The Illusion of Separateness


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.

Plot

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.

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. Van Booy's spare prose and fragmentary structure are employed to suggest how small decisions ripple across time.

Publication

Harper published the novel in June 2013. A trade paperback edition followed in 2014.

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.
  • **Kirkus Reviews** praised the overarching connectedness theme while cautioning that some elements feel “on the nose.”
  • **The Guardian** offered a more negative take, arguing that the pursuit of significance overwhelms the story's revelation of bonds between characters.
  • The **Washington Independent Review of Books** admired the taut construction but found the ending rushed and overly convoluted.
  • Publisher materials also quote favorable notices from **Library Journal** and **Booklist**.