Shortly after I began reading The World to Come a friend asked me what the book was about. As I wasn’t far into the book, I answered, “A stolen painting and its provenance.” Ostensibly that is the premise of the book, however it is about so much more. It is an exploration of faith, an examination of relationships, an immaculately imagined fantasy, and yes, a little bit about a stolen painting.

Benjamin, an introverted, brilliant, quiz show researcher, is the thief. In an uncharacteristic moment of passion he snatches a Chagall painting off the wall of a museum, believing that it once hung in his family’s home. As Benjamin, with the help of his artistic twin sister, tries to find a way out of his criminal predicament, the reader is taken on a spectacular journey tracing not only the painting’s history, but also the people and events from Benjamin’s past that have shaped his life. Along the way we meet Chagall, Benjamin’s deceased father and grandparents, and even his unborn nephew, while also discovering the world to come.

Horn brilliantly and creatively paints a picture of the world to come without dictating what that world actually is. She allows the reader to imagine what the world to come might mean for them personally. Is it life after death, is it life before birth, or is it simply what comes next at any given moment?

This book opened my mind to different ways of thinking. As a librarian, I saw a more flattering perspective on plagiarism than I had previously imagined; as a daughter and a parent, I saw the beauty in seeing how my parents, both alive and deceased, continue to shape my children’s lives; and as an adult, I saw how at any moment any one of us might open the door to discover our next exciting world to come right here in this world.

Upon finishing the book, I could no longer concisely or clearly state what the book was about. Horn brilliantly ties up the mystery surrounding the painting, but leaves it up to the reader to decide what happens in the world to come.

 


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