by James Agee
First published 1983
On a hot summer night in 1915 Knoxville, Jay Follet receives urgent word that his father is dying. He leaves his wife and young son Rufus to make the journey, only to discover the emergency was a mistake. His father recovers, and Jay begins the drive home to his family. But he never arrives. A car accident kills him instantly on the return trip. The novel moves between different time periods and perspectives, showing how Jay's sudden death shatters his small world of domestic contentment. Through the eyes of his wife, his brother, and six-year-old Rufus, Agee reveals how quickly tragedy can destroy the ordinary happiness of family life. The story captures the confusion and grief that follows unexpected loss, particularly through Rufus, whose secure childhood world crumbles in a single night. This deeply personal novel transforms a simple family catastrophe into an exploration of innocence confronting mortality.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: grief, tragedy
Setting: Knoxville
Period: 1915
318 pages · Paperback · Bantam
Content warnings: death