Going Home Again

Review A Beautiful And Multilayered Novel. . . The Natural, Understated Elegance Of Bocks Prose Quickly Becomes Quite Addictive. His Narrators Conversational Style Contributes To A Delicious Feeling Of Intimacy, As Though Were Listening To A Good Friend. Lindsay Mcknight, Winnipeg Free Pressa Page Turner, A Book So Hard To Put Down I Read It In Two Evenings. . . . The Characters Bock Imagines And Createsadults And Children, Canadians And Spanishseem Like People We Know Already With Their Peccadilloes And Charms, Even Though Bock Has Such Fresh Insight Into Human Behavior. He Has An Essential Eye. . . The Story Is Sad Yet Hopeful, Brisk Yet Thoughtful, Reflecting Bocks Generous Talents As A Storywriter. Jennifer Hunter, The Toronto Starfinely Crafted, Disarmingly Casual Prose That Quietly Penetrates The Readers Mind And Heart. On One Level, The Novel Captures The Difficulty Men Have Reading Woman; On A Deeper Level, Bock Plumbs Issue Of Memory, Moral Responsibility And What Constitutes A Mans Real Love For A Woman. Kirkus Reviews (Starred)Excellent, And Sensitively Written.Going Home Againis A Story Bound Up In Complex Emotions And Subtle Character Development, Sad And Yet Hopeful With Its Haunting Reminder That We Are Damned Or Redeemed By Our Passions. Linden Macintyre, Giller Prizewinning Author Ofthe Bishops Manandwhy Men Liea Tense, Riveting, Beautifully Layered Novel,Going Home Againis An Exquisitestory Of A Complex And Troubled Family. Dennis Bock Is A Superb Writer. Steven Galloway, Author Ofthe Cellist Of Sarajevo Product Description After Two Acclaimed Historical Novels, One Of Canadas Most Celebrated Young Writers Now Gives Us Thevibrant,Contemporary Story Of A Man Studying The Suddenly Confusing Shape His Life Has Taken, And Why, And What His Responsibilitiesas A Husband, A Father, A Brother, And An Uncletruly Are. Charlie Bellerose Leads A Seminomadic Existence, Traveling Widely To Manage The Language Academies He Has Established In Different Countries.After Separating, Somewhat Amicably, From His Wife, He Moves From Madrid Back To His Native Canada To Set Up A New School, And For The First Time He Forges A Meaningful Relationship With His Brother, Whos Going Through A Vicious Divorce. Charlies Able To Make A Fresh Start In Toronto But Longs For His Twelveyearold Daughter, Whom He Sees Only Via Skype And The Occasional Overseas Visit. After A Chance Encounter With A Girlfriend From His University Days, A Woman Now Happily Married And With Children Of Her Own, He Works Through A Series Of Memoriesincluding A Particularly Painful One They Shareas He Reflects On Questions Of Family, Home, Fatherhood, And Love. But Two Tragic Events (One Long Past, The Other Very Much In The Present) Finally Threaten To Destroy Everything He'S Ever Believed In. From Publishers Weekly Although It Opens With A Murder, The Third Novel By The Acclaimed Author Of The Ash Garden Is A Tale With Modest Reach About Regret, The Faded Promise Of Youth, Family And Marital Dynamics, And Realizing Limitations While Moving Forward. Narrator Charlie Bellerose Recounts A Hell Of A Year During Which He Separated From His Wife Isabel, Left Her And Their Daughter Ava In Madrid, And Returned To Toronto To Establish His Fifth Language School. There, Charlie Encounters Nate, His Selfish Elder Brother, Who Reminds Charlie Of His Discomforting Past. Nate Is An Affluent Lawyer Likewise Facing A Divorce Full To Overflowing With Discord And Grievance, And The Two Brothers Maintain An Uneasy Peace. Charlie Runs Into His First Love, Holly Grey, Prompting Meandering Episodes Of Remembrance: About The Death Of His Parents; His University Days In Montreal And Close Friendship There With Both Miles Esler And Miles'S Girlfriend, Holly; Miles'S Seemingly Accidental Death; Charlie And Holly'S Deepening Bond; And His Solitary Wanders Through Europe And Eventual Arrival In Madrid, Where He Meets