A Review of Truly Like Lightning

David Duchovny’s fourth novel, Truly Like Lightning, will be published February 2, 2021, by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. You can pre-order it now, but I was lucky enough to obtain an advanced reader’s copy, and I wrote a review of the novel. I’m including it here in my X-Files blog because, you know, David Duchovny!

Here’s a description of the novel from the publisher:

From the New York Times–bestselling author David Duchovny, an epic adventure that asks how we make sense of right and wrong in a world of extremes

For the past twenty years, Bronson Powers, former Hollywood stuntman and converted Mormon, has been homesteading deep in the uninhabited desert outside Joshua Tree with his three wives and ten children. Bronson and his wives, Yalulah, Mary, and Jackie, have been raising their family away from the corruption and evil of the modern world. Their insular existence—controversial, difficult, but Edenic—is upended when the ambitious young developer Maya Abbadessa stumbles upon their land. Hoping to make a profit, she crafts a wager with the family that sets in motion a deadly chain of events.

Maya, threatening to report the family to social services, convinces them to enter three of their children into a nearby public school. Bronson and his wives agree that if Maya can prove that the kids do better in town than in their desert oasis, they will sell her a chunk of their priceless plot of land. Suddenly confronted with all the complications of the twenty-first century that they tried to keep out of their lives, the Powerses must reckon with their lifestyle as they try to save it.

Truly Like Lightning, David Duchovny’s fourth novel, is a heartbreaking meditation on family, religion, sex, greed, human nature, and the vanishing environment of an ancient desert.

My Review

Truly Like Lightning is an epic American novel, set firmly in the here and now, but reaching back to past generations and pushing forward into the future. It follows a large cast of characters, each with unique and fully developed backgrounds and motivations. These characters are dynamic and interesting, their paths and finish lines are surprising and yet absolutely true to them.

One thing I truly appreciate is the way the main characters are presented, for the most part, without mockery or derision. There’s no judgment of their lives, this is just who they are. It takes a lot of talent to put forward such an extreme story as if it just IS, and the author has accomplished that. This perspective helps the reader find commonality with the characters, who may have had very different experiences. Even though their lives aren’t run-of-the-mill, their emotions and reactions are in many ways universal.

The novel is not so neutral about society at large. It calls into question the cost of “progress”, particularly in the past 20 years. The criticism is harsh yet presented with a deft use of humor, focusing on shared reality rather than blame. It was this humor in which I recognized the author’s voice most clearly.

I’m a huge fan of Mr. Duchovny’s earlier novels. I enjoyed the almost light, almost fantastical storytelling, even where darker themes were explored. This novel is a step above. It draws you in with crisp, clear prose, an intensely fast pace, a compelling, multi-faceted story, and characters who break your heart in the best way. I’d say I couldn’t put it down, except that I had to stop every few pages just to catch my breath. True to form, the author leaves us with a fairy tale ending, albeit slightly more grounded in reality. It’s stunningly brilliant.

Mulder’s Microexpressions

A few months ago I was going through the camera roll on my phone, intending to delete unneeded pictures to free up storage space…for more pictures. You know how it goes. Anyway, I came across a gif I had made of Mulder when he first sees Diana Fowley in The End. With just a tiny tilt of the jaw and a blink, we can see that Mulder is surprised and intrigued. We see recognition but also a bit of caution. The look conveys so much; it’s really quite artful.

And I had several other gifs showing tiny movements which speak louder than words, so I decided to make a Twitter thread. My intent was to draw attention to David Duchovny’s acting abilities. By focusing on Mulder I am in no way discounting the importance or quality of Gillian Anderson’s skills as an actor and her ability to deliver withering glares, poignant glances, a perfect single tear, and Scully’s patented skeptical eyebrow lift. But Gillian’s acting brilliance is more universally recognized, while David gets criticized for being wooden and expressionless. I strongly disagree with that criticism and wanted to highlight just how much he’s able to communicate with his face.

My thread took on a life of its own and I ended up including some rather broad facial gestures in addition to the microexpressions, just because they’re so fun and really show David’s comedic bent. But here I want to focus on the truly small details that say so much. So, in no particular order, here are 15 of my favorite of Mulder’s Microexpressions.

1

This expression in Alpha might be my favorite. Mulder is feeling unsure of himself and slightly embarrassed. He misjudged a situation, was really sort of blindsided, and he’s still not sure what happened. And we get all that from the crease between his eyebrows.

2

They’ve just kissed for the first time in Millennium. They’ve been dancing around their feelings for each other for a long time and Mulder took a bold leap forward. He’s pleased with himself, but he needs to know Scully’s on the same page. His eyes search her face even as his lips can’t help but lift into the slightest smile.

3

At this moment in the Pilot, Scully seems to be all in. She agrees with Mulder’s theory and declares that she’s willing to put it in her report. He wants to believe, but he hesitates just long enough to search her face for any sign that he shouldn’t trust her. His eyes return to hers as he makes his decision.

4

In Fight the Future, Mulder is in the middle of a conversation with the evidence custodian when he spots Scully. His eyes lock on her, he lifts his face, and he takes a breath, letting us know he’s found the answer he’s looking for. (This one might make me a little emotional and melodramatic. Sorry)

5

At the end of Fight the Future, Mulder realizes that Scully knows they can’t be defeated as long as they’re in it together. You see it in his eyes and the little tilt of his lips.

6

Mulder visits Arthur Dales in The Unnatural with questions about aliens and government conspiracies. Dales seems…prone to confabulation…but Mulder can’t quite bring himself to dismiss the man’s stories. As strange as they seem, there might be something to them. So, as we see with this expression, he’ll go along for the ride and see what comes of it.

7

Mulder finally learns Samantha’s fate in Closure. This moment when he’s reading her journal is so painful for him. He doesn’t express that pain in words. He doesn’t need to. The way he purses his lips, clenches his jaw, and swallows communicates his struggle to process all the emotions he’s feeling.

8

In Chimera, Ellen Adderly asks Mulder if he has a significant other, encouraging him not to miss out on home and family. Mulder can’t hope to explain his relationship with Scully, and he really has no intention of trying. He averts his eyes and draws in his lips, conveying his intent to keep this information to himself.

9

In Je Souhaite, Mulder has one final wish, and he wants to use it to solve all the world’s problems. Scully gently suggests that maybe that struggle is the point of our existence and he shouldn’t try to wish that away. Her words hit him profoundly, and we see in Mulder’s expression not only frustration that he can’t achieve what he wants to but also realization that Scully is right.

10

In this scene from Two Fathers, Scully is trying to convince Mulder to look into what happened to Cassandra Spender. Mulder believes Jeffrey Spender’s request for assistance is a set up, but there’s also a chance to learn what happened to Scully on the bridge. He doesn’t respond to Scully with words, but we see the conflict play out across his face.

11

In Three Words, Mulder has returned from the dead to a life he’s not sure he recognizes. He’s uncertain whether Scully will be at his side or even on his side, so he’s taking matters into his own hands, searching for evidence in his typical unsanctioned way. We can see from the way he has his lips pulled in and the questioning, almost sarcastic lift of his eyebrows and tilt of his chin that he’s shutting Scully out, trying to protect himself until he has more answers.

12

This look in Folie a Deux might be a bit broad to classify as a microexpression, but I had to include it here because it’s so fun. Mulder thinks this investigation is a waste of time and he’s being none too subtle about that opinion.

13

We see a more seasoned Mulder in This. He’s a man who’s been through a lot with his partner and he knows what he likes. The forehead crease, narrowed eyes, and hint of a grin as he tells Scully she’s “adorbs” show us that he’s completely enamored of her and really kind of enjoying their adventure.

14

In this scene from F. Emasculata Mulder’s tired and extremely frustrated, and that sideways tilt of his eyes before he closes them and throws his head back show he’s resigned to the logic of what Scully is telling him, even if he doesn’t like it. It’s a bunch of microexpressions strung together into one gorgeous moment….And I didn’t even mention what his mouth is doing.

15

I don’t know about you, but this eyebrow wag in Drive could convince me to make all sorts of bad decisions. It sure works on Scully, and this smug SOB knows it.

If you want to check out my entire microexpressions thread, you can find it here: https://twitter.com/CatherineGlins2/status/1228725568897552384

Anyway…I never did clear out any storage space in my camera roll.

Flashback Friday

I’ve been working on my next post for a while, but it’s taking longer than I expected so it’s not ready to share yet. Also, I’ve been so distracted by planning for X-Fest that not much else is getting done! Since I don’t have anything new I thought I’d share a reflection I wrote a couple of years ago about the first time I met David Duchovny. It’s not about The X-Files, but I figure anything about David Duchovny is X-Files adjacent. This reflection was included in Bulletproof Iconic, a collection of blogs, letters, and pictures by fans thanking David for his music, fan contact, and inspiration in his 2017 US tour.

David Duchovny holding the Bulletproof Iconic collection, delivered in person by MelT

Since writing this reflection I’ve been lucky enough to attend another concert (Vancouver in October 2017) and see both David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson at a convention (Spooky Empire in October 2018). But my first time was such a wonderfully memorable experience, and revisiting it still makes me unbelievably happy.

Reflections on My Day with David Duchovny

First a note about the title. I attended David Duchovny’s book discussion at Town Hall Seattle and his concert at The Crocodile on February 19, 2017. And while it’s true that I actually spent more time waiting in line to see the man than in his actual presence, there wasn’t a moment of my day that wasn’t spent thinking about him, talking about him, listening to him, and best yet conversing with him (that may be overstating the nature of our interactions, but I’m going with it). So as silly as it seems, I will always remember the day as the one I spent with David Duchovny.

Also, I’m only going to include my thoughts on two memories from the day. There are many more, which my friends and family are by now tired of hearing about, but these two mean the most to me.

Front row, ready to see David Duchovny in person for the first time ever!

My friend and I were early enough to the book discussion that we were able to get seats in the front row. So when the discussion was opened to audience questions, I hopped right up and was first in line at the microphone on our side of the room. I got to ask a question, and David answered it, and it was an incredible experience to have him talking right to me, looking right at me, responding to something I had asked.

I asked David whether Miss Subways started as a screen play like his first two novels did. He said yes, although he thought it always should have been a novel.

But it gets better! After the Q&A David was signing autographs. There were 600 people in attendance, and we were told that David would sign books and CDs, but it would be just signatures, nothing personalized. As we were waiting in line I could see that David was doing his best to look up and smile at each person before signing his autograph…and that smile…it was breathtaking…. Anyway, as I got to the front of the line someone took my book, opened it to the right page, and handed it to David to sign. He looked up at me, gave me that smile, and then with a look of recognition said, “Oh, good question.” I can’t even describe how thrilling that was! Is that silly? I don’t care. David Duchovny smiled at me, recognized me, and complimented me!!!

But what really struck me about the whole thing was that this could have felt like an impersonal assembly line, but David was being so gracious and doing his best to make it meaningful for the people standing in line, that I (and many others too I’m sure) left feeling like I’d had a personal interaction with this talented, beautiful man.

There was a lot more waiting in line before the concert, but again we were front row for the big event. I don’t have a lot of experience attending live music performances other than the symphony, and this was my first time at a club show. It was … different… and I can’t honestly say I’d go to another…unless it was David Duchovny. I love his music, and his high-energy performance didn’t disappoint.

Photo by: Janeen Jenson
Fangirling in the front row

But again, what I was most struck by was his generosity. It seemed that David was doing his best to make a personal connection with everyone in the crowd. I had a moment which I feel was just for me, as I’m sure almost everyone in attendance did (even if it was the same moment).

For the second encore of the night, David and his band performed The Weight. The song was an opportunity for David to show his appreciation to his amazingly talented band, and he did so in such a beautiful way that I’m getting teary again as I think and write about it. Each band member sang a verse of the song, and as they did, David danced over to them and stood behind them as they sang, so the audience would focus on them. David swayed behind them, rested his head on their shoulders, played with their hats, and it was so incredibly sweet. Keaton Simons, who had opened for David, came on stage and joined David for the choruses. They were really enjoying themselves, and again, it was incredibly sweet. David’s moves across the stage were positively goofy and adorable, and he wasn’t trying to be the cool rock star, just the lovely man showing appreciation to his band and the audience. Reliving this special moment makes me unbelievably happy.