The Language of Love and Loss
A Witty and Moving Novel Perfect for Book Clubs
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- 10,99 €
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- 10,99 €
Descripción editorial
When his difficult mother is diagnosed with ALS, a sharp-witted yet sensitive artist reluctantly returns to his New Hampshire hometown – and all the ghosts he left behind.
Fans of Andrew Sean Greer, Bryan Washington, and Jonathan Tropper will adore this outrageously funny, deeply touching, buoyant novel from the award-winning author of Leave Myself Behind.
As it turns out, you can go home again. But sometimes, you really, really don’t want to . . .
Home, for Noah York, is Oakland, New Hampshire, the sleepy little town where Noah’s mother, Virginia, had a psychotic breakdown and Noah got beaten to a pulp as a teenager. Then there were the good times—and Noah’s not sure which ones are more painful to recall.
Now thirty-seven and eking out a living as an artist in Providence, Rhode Island, Noah looks much the same—and swears just as colorfully—as he did in high school. Virginia has become a wildly successful poet who made him the subject of her most famous poem, “The Lost Soul,” a label Noah will never live down. And J.D., the one who got away—because Noah stupidly drove him away—is in a loving marriage with a successful, attractive man whom Noah despises wholeheartedly.
Is it any surprise Noah wishes he could ignore his mother’s summons to come visit?
But Virginia has shattering news to deliver, and a request he can’t refuse. Soon, Noah will track down the sister and extended family he never knew existed, try to keep his kleptomaniac cousin out of jail, feud with a belligerent neighbor, confront J.D.’s jealous husband—and face J.D. himself, the ache from Noah’s past that never fades. . . . All the while, contending with his brilliant, unpredictable mother.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Yates's satisfying follow-up to Leave Myself Behind picks up 20 years later, with Noah York now 37 and a restless artist eking out a life in Providence, R.I. He reluctantly visits his mother, Virginia, in his small New Hampshire hometown, the setting of the earlier volume, where as a teen he faced homophobic bullying and a severe beating. Virginia drops two bombshells in quick succession: first, she has ALS; and second, she wants Noah to find the daughter she gave up for adoption before he was born. Adding to Noah's turmoil is his growing conviction that breaking up with his high school boyfriend, J.D., while they were in college was his life's greatest mistake. As a narrator, he's an agreeable companion, brimming with self-awareness and wit, such as when he complains about his smelly Greyhound seatmate while wishing he could afford better accommodations and noting he's "prone to macabre hyperbole." After Noah finds his sister, Carolyn, he secretly meets with her to gauge her interest in meeting their mother. He also navigates the sticky situation of reconnecting with the married J.D., who still talks to Virginia. A picnic brings together all the characters, including Virginia's long-lost sister Cindy, for high drama and heightened emotions. This is a sequel fans of the original didn't know they needed.
