The Raising: A Novel (P.S.) Laura Kasischke
Harper Perennial, March 2011
ISBN: 978-0062004789
The Raising is one of those novels that defies explanation. It's a mix of psychological thriller, mystery, and even perhaps a bit of ghostly horror.
To anyone outside of her small community, Nicole Werner's death might just seem like another tragic accident but on the night of that fateful car crash, the lives of those involved were forever changed. Craig, the boy driving the car that night, continues to see Nicole around campus. Shelley, the only other witness to the accident, is haunted by the lack of truth in the newspaper reports following. Perry is Craig's roommate and Nicole's long-time friend, who has been holding in some troublesome secrets of his own. And Professor Mira Polson is the person who will ultimately bring these people together again to confront both the lies and the truth.
The plot revolves around two main characters – Nicole Weiner and Craig Clement-Rabbits. The story starts one year after Nicole’s death in an accident caused by Craig. As the story unfolds, the layers peeled back, nothing is as it seems. The beauty of The Raising is discovering every twist and turn of the plot. There is an eerie feel throughout the book, a sense that something is amiss but the plot twists and turns and keep you guessing about both the main characters and what really happened to Nicole. Just as you think you know what might have happened, or think you understand one characters, something happens that changes your mind.
Far from being a ghost story, The Raising draws the reader into an intricate plot, flitting between the past (before Nicole’s death) and the present (after Nicole’s death). Its story explores college life through the eyes of students and professors. Kasischke digs beneath the surface of sororities and unearths a seedy underbelly of duplicity. The Raising is full of never-see-them-coming twists that are easily balanced by true emotion that occasionally borders on frantic. The book keeps you on your toes, giving you the feeling of knowing what will come next yet always proving you wrong. The Raising is a deeply chilling and constantly surprising book.
LAURA KASISCHKE teaches in the University of Michigan MFA program and the Residential College. She has published seven collections of poetry and seven novels. She lives with her family in Chelsea, Michigan.
