All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
Published by Crown Publishing Group (NY)
Publication date: June 25, 2024
Genres: Book Clubs, Fiction, Coming-of-age, Historical, Mystery, Suspense
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When 13-year-old Patch sees a girl being abducted he acts without thinking and rushes the kidnapper. The girl escapes, but what follows changes Patch’s life and is the foundation for Chris Whitaker’s new novel All the Colors of the Dark. Patch and everyone he knows is changed by his heroic act in this opus saturated with the feeling of a writer who is leaving it all on the page.
Despite the very shocking events at the beginning of All the Colors I was largely captivated by the tenderness of friendship between two of the main characters, Patch, who likes to pretend he’s a pirate and Saint, a girl whose love of learning is only outpaced by her loyalty to Patch. Whitaker shares the reminiscences of childhood and the outsize pain and importance best friends can have in language that is familiar to anyone remembering a dear childhood companion. What I should have noted was that the novel is 600 pages long, meaning the emotions felt at 30% would be long gone by the halfway mark. The book becomes a sprawling story of one young man, who in saving a girl’s life, loses his own. But not through death, rather through pursuing another girl who may or may not have existed, amidst a hunt for a serial killer who’s been active for decades. It’s a novel of obsession, Patch for the girl he could not save, and Misty the girl he did save who falls in love with him. Then there’s Saint, for whom losing Patch changes her life forever, in some ways accelerating her growth, and in others keeping her locked into a time where one boy was her whole world.
Whitaker is carving a space for himself as the writer of lost souls. All the Colors is the second of his books I’ve read populated by characters lost to a trauma from the past, unable to recover and obsessed with setting things right far past the point when that’s possible. Practicality is not a theme in his novels. These are stories of longing, most often for a love and lives spent wishing for a different outcome. Lives lived on hold or pause—a mindset I struggle with. At some point, you have to move on. If the romance of Scarlett pining for Ashley and Gatsby’s obsession with Daisy move you deeply then you’ll appreciate the ferocious determination of his characters when it comes to love.
With so many emotions at play, all against the very real backdrop of a serial killer, the novel swerves into the melodramatic. But rather than sharp twists and turns, All the Colors of the Dark is a slow-moving river with curves appearing after chapters have passed not within pages. It meanders and given the detail with which Whitaker paints his characters, requires patience and commitment to follow each character’s trajectory. That, plus an ending too good to be true left All the Colors in the Dark just shy of four stars for me. Whitaker’s prose is strong enough that for readers who revel in details and are ready to sink into another world for weeks this is the summer novel for you.
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*I received a free copy of this book from Crown Publishing in exchange for an honest review.*
I just finished this one last night! I loved it, but it did lag in the middle a bit for me. Patch and Saint kept me in it though
I was and still am Team Saint! She was awesome, but I didn’t get why she couldn’t move on from Patch romantically.It was one of the itchy things that kept me from 4 stars.
Absolutely loved this one, but completely agree that it is a slow burn and definitely an “investment” read! Your review is splendid, as always!
Thank you, so wonderful to see you here again! I hope you’re doing well.
It’s one of those novels that my initial reaction is more positive than when I stop and think about the details. Then I don’t like some of his choices.
Wow, I just finished the audiobook. I know I am in the minority because although I enjoyed the “story”, I did not care for the narrator or the author’s writing style. His leap jumping from chapter to chapter left me saying “wait, what?” There are 261 chapters in this book, I often felt that I needed more of an explanation before moving on. Because I am an avid audiobook listener, the importance of a good (if not great) narrator is of utmost importance. I didn’t like this narrator (sorry). As they say, everyone has a right to their own opinion and this is mine.
I completely understand! I’ve had to drop many an audiobook because of a narrator. The right voice is paramount.
I did not care for this narrator, either. It can definitely make or brake a book! His voice was very monotone…no intensity, which was needed for the character development. The book was long, and was an “investment” read, but it was good.
Interesting! I don’t listen to much fiction, but everyone I know that does says the narrator can make or break the book.
I completely agluree with Millie. The story was good, but I disliked two things. First, the narrator of the audiobook was awful. It was soo hard to listen to. And secondly, I hated how almost every chapter ended with a “mini mystery.” “Then she saw him…” Him, who? “Then he realized what it was. ..” Okay, so now I have to wait for several chapters to find out what he realized “it” was?
However, I certainly liked it enough to put his next book on hold. I’m just hoping there is a different narrator and perhaps a different kind of chapter ending.
You’re making me curious about this narrator! Hopefully, it will be someone different, but often publishers use the same one for an author.
You’re exactly right about the chapter endings. Once or twice it piques my interest, but by the 3rd/4th it feels like trying too hard. As if they’re not sure you’ll keep reading.
Hello, I’m wondering how much language and spice (if any) is in the book?
Oh gosh, I read it months ago. I’d say the language was rough, but the spice was mild to medium at best. I’m a fan of “fade to black” or closed door scenes so if I didn’t say anything in my review about it being too much, it should be all right.
I’ve just started the book about 1/4 way through and I will finish it but am feeling similar wow this is a long book and could less be more?
I think it definitely could be, but Whitaker seems to be a writer who believes more is more.
This book was not what I would recommend to anyone
. . . Too difficult to follow. . . Did not like the author’s writing style
I get it. He has a very specific style and it can get to be too much after a while.
It’s actually not that long of a book. If it was conventionally designed w single spaces lines, it would be about 300 pages. I found thd characters “Disney-like” and could not finish it.
Interesting! I read it on a Kindle and so didn’t notice. I can see what you mean by Disney-like. It’s just as well you didn’t finish it because events became even dramatic towards the end.
I enjoyed the book and Whittaker’s writing style.
Your summary is excellent. However I think it’s important to mention that Patch is missing an eye, hence his name, and that he took care of his very fragile Mom.
What bothered me most about the author’s writing style was that he used a lot of pronouns that left me wondering who “he” “she” or “it” was. I had to backtrack and reread a number of parts and sometimes still couldn’t get the answer.
Interesting! I’m not sure I noticed that, but there was so much to absorb. He’s a maximalist and I don’t always love that.