After Lucy

by Daniel Jones

Porter Ellis once believed he would be a famous painter -- until a decade of eking out a living as a graphic designer crushed his dreams. Suddenly his wife, Lucy, dies of breast cancer, and Porter discovers that he can't deal with her parents. Sneaking out of town with his twelve-year-old daughter and eight-year-old son, he sets out on an adventure that he hopes will mend their broken hearts. Along the way, chance encounters with a number of eccentric and amusing characters help him realize that he must face his sorrow and restart his life. Hilarious and poignant, After Lucy is a wild ride through family relationships, emotions, and hopes for the future.

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Contemporary

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Daniel Jones has edited the Modern Love column in The New York Times since its inception in 2004. His books include “Love Illuminated: Exploring Life’s Most Mystifying Subject (with the Help of 50,000 Strangers),” “The Bastard on the Couch,” and the novel “After Lucy.” Jones appears weekly on the Modern Love podcast and is a consulting producer for Amazon Studios’ show “Modern Love.” He lives in Northampton, Massachusetts and in New York City.

Reviews

[Stacey Palevsky]

The writing in this book was only so-so, but the characters were so endearing that I couldn't stop reading. I really loved being inside Porter's mind during the novel. His thoughts had a very conversational tone that I liked. And had the author's prose been better, I would have given this book 4 stars.

[Hardcover Harlot]

I'm not sure why everyone seems to give this book low ratings. I really enjoyed Porter's journey in the novel. It was a bit of a slow start, but that worked well with how we was feeling in the beginning of the novel.

[Emma]

Cute, but I expected a little more road trip action. Porter is veryyyyy much an imperfect protagonist, and sometimes I was so frustrated with him. But the story felt more realistic and believable because of that.

[Evan]

Dan Jones is a a local author who is also the editor of the NY Times Magaznine column on Love. This was his first novel before he edited the "Bastard on the couch", a follow up to his wife's compilation, "Bitch in the House". He really writes in a comic yet poignant way. Good first novel.

[Katie Burkey]

I really didn’t agree with any of Porter’s parenting decisions (the trading in of the reliable family car for some beat up Grateful Dead camper which isn’t safe, smoking pot while leaving your 12 and 8 year old unattended in a campsite with a bunch of strangers roaming around), but then again, I can’t accurately judge him because I’ve never been in his position before. Plus that was the 90s, baby, still the Wild Wild West of parenting, before parents were programmed to be scared shitless to allow their kids to be out of their sight for 5 seconds. All in all I felt like it was a really honest description of the grieving process. The characters were all so endearing to me, even Claire (who is so much like my mom it’s scary).

[Michael Alan Grapin]

Porter Ellis is not coping well with the loss of his wife after her lengthy battle with cancer. Add to that his well to do, overbearing in-laws who want nothing better than to take control of his son and daughter. On a whim, he trades the family Mazda for a painted camper and decides to take his children to camp in the mountains of Colorado. Unfortunately the truck has other ideas and they wind up stranded in an Indiana campsite that has transformed into a Hippy commune full of Grateful Dead fans...a remarkable tale full of emotion, quirky characters and questionable decisions.

[Lesley Potts]

Another find at The ArtsXchange little free library. The cover is misleading. The van Porter buys on impulse isn't a caravan/trailer like that. No, it's a Grateful Dead truck/van emblazoned with a vivid, psychedelic mural. Much hilarity ensues admidst some heart breaking grief as he and his family navigate the recent death of Lucy, his wife.
Published in 2001, back when cell phones weren't as sophisticated as they are now there was a refreshing off the grid simpleness to the story.

[Colleen Mertens]

This story shows how a man copes with his grief and life after losing his wife to cancer. The interactions between Porter, his children, his in-laws and the community he ends up with drive the story and make for an interesting tale. I loved that it takes place in my hometown, especially near where I currently live.

[Catherine]

Decent story. I felt Porter was not a great dad when they were at the campground. I also felt three weeks was too soon for some of what was happening in the story. I enjoyed the ending. Animals help make everything better.

[Emanuela M.]

Questo libro parla di Porter un uomo che ha perso sua moglie malata di cancro e della sua sofferenza dopo la perdita. Parla sostanzialmente della sua vita dopo la morte di sua moglie.
Molto toccante.
Letto per passaparola

[Tanner Heick-Wiley]

An utterly charming camping trip gone awry. Full of splendid misfit characters and a heartfelt dad with the best of intentions, I loved this endearing novel from start to finish and would read it again just to laugh and cry.

[Karl H.]

After Lucy is supposed to be "affecting and wise" according to Vanity Fair. I would dearly like to know how they reached that conclusion, because there are no insights into anything, and I found it impossible to be affected by the misadventures of this jerk.

I hate Porter. He's supposed to be a likable everyman, but how are we supposed to empathize with this man-child? His jokes aren't funny and often play off facile stereotypes. Hur hur, granolaland, hur hur, fat people, yuk yuk, abstract art. He runs around meekly trying to work up the fortitude to even meekly defy the will of his in-laws, like a passive-aggressive teenager. He agonizes over the dumbest things, wondering at one point if he should throw a pebble into the pool before deciding against it. If the idea is that he is supposed to be less uptight, one wonders what he was doing going on a spur of the moment trip in the first place. Also off putting was the implicit racism in someone who freaks out at the thought of entering, in broad daylight, a :gasp: black neighborhood! At one point he worries the only black characters in this book (two guys playing chess, not given speaking roles) might pull a switchblade on him for no reason.

And what about the insights peddled by this book? So he lives off of the in-laws, has a snitty teenage rebellion, and throws a hissy fit before learning to "take responsibility" for his kids and his life. This basically means handing them off to the inlaws. He learns how to empathize with the wealthy parents while the washed up hippies decide that they've totally got to grow up. And on top of all that, he learns to fear black people all over again. Heartwarming.

What are we supposed to learn? That it sucks when people die? Duh. There's a vague sense that maybe he should be less uptight and controlling, except that he was never that controlling to begin with. That life happens when you least expect it? That's incredibly cliché, so I'm pretty sure that's it. That two weeks later you too can find some hippie chick to, like, totally ogle and have mind-blowing sex with? Yeah, sure, why not.

Not a good book.

[Mom2nine]

This book is not a downer! The story starts a few weeks after Lucy's death, Porter has not gone back to work and is trying to figure out where to go from here. I found the characters believable and likeable. The story flowed nicely and I read it in one day. Each person in the family: the husband, children, her parents and his parents all trying to find their way in a world that hasn't turned out as planned.

[Emily]

Although in my opinion this book's plot wasn't very good, I liked it because it gave me perspective on what someone goes through after a spouse or someone close to them has died, and how they cope with it. I would recommend it because it's a quick read and the insight it has on the topic of death is very interesting.

[Katie DelFavero]

I thought the writing style was too basic in this book. That usually doesn't bother me but it did with this book. I just felt that it was flat and really anti-climactic. I found this in a second hand bookstore and was really excited to read it, but sadly I was disappointed. I'm glad I read it and I thought it was a good idea, but I don't know if I would recommend it

[Angela M]

This book was just OK for me. From reading the book jacket, I was expecting more of a road trip where they possibly meet lots of interesting people and Porter forms new bonds with his children. The road trip was kind of a bust. I also thought that it was unrealistic for them to be doing all this only 3 weeks after Lucy died. Three MONTHS would have been more believable.

[Abby Peck]

I read this book after reading the author's moving letters to his real life wife (who is also an author) ... maybe I should read his essays because this novel was unimpressive to me, and unrealistic.

[Sarah]

I kept waiting and waiting for this book to get started and before I knew it I was half way through. It was pretty depressing and I wouldn't recommend it. I'm pretty sure I read a great review in a magazine about this one and boy were they wrong!

[Cynthia Paschen]

Picked up in the second half. After his wife's death, man and his two kids end up a campground full of Deadheads.

[Marisa Zimmerman]

The premise sounds so much more interesting than the writing actually is. I wanted to like it more.

[Susan]

Great read - pass it along!

[Rebecca Edgar]

Loved It

[Monica]

I read this for the first time in high school and really liked it. I just re-read it and guess what? I still really like it.

[Nicole]

Enjoying this more than i imagined i would.... No expectations. Just a fun, easy read.