Signal Fires follows the Shenkmans and the Wilfs who live opposite each other on Division Street, a family neighbourhood in which the Wilfs have spent forty years of married life, moving in when Mimi was pregnant with their second child.
One day when she’s seventeen and he’s fifteen, Sarah tosses the car keys to Theo so that he can impress a girl he has in his sights. The result is disastrous: Misty suffers fatal injuries when Theo drives into a tree, Ben’s reputation as a doctor is irreparably damaged and Sarah takes on a responsibility for an accident which Theo knows is his fault. In an unspoken agreement, all four step back from discussing this catastrophe. By the time the Shenkmans move in opposite, the neighbourhood has changed, no more kids playing on the street or neighbours passing the time of day. When Alice goes into premature labour, Ben saves their son in the nick of time. It will be years before Waldo learns of this bond between himself and Ben which will grow closer after Ben loses Mimi in distressing circumstances eased by Waldo, the obsessive awkward child afraid of his angry father.
Themes of family, grief, and interconnectedness underpin the charcters’ narratives which lay bare the damage done by secrets and lies. These are ordinary people, comfortably off with a bright future to look forward to, yet just one foot wrong destroys one life and indelibly scars several others, all made worse by a tacit decision to never speak of it again. Shapiro is an expert storyteller, neatly interweaving the threads of her story and giving each of her characters a clear voice of their own. Written with compassion and empathy, Signal Fires begins with tragedy but ends with hope and redemption.

It took me a while to get into this book. So if you are finding this then please stay stay with it. Because it does get better.

Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro explores guilt and shame and the connections between people and the choices they make. Perfect for fans of Celeste Ng.

It took a while to find my groove with this book but once I did I really enjoyed it. Dysfunctional family that loves each other done right.