First published 1993
In the waning days of WWII, a young man reflects on his youth in a Virginia tidewater town. Recollections of family, friends, and lovers stir up bittersweet emotions as he grapples with the loss of innocence. From his father's tragic death to a childhood romance, each memory carries the weight of time and the ache of nostalgia. Styron's poetic prose evokes the lush, languid atmosphere of the coastal South, where the tide of life ebbs and flows, carrying us all toward an uncertain future.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, lyrical
Tropes: loss-of-innocence, nostalgia
Setting: Virginia
Period: World War II
142 pages · Hardcover · Random House