Hieroglyphics

 By Jill McCorkle

Algonquin     2020

320 pages     Literary

Hieroglyphics are ancient Egyptian writings composed of pictures. One reads through the pictures to try to understand the message. The hieroglyphics in the book by the same name by Jill McCorkle are the attempts to piece together the message of the lives of four people, Lil and  Frank, an elderly couple, Shelly, a single mother working as a court stenographer, and her young son Harvey, who is sure there is a ghost in their house.

Each chapter continues the story of one of the characters, each of whom have suffered from great loss in their lives. Each is in a constant struggle to create a life for himself/herself despite that loss. Lil  and Frank have moved from Boston to the North Carolina community where their daughter lives, and where Frank grew up. Lil is trying to put together a journal for her children as a way of explaining how her life happened, how she and Frank forged a life together, and how she wants to find peace before she dies. Frank, on the other hand, becomes obsessed with the house where he grew up and the root cellar where he stored his treasures. Shelly and Harvey now live in that house; Shelly refuses to let Frank come into the house, and Harvey worries that Frank may be one of the ghosts that has been haunting him.

The review in the New York Journal of Books has an stunning conclusion to its analysis of the book: “McCorkle is an insightful, skillful writer and these characters have led complex lives. She takes her time and lets them unpack their baggage slowly, a piece at a time. So when McCorkle suddenly speeds to and through the finish, with Jason—our least known character—making and revealing a major discovery, along with Lil’s revelations and what some may consider the quick end of the novel, is McCorkle suggesting that this is what happens with our lives? We think we’ll have time to make decisions, to work something out, but then, surprise! it’s over and we’re gone. We can go back and reread McCorkle’s ending, of course. No such privilege with our own.”

I am shocked that I had such a difficult time getting through Hieroglyphics. I identified completely with Lil and Frank, in part because of their age, and also because of the grief they carried. The concluding thought tore me through to the quick. “We think we’ll have time to make decisions, to work something out, but then, surprise! It’s over and we’re gone.” I think that I identified too closely with the theme. I found myself underlining passage after passage—brilliantly conceived and written by McCorkle. Her insights into the aging couple, the secretive and flawed Shelly, and scared little Harvey enmesh the reader completely into the lives of these characters. Here are a couple of passages that I found particularly moving.

“And now Frank does see. He understands how memories of what was good can be so painful you might choose not to look.”

Lil: “Sometimes I feel like my life is all laid out before me; dots connecting, patterns shaped and designed, words naming and classifying me.”

I grew nostalgic as I read Hieroglyphics. I realized that I have always been an extremely forward looking person, always trying to move ahead. Even when my husband died leaving me with 3 children, I moved us forward. I never dwelt on my grief—and perhaps unfortunately, never dwelt on my children’s grief. I said to my 40-something son yesterday that perhaps we should revisit Daddy, and share some memories of that time in our lives. The incredible thing about Hieroglyphics is that it put me in touch with my own pain and longing.

Thank you Jill McCorkle with giving a moment with myself that caused me to reflect on my life’s path.

Hieroglyphics was released in July to a great deal of acclaim. Here is the author’s website.