Havana Split Book

I had not read anything by Lee Martin, Pulitzer Prize Finalist for the book The Bright Forever, until this book and now I know what an amazing talent I've been missing.

River of Heaven is a bittersweet, moving novel about loneliness, forgiveness and how we touch each others lives without even knowing it. The central character is 65 year old Sam Brady who lives alone with his dog,sometimes going years without someone so much as touching him. Whether this is a self imposed exile or a societal one is up for debate--Sam is a gay man in a very small, rather close minded town. Keeping to himself is the only way to keep his secret, or so he thinks. But that's not the only secret Sam is keeping. His best friend Dewey Finn died a tragic death, ruled suicide at the time, 50 years ago. But Sam, and a handful of others, know differently. And slowly throughout the book we learn more and more of the story even as a new
mystery weaves its way into Sam's life via his estranged brother Cal. This book is beautifully written and at times I had to stop and catch my breath because the description of Sam's loneliness pierced me in such a profound way. This is not a sad book, or a happy book--it's both and more. This is a book you'll remember for a very, very, very long time.