TEN THOUSAND ROCKS

A secretly married couple’s lives are altered after a horrific road traffic accident in Githaiga’s novel.

William Henry Young and Laura Sullivan went to middle school together; they lost touch after attending college but are reunited in a chance meeting in a grocery store in Richmond, Virginia. Will, a Black physician, and Laura, a White teacher, later marry but choose not to tell Will’s parents due to their disapproval of him dating a White girl. One day, Will announces that he intends to quit his practice and begin working as a medical director of an insurance company in Virginia Beach. After they move, their relationship becomes fraught as Laura grows eager to announce their marriage after keeping it a secret for almost 10 years. Will, in a fit of temper, buys a Porsche and is involved in a car accident that leaves him comatose and paralyzed. After he awakens, his bitterness leads him to request a divorce, but the story takes a number of unexpected turns as his rehabilitation progresses. Githaiga, a practicing physician, is a shrewd writer who contrasts the sterility of the medical world with the messiness of human emotion. He astutely examines traumatic injury from the perspectives of the patient, other family members, medical staff, and even an insurance company. The author achieves this by building a credible network of minor characters, such as Keturah, Will’s nurse, who conveys telling information about Will’s dad: “His father seemed resolute and unemotional. She found him polite to a fault, but noticed he had difficulty with small talk.” This attention to detail is also discernable in Githaiga’s sometimes overly elaborate descriptive style, as when Laura attempts to swat a fly: “It masterfully eluded her and made a quick loop around, only to retreat again as her hand swung back reflexively.” Overall, the author invites the reader into a meticulously crafted world that makes Will and Laura’s triumphs and setbacks feel tangible.

An intricately constructed tale with observant prose.