Annotation
"Graham Swift's first novel since the highly acclaimed Ever After is a subtle yet deeply felt exploration of the ways in which friendship and love are shaped by the past and by fate." "At its center is a group of men, friends since the Second World War, whose lives revolve around work, family, the racetrack, and their favorite pub. Now, the death of one of them, and the survivors' task of driving their friend's ashes from London to the seaside town where they'll be scattered, compels them to take stock. Through conversation and memory they trace the paths they have followed by choice and by accident: through war and its aftermath, through the dramas of their family lives and of their shifting relationships with one another." "In brilliantly realized, richly humorous voices, Swift has created a narrative language that perfectly expresses not only the comforts of old habits and friendships but the profound emotional revelations this brief but far-reaching journey will bring them."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Awards
1996 Man Booker Prize for Fiction
1996 Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year
1997 American Library Association Notable Books
Characters
| Name | Ray |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Insurance salesman |
| Trait | World War II veteran |
| Name | Lenny |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Produce salesman |
| Trait | World War II veteran |
| Name | Vic |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Undertaker |
| Trait | World War II veteran |
| Name | Vince |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Car salesman |
| Trait | Adopted |
| Genre | Psychological Fiction |
| Topics | Male friendship Love-hate relationships Meaning of life Life choices Resentment Misunderstandings Reminiscences |
| Setting | London, England Margate, England Road trip Seaside |