The Widower's Tale
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3.9 • 122 Ratings
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the National Book Award–winning author of Three Junes: Seventy-year-old Percy Darling is settling happily into retirement—reading novels, watching old movies, and swimming naked in his pond. But his routines are disrupted when he is persuaded to let a locally beloved preschool take over his barn.
As Percy sees his rural refuge overrun by children, parents, and teachers, he must reexamine the solitary life he has made in the three decades since the sudden death of his wife. With equal parts affection and humor, Julia Glass spins a captivating tale about a man who can no longer remain aloof from his community, his two grown daughters, or—to his great shock—the precarious joy of falling in love.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Percy Darling, 70, the narrator of Glass's fourth novel, takes comfort in certitudes: he will never leave his historic suburban Boston house, he is done with love (still guilty about his wife's death 30 years ago), and his beloved grandson Robert, a Harvard senior, will do credit to the family name. But Glass (Three Junes) spins a beautifully paced, keenly observed story in which certainties give way to surprising reversals of fortune. Percy is an opinionated, cantankerous, newly retired Harvard librarian and nobody's "darling," who decides to lease his barn to a local preschool, mainly to give his daughter Clover, who has abandoned her husband and children in New York, a job. Percy's other daughter is a workaholic oncologist in Boston who becomes important to a young mother at the school with whom Percy, to his vast surprise, establishes a romantic relationship. Meanwhile, Percy's grandson, Robert, falls in with an ecoterrorist group. Glass handles the coalescing plot elements with astute insights into the complexity of family relationships, the gulf between social classes, and our modern culture of excess to create a dramatic, thought-provoking, and immensely satisfying novel.
Customer Reviews
Artfully written; a bit slow paced
Julia Glass artfully wrote a story that portrays the complexity of family relationships. The writing was excellent. I would have preferred a little faster pace as some of the character histories seemed unnecessarily detailed. A lot of time was spent on the immigrant, Celestino, an intelligent and talented man with unrealized potential who let love pass him by because of fear. I didn’t think his situation at the end was credible. Still, Ms. Glass did pull everything together for a satisfying if not totally believable ending. Not 5 stars because I thought that the book could have used a bit more dramatic tension throughout, and a faster pace.
Sublime and Satisfying
While 3 Junes cut closer to the bone, this novel perfectly evokes the grittiness of ordinary family life. Unexpected plot twists that I couldn't believe I failed to see coming, made this an inviting read.
Wonderful Read
This book was a gem, wonderful writing, interesting characters and witty humor. I loved how she wove the stories of each character together, insightfully and simply, and her writing is never dramatic or overdone. I am so glad I found this author, and am looking forward to her other books.