What Comes After
A Novel
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3.8 • 4 Ratings
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
Runner Up for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize
Finalist for the Washington State Book Award
Edgar Prize Finalist for Best Debut Novel by an American Author
Shortlisted for the Prix Libre Nous, Best Foreign Book in French Translation
New York Times, Group Text Pick for April 2021
New York Times Editor's Choice Pick
Named a top beach read of summer by Oprah Daily, Good Housekeeping, The Wall Street Journal, and more
“Nail-biting wallop of a debut . . . a thoughtful, unexpectedly optimistic tale.” —The New York Times
“If you enjoyed The Searcher by Tana French, read What Comes After by JoAnne Tompkins. . . . a mystery—and a gritty meditation on loss and redemption, drenched in stillness and grief.” —The Washington Post
After the shocking death of two teenage boys tears apart a community in the Pacific Northwest, a mysterious pregnant girl emerges out of the woods and into the lives of those same boys’ families—a moving and hopeful novel about forgiveness and human connection.
In misty, coastal Washington State, Isaac lives alone with his dog, grieving the recent death of his teenage son, Daniel. Next door, Lorrie, a working single mother, struggles with a heinous act committed by her own teenage son. Separated by only a silvery stretch of trees, the two parents are emotionally stranded, isolated by their great losses—until an unfamiliar sixteen-year-old girl shows up, bridges the gap, and changes everything.
Evangeline’s arrival at first feels like a blessing, but she is also clearly hiding something. When Isaac, who has retreated into his Quaker faith, isn’t equipped to handle her alone, Lorrie forges her own relationship with the girl. Soon all three characters are forced to examine what really happened in their overlapping pasts, and what it all possibly means for a shared future.
With a propulsive mystery at its core, What Comes After offers an unforgettable story of loss and anger, but also of kindness and hope, courage and forgiveness. It is a deeply moving account of strangers and friends not only helping each other forward after tragedy but inspiring a new kind of family.
Customer Reviews
Tear jerker
Author
American. Lawyer who decided she wanted to write novels so she did a MFA and now she has (written a novel, I mean).
In brief
Setting is a small coastal town in the Washington State. Mucho trees. Mucho rain. Isaac, a Quaker and a high school biology teacher, moved there from the other side of the country with his wife Katherine, a nurse, after they marry. New start away from both families: that sort of thing. She wants a big family but can’t have any more after one (terminal fibroids at 30). Now they’re separated. She lives and works in and adjacent town. The kid, Daniel, lives with Isaac and their faithful dog Rufus, until one day Daniel disappears. A few days later, he’s found, murdered, after a confession left in a suicide note by a teenage male next-door neighbour and supposed bestie. Mucho sadness, as you’d expect. Then a random teenage chick turns up, pregnant and homeless. She’s taken in by Isaac’s neighbour Lorrie, the Mom of the kid who killed his kid. We gradually learn of the girl’s connection to the dead boys. It’s not so much a mystery unfolding as a story of individuals trying to move forward after a tragedy. Make that tragedies. The dog dies too.
Writing
Clear, competent prose and Debbie Downer mood that never really gripped me, or made me feel engaged with the characters. Except for the dog, which cured my xerophthalmia temporarily.
Bottom line
Failed to deliver after promising start. The reviews on Goodreads suggest others were more impressed than me. Parental advisory: Lay in extra boxes of tissues before reading.