"I'd like that too," he says. But what he really means is that he'd like to take this suspended moment--the new millennium already careening inexorably forward--and roll it back instead. Back, back through layers of time to a split second when things could have gone differently, if only they had known. There must be that second, bobbing and darting in the aliveness of their shared history, unmistakable, glowing like a firefly in the darkness. If only they could pinpoint it and stop it there, right there, at the small but indelible spot that somehow they missed the first time around, if only, then perhaps their whole family could begin again. Oh, who is he kidding. Signal Fires begins with an ordinary summer evening and the accident that will follow each member of the Wilf family forever. The novel then moves backwards and forwards through time, through moments in the life of the various members of the Wilf family and then to the new family that moved in across the street, the Shenkmans, and how their lives are tied with the Wilfs in ways both small and large. Dani Shapiro has a talent for choosing the moments to stop and linger at and knows how to bring each character to life. This is a novel of very tightly woven together short stories, each focusing on a different character and how they negotiate the events of the past and how they might move forward. It's a short book, but one that had me thinking about it when I wasn't reading it and that had me eager to pick it up again whenever I could. Shapiro writes so well and each character is so well crafted that I'm eager to read more by her. (read less)

"I'd like that too," he says. But what he really means is that he'd like to take this suspended moment--the new millennium already careening inexorably forward--and roll it back instead. Back, back through layers of time to a split second when things could have gone differently, if only they had known. There must be that second, bobbing and darting in the aliveness of their shared history, (read more)

Dani Shapiro mines the rich lode of family angst in her novel, "Signal Fires." Ben and Mimi Wilf are happily married and live in a suburban town in New York State. They have two children, Sarah and her brother Theo. A tragic car accident will change Sarah and Theo's lives forever, but they are unwilling to talk about their pent-up feelings of guilt, shame, and desolation. Although the siblings try to repress their emotions, they will eventually learn that hiding one's pain does not make it disappear. Meanwhile, the Wilf's neighbors, the Shenkmans, have a son, Waldo, who is out of step with his peers. He is a genius, anti-social, and obsessed with astronomy and physics. The sensitive boy's bitter and hot-tempered dad constantly nags his son to act like other kids, but Waldo is a non-conformist who cannot change, no matter how much his father scolds him. This is an intensely emotional and poignant work of fiction in which Shapiro traces the trajectory of her characters throughout the years. She moves back and forth in time from 1970-2020, but the events are non-sequential. We get a bird's eye view of these people's experiences, not a sequential unfolding of their lives. This works well, because we are not so caught up in the day-to-day minutiae that we miss the big picture. In each chapter, an omniscient narrator reveals the thoughts of one of the protagonists. There are lyrical scenes about fate, the interconnectedness of all of humanity, and the possibility that a person's spirit may live on even after death. The author choreographs her intricate and engrossing plot with care. She explores in detail how the Wilfs and Shenkmans deal with adversity, conflict, and grievous loss (alas, they have more than their share of all of these). "Signal Fires" touches on universal themes: the importance of relating honestly and compassionately to ourselves and others; having the courage to seek psychological help when necessary; the nature of the fragile bond between parents and their offspring; how time and our memories affect each of us differently; and the possibility that we can fail miserably, yet somehow achieve redemption. That Shapiro accomplishes so much in a little over two hundred pages is amazing and admirable. It is likely that members of book clubs will embrace this powerful, multilayered, and poetic work of fiction. (read less)

Dani Shapiro mines the rich lode of family angst in her novel, "Signal Fires." Ben and Mimi Wilf are happily married and live in a suburban town in New York State. They have two children, Sarah and her brother Theo. A tragic car accident will change Sarah and Theo's lives forever, but they are unwilling to talk about their pent-up feelings of guilt, shame, and desolation. Although the (read more)