Touched

I am not a sommelier, but I know what wines I like. I am not a book critic. I am an avid reader and hope someone will help me understand what I felt was the brilliance of Walter Moseley’s Touched. The cover, two hands held side by side with fingers upright and a face superimposed on them, compelled me to pick the book from the “New Fiction” shelves at the library. It is a small book. The 159 pages are 5 x 7 1/4″. The story, the words, the size made it easy to read without stopping until the last page. Then, I was left in wonder.

Marty awakens from what he believes was a centuries-long sleep a changed man. He believes he has been recruited and altered to play a part in the eradication of the human race. From there, the reader faces many questions. Is the narrator reliable? A few pages in, it no longer matters. Immersed in an alternative reality, the possibilities of which include science fiction to schizophrenia, the reader confronts the quintessential questions of humanity. Is Marty/Martin/Temple the infection of or the cure for humanity? For me this dilemma expanded and applied to everyman. Are humans the destroyers or saviors of this earth? Do we, as a species, have the inner strength to resolve differences and amass the resources to save ourselves? Reminiscent of The Overstory, Touched returns more than once to the concept of the oneness of the environmental and human ecosystems.

I found the ending haunting and provocative. After being reprogrammed by Marty’s intervention, a man leaves Marty’s home to get away from the sound of a howling dog. The man fears it will keep calling for his attention. I interpreted that the man feared changing back to what he had been, a hateful, racist thug, thus positing the age-old question: are humans doomed to repeat past mistakes?

Neither expert nor editor, I’ll only mention things I found interesting about the writing. Mosley’s use of names insist I examine my own moral compass. Marty’s wife, Tessa, has had relations with a man named Truth. Marty’s last name is Just. His alter ego is Temple. Mosley describes the color of people using various shades of browns and grays. I have a mentor who talks about muscular sentences. I found Mosley’s writing sparse, yet muscular. The biggest compliment I can give any author is to say I will reread this book before returning it to the library. I have been Touched.