Dennis Mcfarland Books

Dennis McFarland's acclaimed debut novel, hailed by the "New York Times Book Review "as "a rare pleasure . . . Remarkable from its beginning to its surprising, satisfying end" Musician Marty Lambert's life is already falling apart when he receives the phone call that changes everything. His brother, Perry, has killed himself in New York, and Marty--with his marriage on the rocks and his record company sliding into insolvency--decides to leave San Francisco to investigate exactly what went wrong. His trip sends him headlong into the life his only brother left behind--his pleasures and disappointments, his friends, his lovely girlfriend, Jane--and finally, to the home they shared growing up in Virginia. Along the way, through memories and dreams, Marty relives their complicated upbringing as the children of talented, volatile musicians and alcoholics. Through the tragedy, Marty finally faces the demons of his past, ones he pretended he had buried long ago, to emerge on the other side of grief, toward solace and a more hopeful future.

On the way home from dinner, Malcolm Vaughn is shot and killed in front of his family - the victim of a random act of violence. Undone by shock and grief, his wife Sarah retreats from the world, postponing her return to work and their son Harry's return to school. Harry appears to have come through the loss unscathed, until a troubling incident reveals his profound pain and confusion. It will take time—and the support of Malcolm's best friend, Deckard, a Vietnam vet with troubles of his own—to help them understand the intracies of their sorrow.