The Illusion of Separateness is a 2013 novel by British-American author Simon Van Booy. Told through a mosaic of interlinked narratives set across the 20th and 21st centuries, the book explores how a single act of mercy during World War II reverberates through several lives. Critics noted its lyrical, elliptical style and the theme that human lives are intimately connected despite outward divisions.[1][2]
The novel unfolds through short, interwoven chapters following several characters—including a deformed German infantryman, a British film director, a young blind curator, two Jewish American newlyweds separated by war, and a caretaker in Santa Monica—whose stories slowly reveal an underlying chain of connection originating in wartime Europe.[3]
Themes
Reviewers highlighted recurring concerns with fate, memory, and compassion, as well as an explicit “we’re-all-connected” motif; several noted the title's resonance with Buddhist thought about interdependence.[1] Van Booy's spare prose and fragmentary structure are employed to suggest how small decisions ripple across time.[2]
Publication
Harper (HarperCollins) published the novel in June 2013 (224 pp., ISBN 978-0-06-211224-8).[2] A trade paperback edition followed in 2014.[4]
Reception
The Illusion of Separateness received a mix of positive and qualified notices.
**Publishers Weekly** gave a starred review, calling it a “fractured but fine-tuned narrative” whose parts “snap together” into a resonant whole.[2]
**Kirkus Reviews** praised the overarching connectedness theme while cautioning that some elements feel “on the nose.”[1]
**The Guardian** offered a more negative take, arguing that the pursuit of significance overwhelms the story's revelation of bonds between characters.[5]
The **Washington Independent Review of Books** admired the taut construction but found the ending rushed and overly convoluted.[6]
Publisher materials also quote favorable notices from **Library Journal** and **Booklist**.[7]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
