Will Wonders Never Cease: Attempts at Something New

In his novel, Will Wonders Never Cease, Douglas Thayer tells the story of a fifteen year old boy named Kyle. At the beginning of the novel, Kyle gets trapped in his car underneath an avalanche and the rest of the novel focuses on how he changes he struggles to survive. This story was very unique due to its use of stream of consciousness, not to mention its interesting concept. (I mean, personally, I've never before read a story about a kid trying to dig himself out of an avalanche over the course of a week and a half). Almost the entire story takes place buried in an avalanche. It revolves around one character and his thoughts about himself, his actions, and the people who will miss him if he dies. This combination of details makes for a very unique story.
Because of its uniqueness this novel was a bit difficult to get into. I'd never read anything like it before and didn't know what exactly to expect. The story got a bit repetitive as Kyle reflected again and again on the same issues and people, mostly girls and his relationship with his mom. However, it was an attempt at something new, a fact that I can respect.
This novel isn't the first original attempt that we've read in this class. Nephi Anderson's plan of salvation novel, Added Upon, was the first of its kind, making it a unique, original story unlike anything that had previously been written. Luisa Perkins' novel, Dispirited, was a combination of young adult, LDS, paranormal, fantasy that made it impossible to categorize in terms of traditional genres. These attempts at originality can be hard to get into and they have some kinks to work out, but at least these authors had the courage to try something new. And each found some degree of success within their attempts.

Photo from Washington State Department of Transportation Flickr

out of the snow.

Doug Thayer’s novel Will Wonders Never Cease is very ‘stream of consciousness’ novel from a 15 year-old boy who gets stuck in an avalanche for 9 days. Kyle is able to survive by using what skills his grandfather had taught him (reaching into a Latter-Day Saint theme of family) and by eating the food he had been driving up the canyon with at the time of the avalanche. The majority of the book is simply inside of Kyle’s head, his thoughts and feelings as he is fighting off hunger, hypothermia and frostbite, and despair. Because of this style, Thayer is writing in a stream of consciousness, the ideas flowing out of each other and never seeming to end. This type of style has its pros and cons, mostly depending on the reader. It sometimes can get confusing to follow the plot and there are many times where Kyle’s thoughts leave the reader with way too many questions and not nearly enough details. But because of the continual returns to the same ideas and topics, most questions the reader might have about Kyle and his life are, more or less, answered.

It is rather heartwarming to read as Kyle changes, somewhat, in his attitude and perspective, especially on his family and his religion. Even though he may not have matured as much as maybe he could have, he comes out of the snow a different young man than the boy who cruised up the canyon.

Firsthand Experience

In Doug Thayer's novel Will Wonders Never Cease, we are brought back through time and into the thought processes of a young adolescent teen. This is rife with all the characteristics of a teen, from not really knowing who you are or what you want to do, to being curious about girls and your own body.


Specifically in this novel, you are thrown into Mormon culture in a way which most outside of Mormonism has not had a chance to experience. The main character, Kyle, is immersed in it. And this brings up a series of challenges and choices. 


How will he act? Will he believe everything that is said? Doug Thayer effectively brings the reader through 
Kyle's thoughts and the reasons behind his choices and beliefs.

Photo from: berkshirehealthcare.nhs.uk

The reason why this novel is important is because of the honesty that is put into Doug Thayer's perception of Kyle. Kyle is able to critique the culture he is immersed in through a humorous way that is not condescending or overtly negative. 

This is unique because it shows the thoughts and feelings of a person in the Mormon culture itself. 


In other words, the experiences of Kyle could be considered first hand and possibly a much better example of what Mormonism is than someone living outside of the religion trying to critique what they have not lived themselves.

Fictional Avalanche

Fictional literature has always been very interesting in its ability to bring your mind to new places and create characters that may or may not be possible in non-fiction. I think Douglas Thayer does well in his novel, "Will Wonders Never Cease" in depicting common Utah LDS culture through fictional literature.

In Thayer's novel, he depicts a young man's spiritual and physical struggles of being trapped in under an avalanche. It would be hard to use the few non-fictional examples of young men being trapped in an avalanche to illustrate the Latter-day Saint culture as he did. It would be especially difficult to find a young man who lived to tell the tale with such detail as Thayer has.

Generally, I believe that non-fiction has an excellent role in a Mormon setting. We find "testimonies" and lived experiences to be strengthening. Reflecting on this past General Conference, I remember several fictional anecdotes that were used to teach principles in ways that perhaps non-fiction couldn't have. In my opinion, there is great value in both fiction and non-fiction within LDS literature. Thayer could create both a setting and the character that allowed for a very personal interaction with a young man raised in the environment of a Utah LDS home. It may be difficult to reveal the true feelings, concerns, or secrets of a non-fictional character. In this light, fiction could be the best way to bring up sensitive topics with great tact.

Detailing the Mormon Script: Thayer's Fictional Take on Our Reality

Thayer's fictional depiction of the mormon experience allows the reader to more objectively reevaluate mormon culture from a different viewpoint.  As we see the effect of mormonism on adolescent Kyle, through his thought process, speech and general outlook on his life it causes that some of the dilemas and particular difficulties of growing up in a mormon community become more easy to examine and deliberate.  In my reading of Thayer's novel, I certainly found myself reconsidering several of the trends and sometimes subtle messages commonly promoted and communicated in a mormon upbringing and environment.

By addressing these themes through a fictional narrative as opposed to a personal essay or non-fiction account of a specific person, Thayer is able to work with very real characters who at the same time act as subsets of stereotypical mormons that are influenced by our unique religious culture in a similar way.  Likewise, by taking the viewpoint of a Kyle narrated in the first person the reader is able to fluidly immerse his or herself in the actual thinking of the young man, thus experiencing more genuinely what it is like to be him as he experiences social pressures and goes through honest self reflection firsthand.

For me the most resonant moments in "Will Wonders Never Cease" are when Kyle candidly comments on his gut emotional reaction to the pressures and expectations placed upon him.  When he warns his friend, Mark, of the whole new world of responsibilities he'll be taking on upon joining the church many of the perceived expectations he voices, though exaggerated, ring true.  Although no one in the church likely tries to broadcast these messages as a script all mormon youth must measure up to, the fact nevertheless remains that mormon youth are expected to do and be more than nearly any other group, sometimes unattainably so.  It may not be commonly voiced with such honesty in most mormon settings (even Kyle keeps most of his feelings and observations to himself), but Thayer's decision to lay these issues out on the table with such candor makes for a compelling commentary on who we are and how we live in Mormon society.

The Trap

In non-fictional form, many may find it difficult to just let it all out. Imagine sitting down with a stranger--or even a friend--and having them dish out their deepest fears and regrets. You'd eventually think less about how you can relate, and more about how this person's got some serious problems. When we sit down to share our real-life stories--as we've done in our personal essays--honesty is something we might dance around or only brush up against when convenient.

In the can-do, never-faltered, keep-it-on-the-down-low culture of Mormon member life, many of us find it difficult to take our deepest thoughts and slap them on a table for all to see. Some don't struggle with this, and have no problem sharing their transgressions to anyone who will listen, but for many it becomes a struggle--or a trap even--between being real and being not seen as less of a member.

When considering fictional writing, honesty can take any form. It can be an antagonist who bears striking resemblance to your horrific 4th grade teacher who was terrible and awful and is the direct cause of any educational problem you've had since. For Douglas Thayer, it appears to be taking the form of inner monologue. Kyle waxes on about his thoughts, flowing in and out of memories and ideas that have clearly been hand-picked by Thayer for different purposes.

Stream of consciousness writing, as found in The Catcher in the Rye and Ulysses, is an easy and effective way to be honest with your audience, or at least let your character be honest with them. I don't imagine Kyle is Douglas Thayer and that he's just barfing out his own life story through another character, so he's most likely using Kyle to be honest about his own personal thoughts and about what he thinks teenage boys think about. Doing this in the non-fiction form would be very difficult.

By avoiding the nasty trap of how much honesty is too much honesty, writers can use fiction to breach any number of topics with greater efficiency.

Mormon Undertones

In writing a fictional story or any piece of literature, one always needs to have the opinions of the audience in mind. One of the main things that influences how successful a piece becomes and how the audience receives it is the mindset that the author has while writing it. That is especially true for mormon literature, as much of the world does not understand or is not familiar with our religion. Mormon literature seems to be almost frowned upon, when the author makes blatant references to the mormon church, people will generally have a different opinion of the book.

The amazing thing about fictional mormon literature is that the author can tailor it to his needs, whereas a non-fictional piece of literature cannot be changed as much to fit the religious background of the audience. For example, sharing a personal story about conversion to the church or a principle can be a scary thing, putting your feelings out on the line. With fiction you can share your story but possibly change it to fit the general feeling you want the reader to have. Also, the author can change the story to add a lot of mormon influence, or a little, or not even mention the mormon church directly at all. Fiction allows the reader to become more immersed in the story, and the the author can introduce themes about the church in a more subtle undertone.

In the book, "Will Wonders Never Cease" by Douglas Thayer, the author chose to introduce the church in a more up front way, and that was his choice to make it a prominent theme throughout the book. This allowed him to slip in ideas about serving missions, baptism and conversion easily throughout the book. While some prefer this more in your face method, others may prefer to leave it as a more subtle undertone throughout their work.

The Sneaky Way

I think sometimes it is very difficult to share personal experience and personal opinion.  Maybe it is because we are afraid of being judged, ridiculed or analyzed.  Maybe it is because there is such a thing as "over sharing"- T.M.I. and the whole casting-pearls-before-swine thing.  Regardless, today is the age where information can be shared and spread very quickly and it can become "viral" instantly, either in a good way or a bad way.  In no time at all, you can be praised or maligned by people around the world. Because of this, political or personal subjects are risky to share and have to be shared in the right way...maybe from the viewpoint of someone else.


I think we all have sought advice by saying "So my friend (insert controversial topic here)" to someone we trust or value their opinion, really referring to ourselves.  It is because we don't want to be judged or we want to gauge the reaction of others before spilling the beans.  This takes the personal connection out.  They can't be disappointed or angry at us because it was "our friend" who believed in such-or-such or got in trouble with so-and-so.

This is why it is a good tactic to share beliefs, strong opinions, politics and all other controversial topics through fiction. The blame or praise can all be placed on someone who doesn't actually exist.  I think Douglas Thayer does a fantastic job of this in his recent novel, "Will Wonders Never Cease" in which a mother talks about taboo subjects like sex, masturbation, same-sex attraction, and political correctness.  The mother essentially tears into her son for calling someone "gay" which arises thoughts on accepting people in the Mormon community who have such affiliations.  She affirmed that they can be strong, active and completely worthy members of the church if they continue to live the same commandments everyone else does.  There has been much controversy about this recently in the church, and it is a good way in narrative form to sneakily bring in Thayer's thoughts on the subject.
 I think if Thayer wrote it from a personal narrative, he might get a lot of hateful comments as being blatantly pro-gay or maybe affiliated that way.  But, like I said, opinions coming from fictional characters allow for people to be a little more un-attached and not necessarily attack ideas they don't believe in because those ideas could be fictional.

Finding Your Place Among the Stars

Every person no matter their religion must at some point go through some sort of rite of passage. Mormons are no different. Part of being human is questioning things around us and trying to find our place in the universe. Kyle in Will Wonder’s Never Cease is a perfect example of this occurring in young people which I feel was very accurately portrayed since I was able to connect with and relate to his thoughts and experiences.

Right off the bat Thayer has names, and not titles which would be more expected, flying around for anyone and everything. The most startling of which is that Kyle even thinks of his parents by their first names. This shows that he feels out of place, or isn’t quite sure where he fits in and at times he feels others don’t give him enough credit for what he knows and what he is capable of. He is smart enough not to actually call them by their first names to their faces, but you can tell a lot about who someone really is when you can get in their head which is a advantage of works of fiction.

However is all of this truly fiction? I feel that despite the fact that the actual events of this story never happened, all of the other aspects have elements of truth in them that we can all connect with on different levels. Whether Thayer had similar experiences, had them form from his imagination, or has had others share their similar experiences with him, the feelings and thoughts that are discussed and felt as a result in this novel are real to any human being, especially during our coming of age phase. So despite Thayer having Kyle in a Mormon culture, with lots of discussions surrounding Mormon life, I feel that this larger theme of coming of age is more of a universal human experience and not one that is mutually exclusive to Mormons or even Mormon teenage boys.

Authenticity and Tricky Topics

Any time we write, paint, sculpt, or use any medium to portray actual life, it will not be an exact replica. There is no way to translate every nuance and detail into the art. This is the case with fiction and nonfiction, one may try to be as genuine as possible but there will often be something missing. Nevertheless, a writer does not need the exact words or the very emotions to convey his/her message.  Using the magic of imagination, an author can allow the readers an experience, which can be better than actual life.

In Douglas Thayer’s novel Will Wonders Never Cease the author portrays a family with a teenage son. Contrary to the typical Mormon stereotypes the son; Kyle has not embraced the life that his family or his mother especially promotes.  Since this novel is fiction, Thayer could explore the doubts and fears of a teenage boy in the church without the burden of it being a true story.

I think sometimes we handle hard topics better when they are set in a fictional setting, instead of taking things so seriously we can empathize and allow the characters to grow without judgment. Often authors do not want to share all the difficult true stuff because they do not want to be judged. The next best thing is to make up a character and give him the experiences or background that need to be shared. So that through fiction authors are able to be more authentic with their thoughts and characters than with perhaps a nonfiction story. 

This type of literature is very refreshing as we watch Kyle change from a boy that is not sure about much to a young man that has faced death and has come back with strong beliefs.  It is serious but with a touch of humor that keeps a reader going.

I believe that the audience for such a novel benefits from the authenticity that the author gives to the characters and also the situation. Although the circumstan 

ces that Kyle overcomes are very extraordinary, it takes nothing away from the believability.

The Flexibility of Fiction

In a previous post, I questioned to what degree a personal essay has to stay true to the actual events in question. Ultimately I concluded that some embellishment is appropriate for nonfiction works, and even helpful, but the core events must remain rooted in fact. This allows for a personal connection to the author, but can also make it difficult to write a compelling story.  This is in contrast to fiction, which can use almost any compelling story to help draw the reader in and convey a message.

Because of the increased leeway when writing fiction, authors can often forge stronger connections with the reader. Circumstances can be created that are ideal for sharing a given point or capturing interest, in ways that would feel contrived or disingenuous in nonfictional writings. Because the reader is not asked to believe that the circumstances are true, unlikely stories can still be enjoyed. Candor and honesty can still be shown through the use of characters or themes, even as the plot is synthetic.

Doug Thayer uses a gripping plot in Will Wonders Never Cease in which a teenage boy is trapped in a suburban for more than a week. Though a relatively implausible story (he somehow has heat, food, water, and air sources while trapped under an avalanche), this story provides a framework for a coming-of-age introspective narrative that entertains and gives pause for reflection. In essence, the plot is used to draw the reader in and connect with characters. This is in contrast to Nephi Anderson’s Added Upon, in which he uses the plot itself (which follows the life and death of a common farmer) in an attempt to connect with his audience. Unfortunately, the characters were didactic role players in the plot, and it lacked the sense of authenticity of Thayer’s work. Regardless, in both works, the authors used the flexibility available to them through fiction to convey their message in a way they could not have with nonfiction.

What is the Real Mormon Experience?

No two people ever truly experience the exact same thing.  One of the beautiful things of life is that it is unique for every single person; even amongst the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Because we all experience things from an inimitable point of view, it is impossible to capture a Mormon experience that can represent that experience for everybody, be it in fictional or non-fictional form.  However, in Douglas Thayer’s novel, Will Wonders Never Cease, his use of fiction to relate the coming-of-age experience of a Mormon teenager, can authentically represent common Mormon beliefs and themes.

I believe that it was much easier for Doug Thayer to express these themes in a fictional way rather than a non-fictional story.  Like Andrew Olson said here, “, it is very difficult to represent the negative aspects of a culture through one’s own personal writing or speaking.  Often the negative things in life get pushed aside and those involved try to ignore them.”  Thayer was able to tactfully demonstrate a Mormon viewpoint on things like repentance, sin, and sex education; whereas in a non-fiction setting, Mormon’s are generally less willing to discuss sex or even past sins publicly (like Kyle getting drunk at age fourteen).  We try to see from a more positive perspective, and save the personal information for Bishop’s interviews. 

Other works of Mormon fiction, like Nephi Anderson’s novel, Added Upon, can also relate important beliefs and themes in a way non-fiction could not.  It would be incredibly difficult to obtain the personal accounts of people who have experienced all of the stages of the Plan of Salvation, from the pre-existence to exaltation, like the characters in Added Upon.  However, while both novels relate themes and beliefs in a way that non-fiction may not, it is possible that they do not relate true Mormon experience as well as a personal essay would.  Real experiences from real people, real Mormons, could more accurately tell the reader what life could be like for a Mormon.

I personally enjoy fiction more than non-fiction.  It has the ability to explore the outrageous, even though it is not always 100% accurate.  As I read, I like being able to be placed in the minds of people like Kyle from Will Wonders Never Cease.  It allows me to go on their adventures with them, even though I have not experienced those things myself.  

Fiction as an Outlet for Authenticity

Fiction allows true aspects of LDS experience to be depicted in a light-hearted, humorous way that could be more difficult to accomplish in non-fiction. This is seen repeatedly in Doug Thayer’s novel: Will Wonders Never Cease. The principle of chastity is a big focus of many youth lessons and talks by leaders of the LDS church. This is conveyed in the novel through Lucille’s determined and constant efforts to teach Kyle, and other youth, sex-ed. She holds ward sex-ed meetings, she makes Kyle look up sexual words in the dictionary and discuss them with her and when she attends the 6^th grade sex talk with him, she finds it to be woefully uninformative. This preoccupation with chastity is ingrained in Mormon culture and depicted in a somewhat humorous, exaggerated way in Thayer’s novel. It illustrates an authentic part of Mormon beliefs and youth life, while also making such a serious, heavy topic more approachable. And although it pokes some fun at this overzealousness, Kyle is also seen as a little grateful for this education because he doesn’t have the same confusion as his friends.

In the non-fiction genre, writers have to stick closely to the facts of a situation and leave out exaggerations. Additionally, in non-fiction writing such as a personal essay, writers may find it difficult to include personal flaws or the less flattering aspects of the church. The same perceptions that would be relatable and funny from fictional character may come across as deprecating or critical when expressed by a faithful member of the church, especially to a non-member audience. Also, personal essay writers may not want to offend those close to them by disclosing their unfiltered perceptions and judgments. Kyle, on the other hand, is allowed to share his unfiltered thoughts and comment on his mother, father, brothers and friends without fear of giving offence because he is a fictional character, not a real person consciously sharing a life experience.