First published 2002
Alec Valentine returns to England in summer 1997 to care for his dying mother Alice. The task magnifies every inadequacy he feels about his life. His older brother Larry must leave San Francisco and abandon his failing acting career and crumbling marriage to join the family vigil. Meanwhile in Paris, Alec translates the work of László Lázár, a Hungarian exile who appears to have everything. László enjoys critical success, a loving relationship, loyal friends, and a comfortable life. Yet memories of the 1956 Hungarian uprising torment him. He remembers a desperate cry for help that he ignored, a moment of cowardice that still haunts him decades later. As Alice's condition worsens, all three men confront the choices they made and the chances they missed. The approaching death forces each to examine his life with brutal honesty. In their different ways, Larry, Alec, and László will each discover unexpected forms of freedom, though not the kind any of them anticipated.
Genres: 20th-century, adult-fiction, 21st-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-study, found-family
Setting: England, San Francisco, Paris, Hungary
Period: 1997, 1956
321 pages · Hardcover · Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Content warnings: death