Synopses & Reviews
NOW THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE JAMIE MARKS IS DEADPart thriller, part ghost tale, part love story, One for Sorrow is a novel as timeless as The Catcher in the Rye and as hauntingly lyrical as The Lovely Bones. Christopher Barzak’s stunning debut tells of a teenage boy’s coming-of-age that begins with a shocking murder and ends with a reason to hope.
Adam McCormick had just turned fifteen when the body was found in the woods. It is the beginning of an autumn that will change his life forever. Jamie Marks was a boy a lot like Adam, a boy no one paid much attention to—a boy almost no one would truly miss. And for the first time, Adam feels he has a purpose. Now, more than ever, Jamie needs a friend.
But the longer Adam holds on to Jamie’s ghost, the longer he keeps his friend tethered to a world where he no longer belongs . . . and the weaker Adam’s own ties to the living become. Now, to find his way back, Adam must learn for himself what it truly means to be alive.
Praise for One for Sorrow
“Christopher Barzak’s sympathy and humor, his awareness, his easeful vernacular storytelling, are extraordinary, and his mournful, unforgettable teenagers drive us deep into the land of the dead practically before we've even fastened our seatbelts.”—Jonathan Lethem, author of Motherless Brooklyn
“An amazing, original debut from an amazing, original writer. One for Sorrow may be the most haunting ghost story I’ve ever read.”—Karen Joy Fowler, author of The Jane Austen Book Club
“An uncommonly good book with brains, heart, and bravery to spare. Readers who don’t find themselves in sympathy with Barzak’s characters were never adolescents themselves.”—Kelly Link, author of Magic for Beginners
“An honest and uncanny ride through the shadows between grief and acceptance. This is how real magic works.”—Scott Westerfeld, author of Uglies and Extras
Synopsis
Part thriller, part ghost tale, part love story,
One for Sorrow is a novel as timeless as
The Catcher in the Rye and as hauntingly lyrical as
The Lovely Bones. Christopher Barzaks stunning debut tells of a teenage boys coming-of-age that begins with a shocking murder and ends with a reason to hope.
Adam McCormick had just turned fifteen when the body was found in the woods. It is the beginning of an autumn that will change his life forever. Jamie Marks was a boy a lot like Adam, a boy no one paid much attention to—a boy almost no one would truly miss. And for the first time, Adam feels he has a purpose. Now, more than ever, Jamie needs a friend.
But the longer Adam holds on to Jamies ghost, the longer he keeps his friend tethered to a world where he no longer belongs…and the weaker Adams own ties to the living become. Now, to find his way back, Adam must learn for himself what it truly means to be alive.
About the Author
Christopher Barzak was born and raised in rural Ohio, has lived in a southern California beach town, the capital of Michigan, and the suburbs of Tokyo, Japan, where he taught English in rural junior high and elementary schools. His stories have appeared in many venues, including Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, Trampoline, Interfictions, Nerve, Salon Fantastique, and The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror. Currently he lives in Youngstown, Ohio, where he teaches writing at Youngstown State University. One for Sorrow is his first novel.
Reading Group Guide
1. Discuss the novels four epigraphs. How do those perspectives on life and death reflect the events in
One for Sorrow? Do these quotations match your perception of mortality?
2. Reread the rhyme that provides the novels title (Adam recalls his grandmother delivering these lines in “The Facts of Death”). What aspects of fate are present in the other lines, originally referring to crows circling broken stalks of corn? What allowed Adam and his grandmother to see images that were invisible to others?
3. What caused Adams family to break down? Is his father the only source of their suffering? What accounts for the tremendous differences between Adam and his brother, Andy?
4. Does Gracie give Adam an initiation into love that will serve him well later in life? Do he and Gracie harm or heal each other?
5. How does Gracies family life compare to Adams? Did she and Adam share the same reasons for wanting to leave? Why did he manage to escape again, while she was not able to do so?
6. Does Adams mothers accident mirror other debilitating events in the novel? To what extent do Adam and Jamie also experience a version of paralysis? Is his mother the only one who develops an unhealthy relationship with her caregiver?
7. How would you characterize the vision of death and afterlife presented in Jamies story? Do you believe in a spirit world? If so, what do you think causes a soul to be restless? How do the novels characters, living or dead, find peace?
8. Adam alludes to reading a novel like Catcher in the Rye, expressing disdain for a well-heeled runaway teen like Holden Caulfield. What might Holden think of Adam? What distinguishes Adams narrative voice from that of other fictional teenage characters who have told a tale of painful alienation?
9. In “The Facts of Death,” Adam prepares the first draft of his Things I Know about the Dead and Other Observations. What would your own list of facts of death look like?
10. What are the major differences between Jamies and Francess relationship with death? In the end, did it prove to be liberating when Adam burned down the Wilkinson house? What were his motivations for doing that?
11. Was Adams grandmother right about the “finger of God”? How does Adams concept of God and religion change after his intense education from Jamie?
12. What is Tias role in guiding Adam back to his family? What does her fathers decrepit church come to mean to Adam? What turning points spurred him to return to his family after such a long absence?
13. How had you perceived Lucy in the beginning of the novel? Did you agree with those who didnt trust her?
14. The novel opens with words Adam would hear at the starting line: “On your marks … get set … go!” His aunt was especially supportive of his role on the track team. In what ways is running an appropriate metaphor for his life?
15. How is life defined in One for Sorrow? Who among the living and the dead provide Adam with the will to live? What does it take for Adam to discover what it means to truly be alive?
By turns chilling and poignant,
One for Sorrow is the story of Adam McCormick, a teenage boy who is literally caught between two worlds. At fifteen, his life seems to be unraveling all around him. Confined to a wheelchair after a tragic car accident, Adams mother seems powerless to defend herself or her sons against their antagonistic father. At school, Adam thought hed finally met a friend in Jamie Marks, but when Jamie is found dead in the woods, no place feels safe anymore. Then something remarkable happens: Jamies ghost appears, needing Adam desperately and opening his eyes to a new vision of loyalty and hope.
An author with astonishing storytelling powers, Christopher Barzak has created a gripping debut novel youll not soon forget. The questions and discussion topics that follow are intended to enhance your reading of One for Sorrow. We hope they will enrich your experience of this mesmerizing novel.