Genre Fiction
![Dani Shapiro - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_a_dani_shapiro.jpg)
Signal Fires: A novel
A "gripping" new novel (People) from the best-selling author of Inheritance: On a summer night in 1985, three teenagers have been drinking. One of them gets behind the wheel of a car, and, in an instant, everything changes.
"A haunting, moving, and propulsive exploration of family secrets." -Meg Wolitzer
ONE OF MOST EAGERLY ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF THE YEAR: L.A. Times, TIME, Vanity Fair, LitHub, BookPage, Library Journal, The Millions
Signal Fires opens on a summer night in 1985. Three teenagers have been drinking. One of them gets behind the wheel of a car, and, in an instant, everything on Division Street changes. Each of their lives, and that of Ben Wilf, a young doctor who arrives on the scene, is shattered. For the Wilf family, the circumstances of that fatal accident will become the deepest kind of secret, one so dangerous it can never be spoken.
On Division Street, time has moved on. When the Shenkmans arrive-a young couple expecting a baby boy-it is as if the accident never happened. But when Waldo, the Shenkmans' brilliant, lonely son who marvels at the beauty of the world and has a native ability to find connections in everything, befriends Dr. Wilf, now retired and struggling with his wife's decline, past events come hurtling back in ways no one could ever have foreseen.
In Dani Shapiro's first work of fiction in fifteen years, she returns to the form that launched her career, with a riveting, deeply felt novel that examines the ties that bind families together-and the secrets that can break them apart. Signal Fires is a work of haunting beauty by a masterly storyteller.
"A haunting, moving, and propulsive exploration of family secrets." -Meg Wolitzer
ONE OF MOST EAGERLY ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF THE YEAR: L.A. Times, TIME, Vanity Fair, LitHub, BookPage, Library Journal, The Millions
Signal Fires opens on a summer night in 1985. Three teenagers have been drinking. One of them gets behind the wheel of a car, and, in an instant, everything on Division Street changes. Each of their lives, and that of Ben Wilf, a young doctor who arrives on the scene, is shattered. For the Wilf family, the circumstances of that fatal accident will become the deepest kind of secret, one so dangerous it can never be spoken.
On Division Street, time has moved on. When the Shenkmans arrive-a young couple expecting a baby boy-it is as if the accident never happened. But when Waldo, the Shenkmans' brilliant, lonely son who marvels at the beauty of the world and has a native ability to find connections in everything, befriends Dr. Wilf, now retired and struggling with his wife's decline, past events come hurtling back in ways no one could ever have foreseen.
In Dani Shapiro's first work of fiction in fifteen years, she returns to the form that launched her career, with a riveting, deeply felt novel that examines the ties that bind families together-and the secrets that can break them apart. Signal Fires is a work of haunting beauty by a masterly storyteller.
Editorial Reviews
A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK: LA Times, TIME, LitHub, BookPage, Library Journal, The Millions, She Reads
"Powerful work that delves into the consequences of a long-hidden lie . . . Signal Fires doesn't shy away from loss but seeks to balance grief with grace. Shapiro's novel offers the comfort of a view from the stars." -The Washington Post
"[Shapiro] is adept at juxtaposing the magical (not magical realism) and the modern, showing how locations can be the same and not the same, and that a place can be right for some and not for others but that life can still turn out all right . . . Yes, Shapiro goes deep in Signal Fires, but it pays off. Her crisp prose propels the reader onward: I wanted to know what was going to happen to the characters and I was simultaneously fascinated by the metaphysics. It's definitely a novel worth your time -whatever your sense of that is." -Minneapolis Star Tribune
"In this meditative portrait of tragedy's long-lasting effects, Shapiro, also a bestselling memoirist, peers into the decades that follow to find the passages, ideas and unexpected connections that gradually, somehow, heal." -People
"Signal Fires is at its heart a family story, told in the gorgeous, evocative language [Shapiro] is known for." -BookPage
"Layered and finespun . . . It's a testament to Shapiro's abilities as a writer that we never feel whiplashed when being conveyed from one time period to another. Instead, the nonlinear narrative immerses us in the five main characters' most transformative moments . . . Elegant writing, supported by a clever plot, relatable characters, and brisk pacing." -Jewish Book Council
"[A] gorgeous new novel . . . The families' lives intertwine in poignant ways, showing how relationships-between siblings, parents and children, spouses, even neighbors-change over time. Have your tissues ready." -Real Simple
"
"Powerful work that delves into the consequences of a long-hidden lie . . . Signal Fires doesn't shy away from loss but seeks to balance grief with grace. Shapiro's novel offers the comfort of a view from the stars." -The Washington Post
"[Shapiro] is adept at juxtaposing the magical (not magical realism) and the modern, showing how locations can be the same and not the same, and that a place can be right for some and not for others but that life can still turn out all right . . . Yes, Shapiro goes deep in Signal Fires, but it pays off. Her crisp prose propels the reader onward: I wanted to know what was going to happen to the characters and I was simultaneously fascinated by the metaphysics. It's definitely a novel worth your time -whatever your sense of that is." -Minneapolis Star Tribune
"In this meditative portrait of tragedy's long-lasting effects, Shapiro, also a bestselling memoirist, peers into the decades that follow to find the passages, ideas and unexpected connections that gradually, somehow, heal." -People
"Signal Fires is at its heart a family story, told in the gorgeous, evocative language [Shapiro] is known for." -BookPage
"Layered and finespun . . . It's a testament to Shapiro's abilities as a writer that we never feel whiplashed when being conveyed from one time period to another. Instead, the nonlinear narrative immerses us in the five main characters' most transformative moments . . . Elegant writing, supported by a clever plot, relatable characters, and brisk pacing." -Jewish Book Council
"[A] gorgeous new novel . . . The families' lives intertwine in poignant ways, showing how relationships-between siblings, parents and children, spouses, even neighbors-change over time. Have your tissues ready." -Real Simple
"
Readers Top Reviews
MenagerieJudith D
Signal Fires is one of those books that is hard to put down. Shapiro seeds compelling questions throughout the book, most especially at the beginning, and you just have to keep reading to find the answers. *Spoilers Ahead* Teenage siblings sneak out one night and go for a joyride, with 15 year old Theo at the wheel, and a friend of his drunk sister, Sarah, riding shotgun. The car crashes, and when their father, Ben, a doctor, tries to save the friend, he makes a devastating mistake, and the girl dies. Sarah insists she was driving to protect Theo, and so begin the secrets that will eat away at the family for decades to come. Years later, Ben helps deliver a baby boy, Waldo, in the neighbor's kitchen. Years after that, his life and Waldo's intersect on a cold, snowy night at the foot of the oak tree where the car accident happened. Their lives entwine even more as Ben's wife, Mimi, suffering from Alzheimer's, goes missing the same night that Waldo runs away from home. Throughout the book we learn about the power of secrets and just how much they hurt individuals and families. Both Sarah and Theo search for ways to mitigate their pain. For Sarah it is alcohol, and for Ben it is food. For their parents, it is an abrupt change from the idyllic life they once had and never will again, and the strain of one parent's insistence on silence and the other's wish to address the issues. Every aspect of the family members lives is impacted by the unspoken rule that the night of the accident will never be discussed. The book is very well-written, especially from Ben and Waldo's POVs. They are the most fleshed out characters and it is their internal dialogues that inform us the most about the people and the world around them. While you feel for all of the main characters, these are the two that tug on your heartstrings. I am grateful that Shapiro gave us an ending for both of them, so we know what their futures will be like. There are some things that I would have liked to be included. It is mentioned early on that Ben's reputation is destroyed by the accident, yet nothing else is ever said about it. Did he lose his license or get sued? Did it impact their finances? Were the kids shunned at school because of that? It's also worth mentioning why neither Sarah or Theo were tested to see if they had been drinking. Was it because they were from a 'good family?' If so, that's another layer to the story that I would have liked to see. Overall, this is a compelling book about the power of the unsaid. Silence and secrets are toxic no matter how benign they might seem, and Shapiro drives this home in many poignant ways. A definite must read.
I love her work and this is no exception. Very moving. Did not want to put it down and didn't want it to end. Beautifully written.
Munson Menageri
This is without a doubt the best novel that I’ve read all year! I couldn’t put it down and it lingers with you long after reading. Highly recommend!
Rachel Del Grosso
As a huge fan of Shapiro’s work, I impatiently waited for the release of this book. When I got my hands on it I had to will myself to stop reading, to take breaks, so that I could keep the magic alive longer. Shapiro has written a stunning work of fiction. I’m truly in awe.
Cassie CRachel De
This beautiful story took hold of my heart immediately. It is magical, deep, and so real. As a mom of two little kids, it was a bit painful to read at times, as it puts some hard truths on display and gave me quite a few mini existential crises. It reminded me over and over again that — for better or for worse — nothing stays the same. I read it in two days, barely able to get anything done in between, and I won’t soon forget this story and its gorgeous characters. Just wonderful.
Short Excerpt Teaser
Sarah and Theo
And it's nothing, really, or might be nothing, or ought to be nothing, as he leans his head forward to press the tip of his cigarette to the car's lighter. It sizzles on contact, a sound particular to its brief moment in history, in which cars have lighters and otherwise sensible fifteen-year-olds choke down Marlboro Reds and drive their mothers' Buicks without so much as a learner's permit. There's a girl he wants to impress. Her name is Misty Zimmerman, and if she lives through this night, she will grow up to be a magazine editor, or a high school teacher, or a defense lawyer. She will be a mother of three or remain childless. She will die young of ovarian cancer or live to know her great-grandchildren.
But these are only a few possible arcs to a life, a handful of shooting stars in the night sky. Change one thing and everything changes. A tremor here sets off an earthquake there. A fault line deepens. A wire gets tripped. His foot on the gas. He doesn't really know what he's doing, but that won't stop him. He's all jacked up just like a fifteen-year-old boy. He has something to prove. To himself. To Misty. To his sister. It's as if he's following a script written in Braille, his fingers running across code he doesn't understand.
"Theo, slow down." That's his sister, Sarah, from the backseat.
Misty's riding shotgun.
It was Sarah who tossed him the keys to their mom's car. Sarah, age seventeen. After this night, she will become unknowable to him. The summer sky is a veil thrown over the moon and stars. The streets are quiet, the good people of Avalon long since tucked in for the night. Their own parents are asleep in their queen-size bed under the plaid afghan knitted by one of their father's patients. His mom is a deep sleeper, but his dad has been trained by a lifetime as a doctor to bolt awake at the slightest provocation. He is always ready.
The teenagers aren't looking for trouble. They're good kids-everyone would say so. But they're bored; it's the end of summer; school will resume next week. Sarah's going into her senior year, after which she'll be gone. She's a superstar, his sister. Varsity this, honors that. Bristling with potential. Theo has three years left, and he's barely made a mark. He's a chubby kid whose default is silence and shame. He blushes easily. He can feel his cheeks redden as he holds the lighter and inhales, hears the sizzle, draws smoke deep into his lungs. His father-a pulmonary surgeon-would kill him. Maybe that's why Sarah threw him the keys. Maybe she's trying to help-to get him to act, goddamnit. To take a risk. Better to be bad than to be nothing.
Misty Zimmerman is just a girl along for the ride. It was Sarah who asked her to come. Sarah, doing for Theo what Theo cannot do for himself. Change one thing and everything changes. The Buick speeds down Poplar Street. Misty stretches and yawns in the passenger seat. Theo turns left, then right. He's getting the hang of this. He flicks the directional, then heads onto the parkway. As they pass the mall, he looks to see if Burger King is still open.
"Watch it!" Sarah yells.
He swerves back into his lane, heart racing. He almost hit the guardrail. He gets off the parkway at the next exit and eases up on the gas. This was maybe a bad idea. He wants to go home. He also wants another cigarette.
"Pull over," Sarah says. "I'll drive."
Theo looks for a good spot to stop. He has no idea how to park. Sarah's right-this is stupid.
"Actually no, forget it. I shouldn't," she says.
They're almost home. It's like a song in his head: Almost home, almost home, almost home. Just a few blocks to go. They pass the Hellers' house, the Chertoffs'.
As he leans forward, the lighter slips through Theo's fingers and drops into his open shirt collar. He lets out a yelp and tries to grab it, which only makes matters worse. He arches his back to shake the burning metal thing loose, but it's wedged between his shorts and his belly. The smell of singed flesh. A perfect shiny half-moon will remain. Years from now, when a lover traces the scar on his stomach and asks how he got it, he will roll away. But now-now their futures shoot like gamma rays from the moving car. Three high school students. What if Sarah had gone out with her friends instead, that night? What if Misty had begged off? What if Theo had succumbed to his usual way of being, and fixed himself a salami sandwich with lots of mustard and taken it with him to bed?
The wheel spins. The screams of teenagers in the night. Theo no stop jesus fuck help god and there is no screech of brakes-nothing to blunt the impact. A concussion of metal and an ancient oak: the sound of two worlds colliding.
The fender and right side...
And it's nothing, really, or might be nothing, or ought to be nothing, as he leans his head forward to press the tip of his cigarette to the car's lighter. It sizzles on contact, a sound particular to its brief moment in history, in which cars have lighters and otherwise sensible fifteen-year-olds choke down Marlboro Reds and drive their mothers' Buicks without so much as a learner's permit. There's a girl he wants to impress. Her name is Misty Zimmerman, and if she lives through this night, she will grow up to be a magazine editor, or a high school teacher, or a defense lawyer. She will be a mother of three or remain childless. She will die young of ovarian cancer or live to know her great-grandchildren.
But these are only a few possible arcs to a life, a handful of shooting stars in the night sky. Change one thing and everything changes. A tremor here sets off an earthquake there. A fault line deepens. A wire gets tripped. His foot on the gas. He doesn't really know what he's doing, but that won't stop him. He's all jacked up just like a fifteen-year-old boy. He has something to prove. To himself. To Misty. To his sister. It's as if he's following a script written in Braille, his fingers running across code he doesn't understand.
"Theo, slow down." That's his sister, Sarah, from the backseat.
Misty's riding shotgun.
It was Sarah who tossed him the keys to their mom's car. Sarah, age seventeen. After this night, she will become unknowable to him. The summer sky is a veil thrown over the moon and stars. The streets are quiet, the good people of Avalon long since tucked in for the night. Their own parents are asleep in their queen-size bed under the plaid afghan knitted by one of their father's patients. His mom is a deep sleeper, but his dad has been trained by a lifetime as a doctor to bolt awake at the slightest provocation. He is always ready.
The teenagers aren't looking for trouble. They're good kids-everyone would say so. But they're bored; it's the end of summer; school will resume next week. Sarah's going into her senior year, after which she'll be gone. She's a superstar, his sister. Varsity this, honors that. Bristling with potential. Theo has three years left, and he's barely made a mark. He's a chubby kid whose default is silence and shame. He blushes easily. He can feel his cheeks redden as he holds the lighter and inhales, hears the sizzle, draws smoke deep into his lungs. His father-a pulmonary surgeon-would kill him. Maybe that's why Sarah threw him the keys. Maybe she's trying to help-to get him to act, goddamnit. To take a risk. Better to be bad than to be nothing.
Misty Zimmerman is just a girl along for the ride. It was Sarah who asked her to come. Sarah, doing for Theo what Theo cannot do for himself. Change one thing and everything changes. The Buick speeds down Poplar Street. Misty stretches and yawns in the passenger seat. Theo turns left, then right. He's getting the hang of this. He flicks the directional, then heads onto the parkway. As they pass the mall, he looks to see if Burger King is still open.
"Watch it!" Sarah yells.
He swerves back into his lane, heart racing. He almost hit the guardrail. He gets off the parkway at the next exit and eases up on the gas. This was maybe a bad idea. He wants to go home. He also wants another cigarette.
"Pull over," Sarah says. "I'll drive."
Theo looks for a good spot to stop. He has no idea how to park. Sarah's right-this is stupid.
"Actually no, forget it. I shouldn't," she says.
They're almost home. It's like a song in his head: Almost home, almost home, almost home. Just a few blocks to go. They pass the Hellers' house, the Chertoffs'.
As he leans forward, the lighter slips through Theo's fingers and drops into his open shirt collar. He lets out a yelp and tries to grab it, which only makes matters worse. He arches his back to shake the burning metal thing loose, but it's wedged between his shorts and his belly. The smell of singed flesh. A perfect shiny half-moon will remain. Years from now, when a lover traces the scar on his stomach and asks how he got it, he will roll away. But now-now their futures shoot like gamma rays from the moving car. Three high school students. What if Sarah had gone out with her friends instead, that night? What if Misty had begged off? What if Theo had succumbed to his usual way of being, and fixed himself a salami sandwich with lots of mustard and taken it with him to bed?
The wheel spins. The screams of teenagers in the night. Theo no stop jesus fuck help god and there is no screech of brakes-nothing to blunt the impact. A concussion of metal and an ancient oak: the sound of two worlds colliding.
The fender and right side...
