Jacob's Ladder (review)

In this British import, an amnesiac boy awakens in a gray world, knowing only that he's not home. Jacob remembers very little about his life before, but he firmly believes that it was better than his new existence in Locus, where he works all day at gathering stones, lives in a dormitory with boys who seem to have lost all hope, and eats the same spongy white food for every meal. While Jacob's initial assumption that he was simply transported or kidnapped seems less likely than another new arrival's theory that they are all dead, Jacob remains fiercely determined to regain his old life, and he leaves the bland safety of Locus in search of it. Locus, haunted by voices of the living and haunting in its unconquerable, lulling sameness, is a richly developed setting in which Jacob explores his vulnerabilities and mortality. Unfortunately, once Jacob leaves Locus, he embarks on a meandering quest marked with confusing villains, poorly described environments, and a few too many convenient escapes. While readers will be relieved that Jacob is restored to his living self, they are also left with the disturbing and unresolved issue of the children remaining in Locus, all of whom are no less compelling in their lost states. Nevertheless, Keaney has captured an afterlife milieu that is memorable, a feat considering the recent spate of fantasies about various heavens, hells, and beyonds.