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Reviewed by Gabriel Santos for Readers' Favorite
Will Stepp's 1986 brings the reader into the memories of a young boy growing up in the 1980s through a collection of short stories. These tales of boyhood involve getting lost in an unknown place, coping with a move to a new home, standing up for what is right, understanding risks and consequences, and other common lessons and events many of us experience as kids. But hints of unearthly episodes sprinkled throughout otherwise mundane stories make the book very different from ordinary accounts, blurring the line between reality, dreams, recollections, and the world beyond our immediate perception. This unusual mix of commonplace anecdotes and ethereal imagery provides a unique exploration of childhood, family, and memories.
This book engrossed me in ways I struggle to explain as Will Stepp perfectly captures the ineffable qualities of reminiscing. While people tend to present their life stories as cohesive narratives with clear structure, themes, and resolution, things are rarely so simple: we misremember things, omit details that don't neatly fit into the narrative, and filter past events through our current perspectives and biases. The book embraces this messiness and keeps us immersed in the main character's raw experiences through vivid descriptions, bursts of streams of consciousness, and hazy, dreamlike scenes open to interpretation. The combination of the comfort of nostalgia and the uneasiness of regrets and uncertainty leads to a one-of-a-kind journey across memories. If you enjoy quiet reflections on life and are comfortable with ambiguous stories that force you to contemplate, I strongly recommend 1986.
