Aubrey Hamilton Reviews: The Reckless Oath We Made by Bryn Greenwood

The Reckless Oath We Made by Bryn Greenwood (Putnam, 2019) is a wonderfully inventive story laid out over the course of a few years. Billed by the publisher as a love story, it’s also a story of crimes current and past, and how they affect the perpetrators and the people around them. It can also be considered a sociological study of sorts, demonstrating how limiting poverty is and how few options its victims have, driving them into committing crimes to survive.

 

Zhorzha Trey is 26 years old. Her father died in prison, leaving the family destitute. Her mother, a compulsive shopper and hoarder, filled Zee’s bedroom with so much junk that Zee could no longer sleep on her bed and she left home at 16. A motorcycle accident left her with a permanently damaged hip. She sells marijuana to fill the gap her wages as a waitress leave between what she needs and what she has.

 

Gentry met Zee in physical therapy. Gentry works nights assembling airplanes. He is committed to the study of medieval warfare He is also autistic and hears voices. One of the voices told him that Zee was the lady he had been waiting for. He has followed her ever since. Gentry does not seem to want anything from her, which Zee finds puzzling. She’s deeply grateful for his help when he offers it, although she does not know how to respond to him. His quirks don’t bother her. He thinks he’s a knight? OK. He speaks in some form of middle English? Fine. He hears voices? Whatever.

 

Zee just rolls with Gentry’s version of life, even though it is very different from the one she’s experienced. She is too preoccupied with trying to survive and to earn enough money to take care of her mother and her nephew to pay much attention to anything that does not directly affect her. When Zee’s sister is kidnapped during an inmate escape at the prison where she volunteers, Zee is determined to bring her home and Gentry insists on helping her.

 

I love this book! I can’t remember when I’ve been this enthusiastic about a novel. I have no idea how I found it. Categorized as a love story, it would not have normally come my way. The two main characters, Zee and Gentry, are so strongly portrayed that I suspected the author had some first-hand experience to inform their development and reading a couple of her blog entries confirmed my suspicion. Beautifully written, the narrative races like a full stream. I charged through the 400-plus pages in a few hours, absorbed in the story. Starred reviews from Kirkus and BookPage. Highly recommended.

 

·         Hardcover: 448 pages

·         ISBN-10: 0525541845

·         ISBN-13: 978-0525541844

·         Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons (August 20, 2019)

·         Language: English

 

Aubrey Hamilton ©2020 

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.