Thursday, October 18, 2012

This Bright River by Patrick Somerville


From Library Journal: "Ben returns to his hometown to prepare his late uncle's home for sale. A recovering addict and ex-felon, Ben feels adrift, but he seeks to rebuild some sort of relationship with his family and find direction for his life. He encounters Lauren, a high school classmate, who has escaped an abusive marriage. They find solace in each other, but dark secrets put both of them in peril. With a tantalizing opening that the reader won't make sense of until near the end, Somerville's second novel is more complex than it first appears. Ben (and one suspects, the author) loves puzzles, and as he attempts to unravel his family's secrets, Somerville drops clues and telling details, the significance of which only later become clear to the reader. Despite its dark edges (increasingly so as it progresses), this novel is also richly funny, engrossing, and humane. Though it contains elements of a murder mystery and thriller, this is a literary novel for readers who want to be simultaneously caught up in a story and impressed by the author's copious craft and skill"

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