by John Gardner
First published 1974
Henry Soames weighs too much, worries too much, and at 42 finds himself marrying Callie Wells, a seventeen-year-old girl carrying another man's child. In their small Catskill Mountains town during the 1950s, Henry and Callie navigate an marriage that seems impossible from the start. The years and pounds between them matter less than the slow discovery of what binds two unlikely people together. They raise Callie's son, work through isolation and forgiveness, and encounter their community's collection of damaged souls: a one-legged veteran, a preacher some think might be the devil, and the wandering Goat Lady. When tragic events strike their small world, questions of accident versus intention, guilt versus innocence, and even murder arise. Yet acts of compassion and humility emerge from the chaos. Henry's quiet journey toward understanding grace becomes the true heart of their improbable love story.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, adult-fiction, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unlikely-couple
Setting: Catskill Mountains, United States
Period: 1950s
320 pages · Hardcover · Jonathan Cape