Autumn

by A.G. Mojtabai

This is a piece for solo voice, the voice of Will Ross, recently widowed. For years he’s worked on refurbishing his vacation cottage to be a retirement home for himself and his wife, Helen. As soon as he settles in, Helen dies. As the book opens, Will has decided, over the objections of his son (who lives in Houston) to stay on alone, to remain in his summer house after the summer has ended.

139 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Education: Columbia University (1970), Columbia University (1968)

Awards: Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts, US & Canada

(from Google)

Reviews

[Tim Nason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and intense take on a man’s daily life, recently a widower and more or less estranged from his grown-up son. The dialog is great, encounters with people brittle and funny if it a bit unbelievable. The end seems contrived, compared to the meticulous 130-page setup, but firmly suggests that grief is an unfamiliar and unbounded place.

The narrative voice is so deeply rooted in the main character that I first thought it was a woman speaking about a dear female partner, which might have led to a story quite different from the one that eventually emerged before my eyes.

The Body Artist by Don DeLillo treats the book's subject in a different way, as does Rules for Old Men Waiting by Peter R. Pouncey.

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Telling the tale in first person as intriguing but didn't quite resonant with this reader. A short novel that didn't quite live up to its premise of a brooding widower.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

About retirement, aging, and the loss of a mate.

[Anne Fink]

Interesting quick read exploring aging and retirement as a widower. Nice thematically after "Water for Elephants"