Although this novel is only just over 200 pages, with lots of blank spaces/quite large font, it is a testament to Kwon that she is able to fit so much into such a short space. There is a wonderful subtlety to the writing, much left unsaid, with the reader needing to fill in the gaps. I liked also that while one of the three principal characters (Will) narrates the novel, the reader is also provided with fragments of what the other two (Phoebe and John) are thinking (or Will imagines them to be thinking). The Incendiaries is multi-thematic, covering topics including loss/discovery of faith, the destructive power of cults and the circumstances under which it may be necessary or judicious to employ deception as a strategy. The hollow structures of religion (and false/deluded belief) are displayed, albeit with tragic consequences. Each of the three main characters could be described as having “outsider” status, and all develop coping mechanisms to deal with it. The novel I kept returning to when reading The Incendiaries was Donna Tartt's The Secret History; a campus novel with cults and disastrous outcomes. Kwon's has the potential to be considered in the same illustrious canon. 9.5/10.
By R. O. Kwon