Where Things Come Back: Chapters 15–21

by John Corey Whaley
This award-winning novel weaves together the story of a cynical teen living in a small town in Arkansas and a disillusioned missionary who has just returned from Ethiopia.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–14, Chapters 15–21
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. recluse
    one who lives in solitude
    My mother was born ten minutes before my aunt Julia, who seemed to have become some sort of a recluse that summer, rarely leaving her house and, according to my mom, “stinking to high heaven.”
  2. explicit
    precisely and clearly expressed or readily observable
    Before, she would have brought over homemade cookies and a cold chicken casserole for my dad, along with explicit instructions on how to properly heat it up.
  3. astute
    marked by practical hardheaded intelligence
    “You see, my dear. Your mother is very astute. I have finally learned how to shut that woman up,” she said, pointing to Aunt Julia’s car as it bounced down the road.
  4. elation
    a feeling of joy and pride
    This was sort of a forced elation, which we all seemed to be getting pretty good at.
  5. monstrosity
    something hideous or frightful
    Every morning I would hear from my bedroom window the sound of John Barling slamming the Dumases’ front door, letting the screen door shut (tap tap tap), and, a few seconds later, cranking up his monstrosity of a truck and backing out the gravel drive.
  6. steeple
    a tall tower that forms the superstructure of a building
    And best of all, a hexagonal gazebo with white latticework and a steeple.
  7. crude
    not carefully or expertly made
    On both sides of the stage hung long, narrow banners with crude likenesses of the Lazarus and the words LILY LOVES THE BIRD.
  8. intermittent
    stopping and starting at irregular intervals
    I did, however, imagine it happening anyway as I waited there, staring down at the little boy with sweat dripping from his temples as he raised one hand up into the air, let out intermittent yelps, and then trotted away.
  9. contort
    twist and press out of shape
    And behind them all the people cheer and clap and suddenly their faces too begin to shift and contort: Some drool, some develop sores, some hang their mouths open and begin to slide toward the laughing couple.
  10. overbearing
    expecting unquestioning obedience
    Beverly Ember had given up in those few weeks trying to be directly involved in her granddaughter’s life, questioning whether or not she had been overbearing or too nosy.
  11. incoherent
    unable to express yourself clearly or fluently
    In between placing phone calls and writing long-drawn-out, pathetic, and often incoherent letters, Cabot continued his study of the very subject that had, unbeknownst to him, driven Alma away: the potential of humankind.
  12. unbeknownst
    without someone's knowledge
    In between placing phone calls and writing long-drawn-out, pathetic, and often incoherent letters, Cabot continued his study of the very subject that had, unbeknownst to him, driven Alma away: the potential of humankind.
  13. indefinitely
    to an unknown extent
    She hadn’t been to the salon in four days, and so my dad found her appointment book and called all her regular customers to indefinitely postpone their appointments.
  14. grandiose
    impressive because of unnecessary largeness or magnificence
    When one is lying on the floor of his bedroom exactly ten weeks and three days after his brother has vanished off the face of the Earth, he begins to imagine quite a grandiose scene.
  15. bristly
    having or covered with protective barbs or spines
    John Barling sits in silence, a big dumb smile on his bristly face, with Shirley Dumas swaying beside him.
  16. dismal
    causing dejection
    After passing through the dismal, dimly fit town, Cabot pulled up to a small motel with several of its sign’s neon letters burnt out.
  17. painstaking
    characterized by extreme care and great effort
    He picked them up, took the lid off the can, and painstakingly pulled the bag out while trying not to make very much noise.
  18. naive
    marked by or showing unaffected simplicity
    He was completely confused about why it had all happened, but he wasn’t naive enough for one moment to start cooking up any clever plans for escaping.
  19. stifle
    smother or suppress
    The time spent theorizing and debating over the fact that God himself had stifled the greatness of human potential.
  20. rectify
    make right or correct
    Everything that had, in some way or another, led him to some nothing town where, as it seemed, things could come back from the dead, mistakes could be rectified, lives could be started over.
  21. ornithologist
    a zoologist who studies feathered animals
    The next morning, feeling slightly guilty about having kicked Lucas out of our house and thereby causing him to assault an ornithologist to prove his allegiance to my family, I suggested that we go down to the White River and take one of Merle’s Famous Lazarus Boat Tours.
  22. lavish
    characterized by extravagance and profusion
    “Yes. But not today. Today we join expert tour guide Merle Hodge on a lavish journey through the Arkansas bayous to seek out the elusive Lazarus woodpecker.”
  23. bayou
    a swampy arm or slow-moving outlet of a lake
    “Yes. But not today. Today we join expert tour guide Merle Hodge on a lavish journey through the Arkansas bayous to seek out the elusive Lazarus woodpecker.”
  24. proprietor
    someone who owns a business
    Here’s why Merle Hodge was now the proprietor and sole employee of Merle’s Famous Lazarus Boat Tours: He was the previous proprietor and sole employee of Merle’s Famous Fisherman Tours.
  25. dissent
    a difference of opinion
    This caused perhaps the most publicized dissent against the Lazarus woodpecker, with op-ed pieces running weekly in the paper to disparage John Barling and his mob of birdwatcher friends.
  26. disparage
    express a negative opinion of
    This caused perhaps the most publicized dissent against the Lazarus woodpecker, with op-ed pieces running weekly in the paper to disparage John Barling and his mob of birdwatcher friends.
  27. meager
    deficient in amount or quality or extent
    He saw his dad putting up posters with some dorky school picture of himself on the front and a meager reward offered underneath.
  28. cacophony
    loud confusing disagreeable sounds
    He did this for a while, making different noises out of the cacophony surrounding him.
  29. sprawl
    sit or lie with one's limbs spread out
    Gabriel’s head smashed into the side of the television and he fell motionless and sprawled out on the hard floor.
  30. astray
    away from the right path or direction
    There will be John Barlings to lead us astray and Oslo Foukes to remind us that maybe we are doing things right after all.
Created on Tue Oct 02 11:23:40 EDT 2018 (updated Tue Oct 02 11:37:12 EDT 2018)

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