So Far Gone | Jess Walter

I think Jess Walter is one of the best novelists around, and the fact that he's from my general part of the country makes him even more appealing. I love reading books with familiar locations and landmarks. I wasn't so sure about So Far Gone, since the backdrop of the book is about aspects of contemporary life that I find very difficult to deal with.

So Far Gone is pitch-perfect in how it shows the human side of this horribly fractured, divisive, extremist , us-them world we live in. It centers around a family broken by loss and fear and division, but that comes back together, in the end, in love. People leave for reasons that feel beyond their control, yet come back together or stay together because they care deeply about the family and friends in their life. Maybe there's no such thing as being too far gone, even if, at least for a while, someone is so far gone.

I don't want to make it sound like So Far Gone is a slog of a read about love, commitment and redemption. It's actually a brisk read (it took me just a couple of days). It is about those things, of course, but it's funny! Walter has such a great ear for dialogue and a sharp eye for observation. The characters in the book are so human and that includes the other hum-word -- humor. There were descriptions that had me laughing, just as there were passages that left me misty-eyed. This is a book about people, people you might know, doing their best and making their way as best they can. Isn't that what we're all doing?