The start of this story is an account of a murder and suicide set in the 1920s in a town in rural America. It's easy to get into and absorbing from the word go. It is also a slim volume and so can’t afford to waste words but brings across the characters, the description of the people, places and the era, very vividly, in carefully chosen words. There are parallel stories running through it, involving two young lads who come together in a tenuous fashion to connect the plot in a believable way. At first I had thought it would be a straight forward who-dun-it detective tale, but instead it revealed the autobiographical account of the life of the boy who tells the story, and then his account of what could have happened to the other lad, who was the son of the murderer, after their friendship ended. The imaginative quality of the thoughts of the narrator, even down to an imaginary dog that could have had a place in the tale, was intriguing and thought provoking and I found it a quite unique and unusual approach and a very good read.
One of Ann Patchett's favourite books.
'When thinking of a novel I would want to pass on to future generations, it stood to reason that I would see my favourite William Maxwell novel as the best inheritance. It comes from a place so deep inside the human soul that I cannot imagine a time when its wisdom would not feel fresh and applicable. The result is a mosaic of human emotion, a singular and spectacular work of art.' You can read Ann Patchett's full Introduction to So Long, See you Tomorrow in this Orange Inheritance edition published by Vintage.
| Primary Genre | Modern and Contemporary Fiction |
| Recommendations: |
