Sometimes Less is More...

The publisher for which I work releases so many books each year ( a situation in which they're not alone, to be sure) that inevitably wonderful little books fall through the proverbial cracks or fly below my personal radar. Sometimes, through dumb luck, you encounter one of those little gems. Will Allison's novel, What You Have Left, is such a book. The story covers thirty-seven years through the points of view of three characters - all in less than two hundred pages. Initially, the plot is sad, almost depressing, but slowly the triumph of the human spirit and the Rashomon-like he said/she said (or, more accurately, he thought/she thought) alternating chapters weaves a tale of average people getting along in a harsh, uncaring world. And that's the beauty of this book - everything that happens to Holly, Wylie and Lyle could happen to any of us. How they cope and deal with what life dishes out elevates these people to a level of dignity they deserve without portraying them as anything more than "average people" who make mistakes, accept consequences, aim to make things right and keep on keeping on. This novel is sometimes sad, sometimes funny, sometimes melancholy, sometimes frightening, sometimes regretful, sometimes awe inspiring - a lot like life, really. This little novel is always wise, if you think about it...