In When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin, there is sadness, grief, and tragedy but also beauty, love, hope and redemption. I really enjoyed the story which is set in northeast Georgia on lake Burton along with a few visits to Atlanta. The story follows the life of a man named Reese who lives on the lake and encounters a spirited little girl named Annie who shares a medical condition with a lost loved one of Reese. Throughout the story they develop a friendship and Reese eventually finds healing from a massive tragedy in his past.
For the first 100 pages or so, Reese drops hints of his past life and profession but doesn’t fully lean into openness about it so you begin to pick up on his background as the story progresses. There is quite a bit of medical description and while I have no idea about the accuracy of it, the author must have done substantial research or taken a class in cardiology. At parts the story feels like a medical thriller.
Other main characters include Annie’s supportive but worn down aunt Cindy as well as Reese’s brother in law Charlie who provides a bit of good natured humor.
A notable string running through the book are quotes from Shakespeare as well as other poets and writers with Reese and a few others either saying or thinking these. For me, this was a bit more than it needed to be but it wasn’t overly distracting.
It very much reads as a Southern novel and also has some nice touches of Christian faith, scripture, prayer, prophetic dreams, and wisdom woven through it with characters who are comfortable in their faith and it’s just a part of who they are. There are a couple scenes that lean into an evangelistic emphasis and while I didn’t have an overall issue with them and thought there were some good elements in them, it felt like the author was trying to drive a point.
The timeline jumps back and forth between present day and flashbacks to Reese’s childhood, teenage years, college and early days of a successful career and the deep love he has for his wife from the time they were kids.
Since it was published 20 years ago, there are a few anachronistic things like phone books, pagers, and the occasional person without a cellphone. One theme of poverty and medical bills in the story was puzzling to me since presumably the patient should have qualified for Medicaid. It did make for a recurring pressure and stress on the family perspective and maybe it’s just one of those suspension of disbelief things you have to look past in a story.
Overall, I really enjoyed the book and thought there was a lot of beauty and wisdom mixed throughout the story alongside kindness, redemption, and healing. I’m glad to have read it and look forward to reading more books by Charles Martin.
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