Wow – this one hits hard. The story of someone growing up, from a student to an old man. There is a big fast forward in there, and from the older perspective he discovers some things that cause him to re-evaluate his past.
At the end of this book you realize that this is really two stories – one is happening in the background that you don’t find out about until later.
There is some really good writing here to pull something like this off. Along the way there is some deep thinking on some heavy topics – age, memory, suicide, living life and getting old. Getting old comes with some real penalties, but in this book we can discover some benefits as well.
I liked how the story moved so quickly from youth to old age – I think it is rare situation to find in books. So often the drama is in the change of character over time, but here the older man is almost a new character.
One criticism I have for the book is that in the second part one particular character has a strange way to interact – avoiding any explanation (why?) and being awfully mysterious for purposes that were unclear to me. While it develops the mystery and the suspense I couldn’t find any other possible reason – and I don’t think it was suggested in the text. Maybe I missed it but it felt unnatural and strange.
Next I am reading The Kingdom by the Sea by Paul Theroux.
