The Book of Why
A Novel
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3.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Self-help writer Eric Newborn's motivational books have spawned a legion of devoted followers who swear that his ideas have pulled their lives from the brink. But after Eric can't save his own wife from dying, he finds himself at a loss -- the power of positive thinking is simply not enough to overcome his grief. Retreating to the home he and his wife shared on Martha's Vineyard, Eric, with his dog as his closest companion, attempts to distance himself from the teachings he has come to hate.
But when a woman named Sam shows up at his door one night five years later, Eric must finally confront his heartache and reconcile his worldview with the pain he has suffered.
At once a powerful love story, a stirring portrait of a soul laid bare by grief, and a celebration of coincidence, connection, and the belief that true love never dies, The Book of Why explores the deep powers of the heart and mind to shape the world around us, blurring the lines between loss and love, fate and free will, despair and joy.
"This is a haunting and extraordinary book." -- Julie Orringer, author of The Invisible Bridge
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Everything happens for a reason except when it doesn't. This is the premise of Montemarano's (If the Sky Falls) quasi-philosophical second novel, which asks the question: why doesn't it? Too-aptly-named life coach Eric Newborn cuts himself off from the world after his wife, Cary, dies of complications from a brain tumor. A guru of positive thinking and hailed preacher of "anything is possible," Eric becomes the "self-help author who can't help himself." Montemarano, a Pushcart-winner who has appeared four times in Best American Short Stories volumes, has a strong grasp of New Age speak (which is quite funny at times). He has created a mishmash of fan letter snippets; choppy, stream-of-consciousness meditations on loss; and flashbacks to Eric and Cary's solid marriage and her decline, painting a convincing portrait of a breakdown of faith and self-worth. But a convoluted and thin thread involving a wacko groupie who shows up seeking counsel, while offering her own misguided version of renewal, takes some steam out of the novel. The path this groupie leads Eric down a spontaneous road trip to a place from a dream in search of a stranger she believes is connected to Eric's past feels too overburdened with coincidences to be credible.
