Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro

Dani Shapiro’s newest book ‘Signal Fires’ has burrowed deep inside of me. The novel is thoughtful, spiritual, ethereal, psychological and even transcendent. Its power is not in the specific story line, but the existential questions Shapiro explores. She tackles the circular nature of time, the many selves inside each of us, the psychological impact of not processing trauma, the magic of serendipity and the enduring presence of all people (dead or alive) in our universe. Like time itself, this novel moves from the present to the past with hints of the future, providing richness and depth to the story.  

The book begins in 1985. Teenage siblings Sarah and Theo Wilf are driving their friend Misty Zimmerman home. They have been drinking. When the car crashes near the Wilf house, their father, Ben Wilf, who is a doctor, runs outside. His children are uninjured, but Misty is dead. That night, an unspoken agreement is made between Ben, his wife Mimi and their two teens. They will never speak about what happened or how they feel, a pact that persists for decades. “Sarah sometimes wonders whether talking would have been better. Silence didn’t make it go away but instead drove the events of that night more deeply into each of them.” 

Shapiro allows us to enter the emotional lives of these characters in the aftermath of their trauma. And though the characters reflect privately on the horror of that night, they mostly move forward weighted down by their guilt. Consciously and unconsciously they make decisions that alter the trajectories of their lives. “There is no straight line. Memory, history - things that happened fifteen years ago or fifty are as alive now as if they had just happened or are about to happen.”  

After Sarah and Theo are grown and moved away, a young couple moves across the street. One evening, Ben hears the husband calling out. His wife is in labor and the ambulance has not arrived. Ben races to the house and delivers the infant who the couple names Waldo. Over time, Ben and Waldo become close. The novel shows how random connections can affect our lives in profound ways. Waldo becomes an astrophysicist and shares commentary about the stars and space, adding another dimension to the story. But the novel’s primary focus is on the repercussions of trauma. Every person responds differently to tragedy . But holding onto painful secrets can have dire consequences. “Unexpressed, they will wind their way through and around each of them like vines choking a strand of untended trees.” 

The story is a meditation of love and loss, grief and trauma and eventually about healing and hope. I applaud Shapiro’s ambitious exploration of these themes. Though the story is heavy, its intensity is offset by moments of illumination and insight. ‘Signal Fires’ is a novel is infused with humanity and spirituality. I highly recommend. 5/5