“Buildings fell. People died.”

In the fictional college town of Noxhurst, upstate New York, a building explodes. A group of young people stand atop another high roof, not far away, to watch and celebrate. From the first chapter, we know how the story ends - but how did we get here? Who are they, and why are they celebrating? This is The Incendiaries.

Told from the alternating perspectives of three narrators - Phoebe, Will, and John Leal - we fly through months and jump back years, to discover the impact of our life experiences, and how the mistakes we make and the decisions we take shape our futures.

Incendiaries cover.jpg — The Incendiaries

Virago, 2018

R O Kwon

Will is a hardworking student from a background of near-poverty, desperately trying to fit in. Phoebe is captivating, talented, the centre of any group of people - and hiding a traumatic past. John Leal is a little older then the others, a passionate activist and aspiring leader.

“Call me when you’re tired of wasting this life”

While Will tries to carve out a niche amongst the well-off student population, Phoebe is targeted by John Leal to join his ‘jejah’ - a small community he’s brought together under his charismatic influence. Phoebe was hot-housed towards musical mastery in childhood. A tragic car accident we learn more about as the story unfolds has taken her mother from her, the mother who brought her up alone. Phoebe is ready to be part of something meaningful and John Leal appears ready to provide it.

Will, on the other hand, has lost a strong Christian faith which he held as a child and young adult. Feeling abandoned by the God he grew up serving and adoring, he is wary of the jejah and its secrecy. Will and Phoebe begin a tumultuous relationship, where Phoebe holds all the emotional power.

“the girl had walked the high-dive ledge as if she couldn’t die”

John Leal is the ultimate unreliable narrator. His back-story in Korea is told in flashbacks that shift and change with time, his audience, and his own desire to manipulate and control. The whole book is unsettling - you never know just exactly what’s real or what people just want others to believe. There are no speech marks through the book, which took a little adjusting to, but which definitely added to the experiential stream-of-consciousness style.

Phoebe is slowly drawn into John Leal’s web. Along with the rest of the group, she is set exercises and tasks to do, ostensibly to prove her loyalty to God, but from the outside the reader can see the slow downward spiral as she comes more completely under John Leal’s control. He begins to influence the group’s thoughts and opinions, and when Phoebe is all but forced to take part in a pro-life march, we start to see where the battle lines are being drawn.

“with all illusions, you’ve got to be consistent”

Everyone in The Incendiaries is pretending to be something they are not. Strong faith, lost faith, insider, outsider. Most of us will have experienced impostor syndrome at some time (waves) and this book scrubs those wounds raw. As Will tries to rescue Phoebe from the jejah, he becomes more desperate and also tries to influence her in ways both positive and counter-productive. Phoebe has found her community but is increasingly lost. The ingredients for disaster are now all collated.

“The fall wind smelled of reasons to live”

There is no doubt that The Incendiaries is full of a creeping sense of menace. There are also moments of joy, though - the early days of Will and Phoebe’s relationship are sweetly innocent. The reader’s fore-knowledge that it cannot and will not last is bittersweet.