death, and so they gather around his bed in one final show of strength and love...

"This is going to be a night with Westlake," Dad said, parking my chair in the middle of the room before taking a seat next to Mom. They clasped each other's hands and that was nice to see. "A night for Westlake. We don't know how long we're going to have-" And here he stopped and his face stiffened and Mom rubbed his back. "We don't know how long Westlake has got, so we're doing this tonight, as a family, united in our love for him, and with a wish that our beautiful son and brother finds everything he wants in the next life."

There is a location at the midway point where Westlake uses the analogy of a plane crash to describe the situation he finds himself in…..

“ It wasn’t this fabricated news scene, or the thought of the crash itself- of dying- that unsettled me…but rather the thought of the time it would take for the plane to slam down to earth. Three minutes- or however long- of knowing you are about to die, of hearing the screams of the people around you, complete strangers, who know the same. A different timbre of scream. Harrowing. Pushed out on the final breaths. That’s what unsettled me. The time. And that’s what I’m experiencing now. My plane has lost all four engines and I’m nosediving toward my doom. I used to think that three minutes was a terrifying long time to know that you’re about to die, but it’s nothing – positively heaven- compared to one whole week. Or two”……..

Amidst all this pain there are some lighter moments of humour…Yvette is Westake’s permanent help/nurse and quite often displays bruises from yet another impromptu beating from her boyfriend Wayne. “I’ve told you very little about Wayne, but I’m willing to bet you’ve a fairly accurate picture of him in you head. The kind of guy who has Kimbo Slice wallpaper on his cell phone, and who thinks The Expendables should have won ten Academy Awards.”….

I truly love this story it is a story of sadness, a story about human nature and the bonds of family and love, and a story that ultimately can only have one ending…..but travel with us, travel with Westlake as he rides the big wave and sets out to meet his destiny and embrace his maker…. ( )

If you haven't heard of Rio Youers before, you need to go out right now and look up Westlake Soul, purchase it in whatever form you prefer, arm yourself with handkerchief or tissues, and settle down for a story that will shatter you with its beauty, elegance and raw honesty.

Similar in emotional impact and tone to Mitch Alboum's The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Youers' novel takes the reader into the world of former surfer, Westlake Soul, who is now in a vegetative state from a catastrophic surfing accident. Told in first person, mostly stream-of-consciousness, this is an ambitious novel delivered with such ease and simplicity it's as though Westlake himself sits beside you, telling you his tale.

And although the novel is pigeon-holed as science fiction, it is far more, part magic-realism, mostly stunning literary fiction.

The only caveat I would have is not to read this in public spaces, because people will wonder about the nervous breakdown you're having.

Well done, Rio Youers! ( )

Thank you to netgalley for sending me a copy!

I'm not sure if I can describe how much I recommend this book. Really. I'm quite stunned, especially since at first I wasn't sure it was going to be something I would enjoy. But it was more than that.

I cried buckets.

I rooted so hard for you, Westlake.

I love the imagery, the superhero fights, his astral projection all over the world. When he beats his super villain and then shows him mercy. And finally, facing death. ( )