An interesting tale of two families over decades and how much their lives intertwined. It is a poignant, heartwarming story of friendships and loyalty.

The writing style is very good and the different datelines are incorporated extremely well.

An enjoyable read.

Two families living separate lives, each with an inability to connect, somehow manage to cross paths in an extraordinary way. Rocky familial relationships and an inability to talk about the past should make for quite a depressing read. This is not the case though, as each of the characters is revealed in all their strengths and weaknesses, and we grow to see their true selves as the story progresses, in an albeit backwards and forwards trajectory. Events are explained and revealed as we peel back the layers, sometimes giving us insight into their futures. I really liked this, and found the storytelling to be life affirming, we see that a misunderstood boy (by his father) will go on to be understood and revered. Mistakes will be forgiven, and life will go on. I really enjoyed this.

Poetic, poignant, compelling and well plotted. A story of relationship, families, secreats and stories.
A well plotted story featuring great characters.
Excellent storytelling.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A story of two families, hidden secrets, unknown connections, and a lifetime of ‘what if?’ moments. The story moves seamlessly between timescales - past, present and future - following cataclysmic events that shape the lives of the two families and watching them intersect in unexpected yet unavoidable ways. I enjoyed the sense that somehow we’re all connected and the universe is looking down on us, and I thought it was beautifully written, poignant and moving.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher Vintage, Random House UK for an arc in exchange for a review.

What a wonderful book!
It tells the story of neighbours, retired doctor Ben Wilf and young boy genius, Waldo Schenkman. It is set in seven different time periods, from 1970 to 2020, and it's told from multiple points of view and jumps around between these time periods. I loved this book, it was an incredibly moving read, I believe it is being adapted for television which I look forward to watching too.

This is a beautiful story, very well told. The non-linear narrative is very well managed, and at no point did I feel lost in reading the multiple perspectives. The nod to Jennifer Egan in the acknowledgements suggests an inspiration from a master of this approach. Shapiro has managed the same very well, adding another dimension to the novel.
The story is heartfelt and celebrates connection and coincidence in a story that could easily have come across as contrived, but it doesn't.

A joy and a pleasure to read - will stay with the reader long after the last page is turned

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House, for the ARC

A beautifully written, haunting book. I enjoyed the perspective shifts from one character to another and across the decades, and the way we see the individuals grow and change. This book made me stop and think about friendships, family, and love, and what really matters in life, which is something not many books have done.

A wonderful tale of a retired doctor Ben Wilf and a young boy Waldo Schenkman. A story of love and loss and the circularity of life. Exquisitely written. Absolutely loved it.

Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro.

Thank you Netgalley for an unbiased review.

This is something I have mixed feelings over.
There is no doubt that Dani Shapiro is a talented writer. And this book undoubtedly shows that ability in how words are on paper.

Usually, these books are ones I love to read, so I went into this one with high hopes.
I came away with mixed feelings.

Not only did I often find the pacing slow, I found the shifts to the different times and events were just too choppy for me to enjoy. Again, don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed many a book where the shift in perspectives, be it time, characters, or both.
I just couldn't here.

And therein lies the biggest problem I had. The book just didn't do enough to make me care enough about the characters. It almost did, but ultimately failed.

Personally, I've enjoyed a number of different books with this kind of theme. Even ones with less than happy ever after endings.
Sadly, it wasn't the case for me here. So 3/5 stars for the undoubted talent of the author. But reduced stars for the overall execution of the story ⭐️⭐️⭐️

~~~

Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro is a heartfelt story of two families, the Wilfs and the Shenkmans, who live across the road from each other in the suburbs in a street called Division Street. The story moves back and forth through time delving into secrets and the full gambit of emotions.

Well written with some very poetic descriptions and vivid moments.

The publisher’s blurb is an excellent introduction:

“When retired doctor Ben Wilf comes across ten-year-old Waldo Shenkman in the middle of the night under Division Street's old oak tree, he is treated to an unexpected and magical tour of the stars. But this is not the first time the boy and old man have met. In fact, they go way back, to the night of Waldo's birth, and further still.

Secrets preside over the neighbourhood along with the majestic oak. One night in particular has been kept buried. Following it, the Wilfs ­-- parents and children -- change and grow, but each is haunted by what they choose to forget. Then the young Shenkmans move in across the street: a couple with their own secrets and a lonely, brilliant son who is captivated by the night sky. As their stories collide in ways they never could have imagined, the past comes hurtling back to Division Street, setting in motion a spellbinding chain of events that will transform both families forever.”

Recommended read.


This review is based on a complimentary copy Random House UK, Vintage via
NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#SignalFires #NetGalley

Signal Fires is a poignant and beautifully written portrait of two families living on Division Street; a suburban street where everyone has their secrets. Ben and Mimi Wilf, and their children Sarah and Theo, carry the weight of an accident from years ago. Young, gifted Waldo Shenkman and his parents live across the street, carrying their own secrets and unfulfilled expectations.

One night, Ben and Waldo meet under the old oak tree between their houses. As Waldo shows Ben the constellations overhead, he discovers a sense of connection lacking with his own father; but this isn’t the first time Ben and Waldo’s paths have crossed. Shapiro beautifully conjures a sense of every story being a part of a greater whole, woven into the fabric of the cosmos which brims with the interconnectedness of life. The book opens with some beautiful passages illuminating the idea of chance, the butterfly effect, how there are always numerous possibilities in play, and how one thing going differently could change the course of a person’s life.

Time here is somehow elastic, moving back and forth, and giving us glimpses at a given moment of what will follow years to come, before coming back to the present time, and then swinging briefly to the past; considering the ways in which past, present and future can sometimes manifest at once. This lends the story overall a magical quality, and from one street comes a story that feels expansive, tapping into the universe at large as we follow these two families inextricably linked, their storylines crossing time and again.

I loved this book. There were some heart-wrenching passages about the enduring consequences of traumatic events, as well as the different ways people in relationships can slip away from each other; but the compassionate approach to the flawed characters as they learn and grow, the look at how the most unexpected of human connections can be the most profound, and the recurring focus on the wider connection to the universe, all imbue the story with a sense of wonder and uplifting hope.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my eARC.

What a lovely, moving and very unusual book. Two families living across from each other. Both so different and yet, their lives are linked by the events affecting the small boy from one family and the mother from the other. They are thrust together through circumstance on a sub temperature night and help each other through.
It is a beautiful story of people working together through life which can be tough, particularly if you feel alone on the journey and this seemed the case for each member of both families in one form or another There was something spiritual and other worldly about Waldo though
and his ability to reach out to his neighbours husband and then to help the husbands wife on her toughest journey.
Just a beautifully written book.

The story of 2 families, the Wilfs and the Shenkmans. They live opposite each other in Division Street. Both families have secrets, and their lives are intertwined in lots of ways.
Well written, heartbreaking, thought provoking, the stories jump back and forth through time, but each clearly indicated.

I had high hopes for this and it started well and that's the nicest thing I can say it was lacking in everything and felt rather directionless

Oh my goodness, what a novel this book had me in floods of tears for most of it
The story looks at a group of people in a suburban American Street through time, the author manages to do this by flipping backwards and forwards between time periods for all the characters, so that you already know what is going to happen to some of the characters before it happens, and discover how Events go onto influence the whole of peoples lives .
The author is fabulous at describing characteristics of people and his characters all develop, so realistically that you feel you know them by the end of the novel
It starts with an explosive episode of a car crash .What happens after you have been involved in a crash that caused the death of one of your friends and your teenage years
Jumping backwards and forwards in time, looking at little moments in peoples lives These minutia in people’s lives are I just described so perfectly, but you can recognise them from your own life. The novel deeper and looks at the way tiny incidents can influence other peoples lives as well.
The author has a clear flowing lyrical writing style , which, at times is almost poetic
Although the novel is set in America, the experiences of all the characters, including during COVID-19, lockdown are so universal I’m sure this book will appeal to British readers just as much.
Two quotations from the book that I’ve been particularly poignant and described the book very well in its whole are
“He will always look for his parents, wherever he goes even look after he knows he will not find them”
And A quotation from James Gek, if any time could be seen whole, and you could see the past remaining intact, instead of vanishing in the rearview mirror
I read copy of the novel on NetGalley UK. The book has already been published in America and had lots of good read post already. It’s publishing the UK on the 9th of February by random house UK vintage.

This review will appear on NetGalley, UK, Goodreads and my book blog by bionicSarahsbooks.wordpress.com . to publication it will also appear on Amazon, UK.

Two families, the Wilfs and the Shenkmans, become inextricably connected in a way that will have a huge influence on each other’s lives. The Wilfs and their teenage daughter and son are a normal, happy family until a tragic accident changes them forever, while the Shenkmans struggle to deal with their young son, who has a genius IQ but is “different” and is not the son his father expected or wanted. As their paths cross in unexpected and momentous ways, they experience love, loss and a deeper understanding of themselves, each other and the universe in which we all live. I adored this book, for its humanity and compassion but also for its hopeful and philosophical approach to life’s mysteries and the twists of fate that can turn the world upside down but also bring reconciliation and forgiveness, in a Iuniverse where “there isno beginning and no end,”.

This should have been a four-star review, but I just found that the story kind of drifted a little in the final third and lacked the strong finish the rest of the novel deserved. The characters are great. The chronological tinkering works brilliantly. The blending of past, present future and astronomy and astrophysics is wonderful. I highly recommend this novel, despite my own slight disappointment with the weak ending. Special thank you to Random House UK Vintage and NetGalley for a no-obligation advance review copy.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the chance to read this ARC, in exchange for an honest review. Signal Fires is a fantastically written, raw and incredibly moving read. It packs so much heart into its pages, along with connections and twists. It’s superb.

Dani Shapiro’s Signal Fires focuses on two families living whose lives are connected initially by a premature birth. When Dr Ben Wilf delivers Waldo Shenkman, he is not to know that they will be reunited on more than one profound occasion in the future.
Ben and his wife Mimi are also parents to two teenage children, Sarah and Theo. They share an unspoken pact regarding a hideous secret, and the psychological damage of this reverberates through the novel, its characters and the narrative.
The narrative itself is non-linear, jumping back and forth in time, slowly shading in the full picture. It is a beautiful, vivid novel, and Shapiro draws her characters with great skill. I had not read her work previously, though I am aware of the other novels. Based upon Signal Fires I will be tracking her other work down.
Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC.

I absolutely adored this novel - it wasn't quite what I expected but was al the better for that. Telling the story of a retired older man and his 11 year old neighbour over 25 or so years, the novel explores their unique connection and the impact of this on everyone around them. More periperheral characters also get multiple chapters of their own which really grounds the story in a wider narrative and emphasises the beauty and reality of human connection. This novel was my last read of 2023 and it immediately secured a place in my top 10 of the year., I'll be seeking out more of the author's work. Highly recommended and thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.