Nothing Left to Burn by Jay Varner
Review by: Chris Singer
About the author:
Jay Varner grew up in Central Pennsylvania. He earned a B.A. in creative writing from Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, PA. He helped found The Susquehanna Review, one of the few national literary journals dedicated solely to undergraduate writing.
After college, he worked the police and fire beat for his hometown newspaper. Along the way, he wrote obituaries, covered school board meetings, examined the extended debate over a county skatepark (which included riding a skateboard for the first and last time), and a local man who spent years collecting one million pennies (Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey referenced the story on Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update).
He received his M.F.A. in creative nonfiction from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. While in graduate school he taught creative writing and literature courses. He also served as nonfiction editor and eventually managing editor of Ecotone: Reimagining Place.
He is currently at work on a novel and another memoir. He lives with his wife near Charlottesville, Virginia.
About the book:
A memoir that looks into the life of a family that has spent years harboring secrets, both dark and volatile. It eloquently tells the story of a son’s relationship with his father, the fire chief and a local hero, and his grandfather, a serial arsonist.
When Jay Varner, fresh out of college, returns home to work for the local newspaper, he knows that he will have to deal with the memories of a childhood haunted by a grandfather who was both menacing and comical and by a father who died too young and who never managed to be the father Jay so desperately needed him to be. In digging into the past, he uncovers layers of secrets, lies, and half-truths. It is only when he finally has the truth in hand that he comes to an understanding of the forces that drove his father, and of the fires that for all his efforts his father could never extinguish.
My take on the book:
I grew up in a small town 160 miles northeast of McVeytown. Both of my parents were also involved in the local volunteer fire department as EMTs and fireman. So it is with those similar connections to Jay Varner that led me to contacting him and asking for a review copy of his memoir to review on Book Dads.
Nothing Left to Burn is a memoir about a grandfather, father and son all connected by the lure of fire, albeit each in a different way. It is also an exploration of the sins of a father(s) and its impact on future generations. From the beginning pages, I was drawn into Varner's lean prose and fast-paced narrative which made it hard to put this book down as I wanted to keep turning the pages to see where this story was going.
I was fascinated by this memoir and by Varner's ability to bare his soul in his writing. It was powerful to see the unfolding of this memoir and to see Varner get to the core of what it was that really motivated his father and grandfather, and the dysfunctional family dynamics which go along with it. I resonated with this story very well as I have also made a similar search of my own personal history to try and get at those how and why questions regarding certain family members whose actions have had a distinct impact and influence on my own life. As we learn in Varner's memoir, sometimes those impacts and influences are dark and unpleasant. It is how Varner comes to grips with this which makes this story even more compelling.
This is a relatable story on many levels besides the theme of family dynamics. In the memoir, Varner's father died of cancer at an early age. Varner gives a stirring portrayal of how a young boy attempts to make sense of tragedy and illness, broken promises and devastating loss.
I'm not always a fan of the memoir genre, but quite simply, this is a brilliant and fascinating story. It's extremely well-written and it's honesty is sure to strike a chord with readers.
