New Light

New Light is a satisfying exploration of mysticism, science, and interpersonal relationships. The novel seems all the more real because main characters come across as friends you might hang out with at Starbucks or a dinner party. The main character, Beth, meets an enigmatic scientist who is studying the neurological and psychological causes of altered states of consciousness. When Beth has a cosmic vision of her own, she decides to accompany the scientist to a commune called “New Light.”Insights into the mysteries of mind and body, the human need for friendship, acceptance, artistic expression, and sex, are conveyed in such natural terms during conversations, as well as Beth’s own thought processes, that the novel doesn’t feel academic in its approach. Intrigue builds as incidents at the commune become more inexplicable and even dangerous.

I didn’t read it. I know I won’t like it.

I found Annette Gilson's first novel, NEW LIGHT, to be an adventure story of the extraordinary kind. The psychological journey, led by the main character Beth, takes the reader through several mid-west stopping points, ending at a commune of visionaries called New Light. An array of characters propel and support Beth on her journey, but none more so than the aloof, logical, and observant, Houdini, whose own motivations to visit New Light coalesce with Beth's, forming an unwitting team with catalytic results. It is the spiritual mystery that attracts all of the book's personalities to the idyllic commune. Beth states this concisely near the end of the story, when speaking of New Light's spiritual leader (The Mother), she says:"The mystery. That was what she offered. The promise that, inside each of us, our true selves carried on their existences, independent of the lives we were forced to lead."In the end, Gilson leaves Beth, and the reader, with more questions than answers, but that should be expected from a spiritual adventure. Again, Beth states it best during her final confrontation with The Mother:"I don't think it's necessary to withdraw in order to re-evaluate your life."While highly recommending NEW LIGHT, I must emphasize that it is by no means a "light" read.

In Annette Gilson's remarkable debut novel, her narrator, Beth, tells the curious story of her experience in St. Louis shortly after arriving from New York. It opens with what I consider the sticking point of drama, Beth's intense visions. Without explanation or drug use, she feels her spirit burgeon, swelling into the night sky, pressing so close to stars as to feel their burn. Her vision gives her common ground with Houdini White, a scientist who has been studying vision phenomena and the New Age communities which claim to work with them. One of those communities, called New Light, is relatively close by, so Beth and Houdini visit it for several days.It's a quiet story, broken up by Beth's short discussions of mystical science and conflict between the characters. Gilson's writing carries the tension and mystery effectively throughout the book. (I love the conclusion.) At New Light, Beth and Houdini meet a leader named, The Mother, who cultivates a mystery for the dozens of people living with her. Everyone there is supposed to be a visionary, but each one comes at it differently and all interdependently. Because Beth has experienced vision outside the group, she could have remarkable gifts for their enrichment.But do these supernatural visions tell them anything? Nothing that deep introspection wouldn't. In this novel, supernature appears to exist as a nebulous expression of oneself. The message resolves to this: watch your world and those in it; be aware of yourself and your surroundings, then maybe you'll have more peace than the people who strive and yearn too much.Perhaps this is understandable peace, which is the reason the Lord God described his peace as beyond understanding. Like the poor community which doesn't complain about filthy water, the understandably peaceful decide to be content with transcendence that doesn't surpass their skin.