Magic Hour: A Novel

“The modern world no longer believed in senseless tragedy. Bad things couldn’t just happen to people; someone had to pay. The victim’s families hoped that this lawsuit would be the answer, but Julia knew it would only give them something else to think about for a while, perhaps distribute some of their pain. It wouldn’t alleviate it, though. The grief would outlive them all.”

Hannah explores the complex relationship of grief and blame through the Silverwood shooting. Julia feels overwhelmed by the fact that no one wants to hear about the truth of what happened to Amber. Instead, the families only want to punish someone. Although Julia understands this emotion, she knows that revenge will never solve the surviving family’s grief.

“Even Ellie, who’d lived here all of her life, was awed by the sudden change of weather. It was Magic Hour, the moment in time when every leaf and blade of grass seemed separate, when sunlight, burnished by the rain and softened by the coming night, gave the world an impossibly beautiful glow.”

Hannah describes the titular phenomenon of “Magic Hour” as the time of day right before the sun goes down. The transformation of nature here correlates with the transformation of the character’s lives. This imagery foreshadows the interior development of the characters because Alice and Julia will transform each other through their mutual connection.

“Julia wished she could do that, but she’d always needed to be accepted. As a shrink, she knew the hows and whys of her need—how her popular, in-the-spotlight family had somehow made her feel marginalized and unimportant, how her father’s withheld love had made her believe she was unlovable—but knowledge didn’t soften the need. She wasn’t even sure how it had come to matter so much. All she knew was that her profession, her ability to help people, had filled the frightened place inside of her with joy, and now she was scared again.”

Julia’s neglect from her father caused her to pursue a career in psychiatry. However, when Julia loses her career, she realizes that she does not how to regain her self-worth. She acknowledges the irony that as a psychiatrist, she knows how to help others navigate their trauma but is stuck in her own. Julia’s return to Rain Valley helps her regain her confidence apart from outside validation from her father or the media.