Book cover of Loving the Dead and Gone

Book description

"This beautifully written novel, with its complicated, stubborn characters, will haunt you long after the last page." -Margot Livesey, Author of The Boy in The Field

The death of Donald Ray in a freak car accident becomes the catalyst for the release of passions, needs, and hurts. Clayton's discovery of…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked Loving the Dead and Gone as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

A poetic Southern voice explores how the power of the dead lives on in us. Love surpasses even death. This touched me deeply as so many friends have passed away recently. And death does not kill the love.

A beautifully written debut novel. When I read the first paragraph, I knew I was in capable hands. "The day Donald Ray Spencer was killed, he caught four catfish. I found them, right there beside him on the floorboard, wrapped in yesterday's paper. They looked as surprised to be dead as the boy did." 

I love a book of secrets, bad choices, and, like all good stories, loss and love. The writing was so lyrical I didn't care that it teased me along and made me wait before I was invited to discover the secrets. I also appreciated that not…

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December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

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