Progress on “The Passage”

In March of this year, my husband and I welcomed our third child into our lives. After a few weeks of being home I was in need of a bookstore visit and made plans with my mom to head out to lunch and visit my favorite spot: Barnes and Noble.

On one of the center tables I came across “The Passage” by Justin Cronin – the cover immediately caught my attention with the moonlit woods and I picked it up to read the back. The small introduction on the back was invigorating and I was hooked.

I’ve spent the last few weeks working my way through this monstrosity of amazing prose while caring for our newborn daughter and am only about a quarter of the way through it.

Another reason this book caught my attention, was its size. Its 785 pages -which to me always means the possibility of deep detail and rich imagery which this book has greatly delivered on!

As each new section unfolds there are beautiful prose introductions that prepare you for thr next piece of the story. It usually features a short excerpt from a poem or quotes that relate to the upcoming part of the story you are about to read.

Now in terms of the content – as I read through the first few sections we are introduced to many characters that are all part of a military operation to study and develop a new “virus” that will prolong the human life: justly called the NOAH project. There are special agents, scientists, death row inmates, nuns and a very special little girl named Amy. Cronin has delivered a vibrant story filled with emotion, intrigue and deep character development that will keep you turning pages and wanting more.

The current section I’m in right now, The Lost City, has transitioned into new characters and is further down the road in the story (time jumping). It has slowed the story a little and caused me to take a little longer pause than I had intended to, but I look forward to picking it back uo in the coming days to see what happens next!

Have you read this story before and want to share your thoughts on this book? Comment below and share in the discussion!