Gone So Long : a Novel

Andre Dubus IIIs first novel in a decade is a masterpiece of thrilling tension and heartrending empathy. Few writers can enter their characters so completely or evoke their lives as viscerally as Andre Dubus III. In this deeply compelling new novel, a father, estranged for the worst of reasons, is driven to seek out the daughter he has not seen in decades. Daniel Ahearn lives a quiet, solitary existence in a seaside New England town. Forty years ago, following a shocking act of impulsive violence on his part, his daughter, Susan, was ripped from his arms by police. Now in her forties, Susan still suffers from the trauma of a night she doesnt remember, as she struggles to feel settled, to love a man and create something that lasts. Lois, her maternal grandmother who raised her, tries to find peace in her antique shop in a quaint Florida town but cannot escape her own anger, bitterness, and fear. Cathartic, affirming, and steeped in the empathy and precise observations of character for which Dubus is celebrated, Gone So Long explores how the wounds of the past afflict the people we become, and probes the limits of recovery and absolution. Andre Dubus III's first novel in a decade is a masterpiece of thrilling tension and heartrending empathy. For as long as she can remember, Susan Dunn has been trying to escape. But peace and happiness have always eluded her--now an adjunct professor, she is tortured by the novel she cannot finish, and a lack of feeling toward a husband who loves her. Just when she's ready to abandon everything to try again, she receives a letter that forces her to reckon with the trauma that first sent her running: her mother's murder at the hands of her father, Daniel Ahearn, forty years ago. Daniel, out of prison and living a spartan life, has written Susan with his dying wish: to see her for the first time since a policeman tore her from his arms. But does she want to see him, and confront the reason he's been gone so long? What could Daniel possibly offer the daughter he robbed of a family? As the story moves toward a possible reunion, it pulses with emotion, probing the limits of our capacity to forgive. Like Dubus's award-winning Townie and House of Sand and Fog, Gone So Long is a profound exploration of the struggle between our best intentions and most mercurial desires Few Writers Can Enter Their Characters So Completely Or Evoke Their Lives As Viscerally As Andre Dubus Iii. In This Deeply Compelling New Novel, A Father, Estranged For The Worst Of Reasons, Is Driven To Seek Out The Daughter He Has Not Seen In Decades. Daniel Ahearn Lives A Quiet, Solitary Existence In A Seaside New England Town. Forty Years Ago, Following A Shocking Act Of Impulsive Violence On His Part, His Daughter, Susan, Was Ripped From His Arms By Police. Now In Her Forties, Susan Still Suffers From The Trauma Of A Night She Doesn't Remember, As She Struggles To Feel Settled, To Love A Man And Create Something That Lasts. Lois, Her Maternal Grandmother Who Raised Her, Tries To Find Peace In Her Antique Shop In A Quaint Florida Town But Cannot Escape Her Own Anger, Bitterness, And Fear. Cathartic, Affirming, And Steeped In The Empathy And Precise Observations Of Character For Which Dubus Is Celebrated, Gone So Long Explores How The Wounds Of The Past Afflict The People We Become, And Probes The Limits Of Recovery And Absolution. Andre Dubus Iii. "Taut with tension.... [E]nding with a hint of hope."—Rob Merrill, Associated Press Cathartic, affirming, and steeped in the empathy and precise observations of character for which Dubus is celebrated, Gone So Long explores how the wounds of the past afflict the people we become. Gone So Long is a riveting family drama about an ex-con who did time for murder, the estranged daughter he hasn't seen in forty years, and the grandmother angry enough to kill him. A profound exploration of the struggle between the selves we wish to be, and the ones—shaped by chance and circumstance, as well as character—that we can't escape, it confirms Andre Dubus's reputation as a novelist whose "compassion is unsentimental and unblinking, total and unwavering" (Paul Harding). Daniel Ahearn, a man living a solitary existence in seaside New England, travels to a quaint Florida community in search of his traumatized, estranged daughter.