Not all of the stories to be discussed at Saturday’s Iola Family Reading Festival are of the light-hearted fare.
Jason Malott’s debut novel, “Evolution of Shadows,” explores the other end of the spectrum, focusing instead on man’s most notorious atrocities and its inherent effects on those who witness it.
Malott will discuss “Evolution of Shadows” at 3 p.m. Saturday at Allen County Community College.
“Evolution of Shadows” follows the story of three acquaintances of a missing photojournalist Gray Banick, traveling to his last known whereabouts near Sarajevo in war-torn Bosnia.
One, Jack, is a fellow photographer, who like his missing counterpart, saw firsthand the effects of the Serbs’ ethnic cleansing of Bosnians following the disintegration of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s.
The second, Emil, is a Bosnian native who served as an interpreter for the two photographers. Emil has demons of his own — his family was among those slaughtered.
The third, Lian, is a former love interest of Banick, who reluctantly chose to marry another in keeping with her family’s Chinese-American customs, despite her affection for the missing photographer.
The story’s vivid attention to detail takes the reader on a gripping journey to such places as the Bosnian killing fields, while referring to several locations certain to catch the eye of any Kansan. Banick’s character — like the author — is a Kansas State University graduate, and Malott drops in other local references, such as Lawrence, Kansas City or even Worlds of Fun.
Malott recounts the wrenching origins of each character’s scars, both physical and emotional, as the story shifts seamlessly from one character to another and from intimate settings between lovers to the chaotic quagmire of the battlefield.
Jack’s marriage has ended, because of his refusal to leave the chaotic lifestyle of a wartime journalist.
Lian’s own loveless marriage has created a strain between her and her estranged husband as well. She traveled to Bosnia without telling him.
Emil, likewise, is hoping to find another loved one in addition to Banick — uncertain if they will find either, dead or alive.
Malott, who lives in Kansas, also is publisher and editor-in-chief of the literary magazine, “The Project for a New Mythology.” He will sign copies of his book at 2 p.m. Saturday at the ACCC library. “The Evolution of Shadows,” was a November 2009 Indie Next Pick.
Malott a degree in creative writing at K-State and a masters degree in writing and poetics from Naropa University’s The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics in Boulder, Colo.
Tome studies ravages of war
