I can't remember why I put this book on hold but obviously I read about it somewhere. Then I started reading it and wondered again..."why did I want to read this book?" because it seemed well written but kind of dull, to be honest. When I confessed this to my husband, he said, "Maybe it is too cerebral for you." Ok, not ready to admit that so quickly so I soldiered on. Oddly enough, the book got much better after that first section. We get into the meat of the story even though the first section and back story is really key to the whole thing. Tony Webster is 60ish now and divorced. He gets an unexpected inheritance from the mother of an old girlfriend. This puts things in motion and he ends up in touch with his old girlfriend. Tony remembers their relationship a bit differently than perhaps it really was. When they broke up and she took up with his high school chum, he remembers sending a nice post card wishing them both well. Somehow he forgot the follow-up letter that might be the meanest missive ever delivered basically wishing horrible things and accusing each of horrible things. Anyway, the older Tony finally figures out what happened to the old girlfriend and old pal...something that I discovered right along with him...entirely unable to make anything of the clues presented, it makes him think about a lot of things about himself, none of them too pleasant.
Yes, in the end, maybe too cerebral for me but I enjoyed this immensely and was smart enough to find out it is the Man Booker prize winner...gee, maybe that was why I requested it and 38 others have it on request right now.
Fans of Ian McEwan, Kazuo Ishiguro and literary fiction may like this book (the first I've read by the author).
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