The Young Widowers Handbook, Tom McAllister, Algonquin Books, 2017, 282 pp
The January 2017 selection of The Nervous Breakdown Book Club has a misleading title. It surely is a perceptive blend of whimsy and tragedy. Hunter Cady did indeed lose his young wife too soon. The novel however is distinctly not a handbook. It is a road trip novel, one of my favorite types of stories.
Now that I think about it, except for Thelma and Louise, most road trippers are male, either in search of adventure or looking for themselves. Some run away from loss, some run for their lives after a crime. A road trip can be a way of accelerating change.
Hunter Cady, carrying his wife's ashes, to which he often talks, escaping his wife's mother as well as his own, is sure no one will ever understand and accept him as Kaitlyn did. He does find wry adventure and comes to find a new version of himself.
This debut novel may not be a masterpiece but it is nicely done and gave me hours of emotional ups and downs while ultimately leading me to a feeling of well being.
The book sounds very good. The plot sounds like there is some poignancy and some optimism.
ReplyDeleteYou raise a good point. The vast majority of road trip stories have been male. I think that is true of several categories of story. Hopefully we will see this begin to change.
I have made a few road trips in my day. I will be including those stories in my autobiography.
DeleteI'm glad it at least ended nicely. I'm a sucker for a 'happy' ending.
ReplyDeleteI can never decide if I like tragic endings or happy endings better. I suppose we need both.
DeleteSounds like nice summer read as one is usually prone to road trips during summer vacation.
ReplyDeleteGood point, Lisa!
DeleteThis sounds good to me; I hadn't heard of it.
ReplyDeleteI think Algonquin Books needs to up their promotion. So many good books come from them.
DeleteIt's an interesting concept for a plot, and based on your review, it sounds as though it was intelligently executed. I can understand why you found it rewarding.
ReplyDeleteI think this author has a good future ahead.
Delete