I talk about this book in my September reading wrap-up video.

Here's what Bill Clegg did phenomenally and straightaway: set a mood. It's somber and grief-filled and a little difficult to pin down in words, exactly. The story itself really flew by. It was truly "easy to read" as far a pace and readability go, but the mood was slower and lazy and hazy. It was like standing back and watching things unfurl slowly and through a fog.

There are no big surprises here. At points, it feels like the book is setting itself up that way, to reveal some thing or other, but the reveals themselves are perfectly predictable. We are only expecting more because in a lot of ways, we're like those gossiping, whispering small town residents, existing outside of the grief and watching it, looking for someone to blame or something to explain how so much tragedy happened.

"A gas leak, an explosion, four people dead, a young couple to be married later that day, the mother of the bride standing on the lawn watching it happen, her ex-husband asleep upstairs and her boyfriend in the kitchen, an ex-con, she makes sure to emphasize, and black, not that it matters, she adds in a whisper."

That is the tragedy that starts and drives this story, but it isn't the only tragedy present. We switch between the points of view of people who have not only touched this tragedy, but who have tragic stories of their own. I'm not a fan of "tragedy porn" but this never felt like it to me. Each story is spun artfully and it all felt perfectly human. Spouses die, people get cancer, young neglected boys overdose on drugs, a woman endures domestic abuse and her loved ones turn their backs. The entire story invites you to remember that everyone-- EVERYONE-- has their personal tragedies, but we all make the choice to keep on. And life goes on and the big question this novel seems to ask is, "how do you bear it?"

Rough as life can be, I know in my bones we are supposed to stick around and play our part. Even if that part is coughing to death from cigarettes, or being blown up young in a house with your mother watching. And even if it's to be that mother. Someone down the line might need to know you got through it.

The writing is pretty straightforward and I will admit that there were times that Clegg got a little bit cliche. For the most part, though, he manages to really capture so many different faces of grief. I think a big part of why this is 5 stars for me personally is because it resonated with me. These are the same thoughts I've had after loss. I've had these same moments where the entirety of it caught me off guard, or the thought of being around someone else's sympathy choked me. It is only "cliche" then, because it is universal, or close to it.

I'm a re-reader so I always add "would I read it again" as a final measure of quality. I would absolutely read this again. I feel like I'd find new things to appreciate, too, now having the full picture of what exactly happened.

I'd recommend this to pretty much everyone, knowing that even if you don't appreciate it as much as I did, it's a quick, well written story it's hard to imagine you'd regret experiencing.