Emily in a Nuclear World: The Story of a Girl’s Search for Home

 

“It was as if a chirping brook
Upon a toilsome way,
Set bleeding feet to minuets
Without the knowing why”

—Emily Dickinson

 

Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands
By Chris Bohjalian
Doubleday (July 8, 2014)
288 pages, $25.95

Colossal disasters like tsunamis and earthquakes destroy in an instant what takes years to build and nurture, reminding us of the fragility of all that is human. With breathtaking prowess, Chris Bohjalian channels the character of a troubled teenage girl who struggles to survive after a nuclear meltdown in Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands. Bohjalian tackles difficult topics such as nuclear safety, homelessness, drug addiction, alcoholism, sexual abuse, and prostitution, in this heart wrenching story of homecoming—where home embodies love and innocence.

Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands will be released on July 8, 2014.
Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands will be released on July 8, 2014.

Sixteen-year-old Emily Shepard’s world comes crashing down after a nuclear meltdown hits her small town in Vermont. Emily’s father, the operator at the Cape Abenaki nuclear plant, and her mother, the communications director for the plant, have surely perished. What is worse, they are in fact blamed for the disaster almost immediately after evacuation starts, and as rumors about their drinking habits spread.

Fearful of possibly having to testify about her parents’ alcoholism, Emily runs away and assumes a new identity inspired by her favorite poet and namesake, Emily Dickinson. She makes her way to Burlington, Vermont, where she joins the hordes of troubled souls living on the fringes of society. In this new world, Emily sinks into a life of theft, prostitution, and homelessness, “downing painkillers like M&M’s.” Everyone in her circle seems to have a dark past and a bleak future.

Bohjalian grapples with the theme of drug abuse at a time when the country, especially New England states, are dealing with a grave drug epidemic. Recent reports indicate a surge in overdoses, deaths, and crimes resulting from drug abuse. In this light, the book is not only timely but also a valuable contribution to the national discussion—albeit in the form of fiction.

Grief and the need for closure stand front and center in the novel. As Emily is confronted with the sure death of her parents, her life as a runaway begins. Immediately thereafter, her focus shifts to finding Maggie, Emily’s nine-year-old dog that got left behind when the meltdown happened. The desire to find Maggie remains with Emily throughout her story, overriding the grief of losing her parents. Emily has lost all that she has valued and loved when she meets Cameron, a nine-year-old boy who sparks in Emily an overwhelming desire to protect and nurture. Cameron, too, is parentless and a byproduct of a failed foster system. When we meet Cameron, we get the sense that he might in a way be a surrogate for Maggie.

Emily’s voice, which we partly owe to Bohjalian’s daughter Grace Experience, rings authentic—so much so that you cannot help but pause and marvel. Emily is introspective, rebellious, and acutely aware of her situation and mistakes. She is self-loathing and reckless. Add to these traits her wit and humor, and you have a narrator who is easy to love and forgive.

At times, Emily is also perceptive beyond her years: “[F]or most of the world—for most of Vermont—the Cape Abenaki meltdown is just another bit of old news. Tsunamis. School shootings. Syria. We watch it, we read about it, and then we move on. As a species, we’re either very resilient or super callous. I don’t know which.”

Lines and stanzas of Emily Dickinson poems are interspersed throughout Emily Shepard’s story—adding not only depth, but also serving as a glimmer of light in the darkest of places. Immersed in a life of drugs and prostitution, Dickinson’s poetry stays with Emily through the thick of it, and mirrors the beauty that remains in her. In that sense, it breaks the stereotype of the drug addict, the prostitute, and the homeless. It redeems. Bohjalian’s tribute to Dickinson is a testament to the power of poetry—and specifically, the timelessness of Dickinson’s words—and its place in today’s world.

Emily’s narration is fragmented; it lacks flow and chronology, but only because it reflects the psychology of a traumatized and displaced teenager on the run. Yet the story moves and breaks in swells and waves, and when it finally crashes onto shore, when you finally walk away from it, you will have changed.

Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands is a potent story of loss, hope, and the overpowering yearning for home—even if home has turned into a pile of radioactive materials, bittersweet memories, and an aging dog.

(Bonus fun fact: Look for an appearance by Nairi Shushan Checkosky, a Syrian Armenian who has recently arrived to Vermont. We owe the name to an Armenian Relief Society Eastern USA (ARS) 2013 auction winner, whose prize was the naming of a character in an upcoming Bohjalian novel.)

 

Nanore Barsoumian

Nanore Barsoumian

Nanore Barsoumian was the editor of the Armenian Weekly from 2014 to 2016. She served as assistant editor of the Armenian Weekly from 2010 to 2014. Her writings focus on human rights, politics, poverty, and environmental and gender issues. She has reported from Armenia, Nagorno-Karabagh, Javakhk and Turkey. She earned her B.A. degree in Political Science and English and her M.A. in Conflict Resolution from the University of Massachusetts (Boston).
Nanore Barsoumian

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2 Comments

  1. Look forward to reading this. And congratulations, Nairi Checkosky is an old friend and a great person, I am happy she is being immortalized in print!

    • Thanks Chris! And loads of fun to be fictionalized as a Syrian-Armenian in Vermont–who knew?? Chris Bohjalian, like my dear friend Chris Atamian, is a fantastic writer. Clear, powerful writing with a strong and pertinent message.

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