The End of California

by Steve Yarbrough

A PEN/Faulkner finalist for Prisoners of War, Steve Yarbrough  returns to the Mississippi Delta—seen through the historical lens of World War II in that novel, and of Jim Crow in his previous, Visible Spirits —but now in the blinding light of contemporary life.

Loring is the sort of town children dream of leaving and most adults return to only in the absence of better options. But after twenty-five years Pete Barrington—having escaped to California on a football scholarship and then established himself as a doctor, only to be brought low by scandal—has come home. Here he finds solace with his closest old friend, opens a new practice, and daily runs into memories he’d rather forget, even as his aggravated wife and unsettled daughter contend with this wholly alien society.

Meanwhile, Alan DePoyster has come to revel in his family life and his position in the church and community—the sort of idyll snatched away from him in childhood and won back only with patience and faith. Yet he now feels old grudges against the prodigal Barrington eroding his sense of accomplishment; and as their lives inevitably become intertwined, his rage against the forces chiseling away at his values and beliefs soon threatens to destroy everything he cherishes.

            The End of California is a vivid, even shocking, portrait of small-town life, where people turn to booze, gossip, and feckless sex in their struggles with provincial claustrophobia, where fates often hang in the balance of personal history, and where the sins of the fathers and mothers are visited most acutely on their sons and daughters. This is the most expansive, generous, and moving novel thus far from “a confident and elegant prose stylist,” as David Guterson has described him, “a storyteller who knows how empty spaces can resonate with power and meaning.”

Genres: Fiction, Southern, Contemporary, Literature

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Born in Indianola, Mississippi, he received his B.A. and M.A. in English from the University of Mississippi and his M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Arkansas. Writing largely within the Southern tradition, he draws his themes and characters from Southern history and mores in ways that have been compared to Flannery O'Connor, William Faulkner, and Willie Morris.

Yarbrough's major works include the novels The End of California (2006), Prisoners of War (2004), Visible Spirits (2001) and The Oxygen Man (1999), as well as short story collections such as Family Men (1990), Mississippi History (1994) and Veneer (1998). His latest novel, Safe from the Neighbors, was published by Knopf in 2010.

His honors include the Mississippi Authors Award, the California Book Award, and an award from the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters. His novel, Prisoners of War, was a finalist for the 2005 PEN/Faulkner award. His work has been translated into Dutch, Japanese and Polish and published in the United Kingdom.

A professor of creative writing for many years at California State University, Fresno, Yarbrough recently joined the faculty in the Department of Writing, Literature and Publishing at Emerson College in Boston.

He is married to the Polish literary translator Ewa Hryniewicz-Yarbrough and they have two daughters, Tosha and Lena. He lives in Stoneham, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Gale · Rating 5 out of 5]

The End of California is a rich and deeply layered story of human failing and survival. It's a commentary on our society, our class structure, and the expectations we place on individual success. Part coming of age, part parenting, part love story, - you won't put this book down until you are sure how each character comes out - and who will still be alive. A wonderful book for our times.

[Jo Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved returning to Loring, Mississippi, after meeting the author, Steve Yarbrough...I would (will) read any of his books - loved this one!

[Cndy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! One of my favorites...

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a decent novel, nicely written. Peter Barrington, a doctor, and his family move from California back to Loring, Mississippi (Pete’s hometown) after he becomes entangled in a minor scandal. The small-town atmosphere, depicted as less sophisticated and more sedentary than the California lifestyle, forms the backdrop for a series of occurrences – both major and minor in nature. There is a murder (but little mystery), a high school football team which Pete helps coach (but little excitement), a sex scandal (but little titillation), a typically sullen teen (but little rebellion).

The endorsement from the Washington Post says “Graceful, precise and packed with surprises.” I think I missed the surprises. All in all, this reads somewhat like “Friday Night Lights” lite - but with the focus on the adults in the community rather than the students. Still, it is a rather pleasant read.

Grade: B

[Alistair · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Pete Barrington plucks his family from California and takes them back to his small hometown, it appears his only expectation is to flee the scandal that has prompted the rapid relocation. Once settled, Pete evades the icy atmosphere of home life by volunteering to help coach the school football team. Through this he encounters Mason, the son of Alan, pillar of the community, good man, but with a giant chip on his shoulder, an a past involving Pete. To complicate matters, Mason falls for Pete's prickly daughter Toni; their friendship develops with realistic and moving precision. A tragedy knocks the story into slow-burn thriller territory, no less engrossing for knowing who did what. The tragedy is all the more shocking for its suddenness and unpremeditated nature. From here on it's riveting reading. Mr. Yarbrough skilfully invokes the claustrophobia of small town life; nothing remains private for very long, and the past can never be forgotten - or even sometimes forgiven.

[Bunny Maurer · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was hard to understand. Why would a successful doctor uproot his family just because he had an illicit affair with one of his patients?

[The Lexington Bookie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is going to be a short one, folks. I read this book over the course of a week, and it honestly should have been a faster read. It's only a 300 page book, but the story dragged on and I just couldn't get into it. It had a few promising points where I thought the story would pick up, but unfortunately, it didnt pick up enough to keep my interest.

Now, the main problem that I had trouble with is keeping the characters straight. Basically, the setting is a small town with deep roots, and the main characters all have a connection within the town. There are two main focus familes, and they are intertwined by a shadowy past. Then there are a lot of sideplot characters, and each of their stories delves into the main plot. The author changes the point of view from third to first person from chapter to chapter- sometimes page to page- and with all these characters, it got difficult to follow.

There's a lot of deception, cheating, and grudges, but all this drama is so undramatic and confusing. It seemed like it had so much potential to make a big impact by the end to the reader, but I was disappointed. I should've left it on the shelf at the library.

[Sarah Rider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for ENG 480: The End of California is a realistic fiction set in small town sights, with high stakes and a bit of mystery looming. The writing style is primarily past tense and positioned as a script might read.

The characters are overlapped, interlinked, and under each other's influence at every turn. Everyone of consequence is learning, loving, losing, and linking up. Prehaps because I'm coming off of a Ron Rash read that delineated and delivered marriage so well, I feel let down by the way the two main marriages were portrayed.

Also, was it just me, or did the character's weight seem like a sub-theme? Boo for body negativity.

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stayed up all night to read it!! I picked it up from the to-be-shelved cart at the library because of the title (I’m a native Californian) - it has nothing to do with the Golden State. Takes place in a small town in Mississippi - the authors photo shows a disheveled, aging surfer type, but boy can he write.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book may be slow for some, but I enjoyed the character development and the story. There are several main characters and there’s some very complicated dynamics between everyone in this small town. Complex relationships are so interesting…

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nuanced characters trying hard, often failing. Good story, nice writing, believable behavior and good plot.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books I’ve read in the last few years. Contemporary Southern fiction is my favorite genre and this book is reminiscent of earlier, but modern-era, southern writers.

[Monika Wolska · Rating 5 out of 5]

Przypadkiem odkryta i zaskakująca! W dobie rzeczywistości obdartej z intymności, gdzie powiewającą dumnie flagą jest skradziona pomniejszemu 'celebrycie' metka z majtek z prawdziwym/szokującym rozmiarem ożywczo jest spotkać książkę w której brak zbędnych zdań. Równie prawdziwą i niekoniecznie przyjemną jak wspomnienia z dzieciństwa. W swojej prostocie naprawdę świetną rzecz.

[John Luiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read one of Steve Yarbrough's earlier novels, The Oxygen Man, years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it, and decided to go back and back to read this one because I'm eagerly anticipating his new novel, The Realm of Last Chances, which is due out in August. I'm so glad I did. From the outset, the characters are so interesting and the inciting incident establishes a marvelously intriguing premise. A doctor is on the run from California with his family because of some scandal. He is heading to his hometown of Loring, Mississippi where decades earlier he was the high school football hero and the center of another scandal, when he slept with a classmate's mother.

That classmate has spent years dealing with the aftermath of that age-inappropriate affair, which caused his father to walk out on him and his mother, but now the son has his life is in order as he manages the town grocery store and serves as a deacon in his church. The arrival of his old nemesis upsets the apple cart, though, and even more unbearable is the fact that his son and the former football hero's daughter become boyfriend and girlfriend. These circumstances set a lot of wheels in motion. The story is told from the multiple perspectives of Pete Barrington, the doctor/football hero, his daughter, his wife, and Alan, the grocery story manger, and his son, who plays on the high school football team, and for which Pete decides to serve as an assistant coach. Every one of the characters is interesting and fully realized. Midway through a crime takes place (which I won't give away), but the novel, while becoming more suspenseful, doesn't turn into a genre story or fall into the predictable plotting of a crime novel. It remains a rich character study, showing how all the characters react to and suffer from that event.

For the past few years, I've been trying to read new novels in the year they come out, but I'm so glad I went back to the well for this one. As a reader, it's great to be in the hands of a truly talented writer, and in my mind Yarbrough pulls off every element of this story in masterful fashion.

[Lisa Dendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twenty-five years after he left town on a football scholarship to Fresno State, Pete Barrington returns to Loring, Mississippi, with his wife and daughter. Now a successful physician, Barrington is still seen by some residents as the local hero. Most of the locals don't realize that the stories behind his department and his return involve a sex scandal. The favric of small-town life, with its religious fervor, its familiarity, and its gossip, is laid bare. As Pete and his family test the waters to see where they fit into this community, old resentment and jealousies are brought to the surface with undeniable tension, propelling the story forward to an unexpected conclusion. Steve Yarbrough has captured the culture and mores of small town America, where everyone has a history, and no bad deed is ever forgotten.

[Candida Pugh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yarborough isn't a bad writer but this plot seems transparent yet simultaneously Improbable. Early on we learn of Pete Barrington's teenaged affair with a schoolmate's mother--and we learn the woman engaged in a number of these liaisons with high school boys. Yet Her son schoolmate fixates on Barrington for reasons that never quite jell. Barrington's character is flawed in the usual ways: He can't keep his fly zipped, he's cavalier about his paternal responsibilities, he feels misunderstood (or too well understood) by his wife, etc. Yawn. 'Nuff said.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another terribly engrossing novel by Steve Yarbrough all about class struggle and guilt. His strength as a writer is in developing characters who are both terribly flawed and terribly likable. I found this as excellent a read as Oxygen Man in most respects, but was less satisfied with the ending. It was like after delivering a huge wallop, he didn't quite know where to go with it. It's probably really four stars except for that, and I will definitely read more of Yarbrough's books.

[Ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

May 2022
No one knows peace in this town. Filled with scandal and rebellion, this story follows a family on the run, out of the frying pan and into the fire.

March 2025
Second read-through. Alan is still my favorite, Loring is still fascinating, and I am still incredibly impressed. I attempt to read this to gain understanding, to see how the pieces come together, but every time I am swept away by story.

[Jadine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to really like this book, but I realized I kept putting it down to read other books and then I just sort of breezed through the last 40 pages or so. I like the syle and the story all right, but it was just kind of blah. I think someone out there probably likes this book alot and I hope so.

[Bryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought it was ok. I thought the parts re: the football game were a stretch symbolically and I didn't really care what happened to the characters. If they all died in the end, I probably would have been relieved. And I don't think the book was "packed with surprises" like the The Washington Post quotes.

[Peg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good old fashioned fully fleshed out character story set in Loring, Mississippi where this author has told other stories set in different time periods.

This one was more current about a man returning to his home town and becoming once again involved with his child hood buddies. Old hurts and history abound and mysteries of the past are revealed slowly.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. It read like a really good soap opera that you can't wait to see (read) the next show (chapter). Set in a small Mississippi town, it has layers of adultery .of old friendships and rivalries, and young people who get caught up in the pasts of their parents. The end becomes apparent a little too early, I thought, but that did not detract from the story and writing. A-/A.

[Dewitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished THE END OF CALIFORNIA (not to be confused with Louis B. Jones’s CALIFORNIA’S OVER). Come the Millennium, the dream of a larger life elsewhere goes bust, and the protagonist, Dr. Pete Barrington, returns to Mississippi and runs afoul of Mason DePoyster, whose complex sense of envy and old injury leads to violence: all of it church-haunted, with families at stake.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pete and his family arrive in his hometown in Mississippi by way of California. The circumstances are mysterious from the get go and the author pieces the events of the past that lead to the present though the events and actions of present day Mississippi. I wouldn't categorize this as suspense, but there is a bit of that among a beautifully written and horrifying story.

[Donna]

This book held my interest throughout. The family dynamics are skewed in this story, so I was always rooting for them to get things straightened out. The two main characters were high school friends, and there were secrets kept from high school days which come back to haunt them. The way these secrets affect people leads to a stunning event. A good read.

[Amy Rhodes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I continue to admire Yarbrough's novels; there's a quiet drama and very believable characters. This is now my third; also set in Loring, Ms. as the last one was and each is not wildly different or new but they do compel. I'll keep nibbling at the backlist but perhaps with a bit more time between each.

[Lisa Ferreira · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the character descriptions - each used the first person and sometimes when this strategy is used, I feel they are all essentially the same voice, but not with this book. Lots to chew on about how a single event in your teens can define who you are or how you perceive yourself for the rest of your life.

[Neptunem · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was real find. The main characters deal and deal with old events...their torment is so real. Very effectively shows how one man's acts reverberate through many lives and how a good man can be driven to desperation. Even the minor characters in this small town novel have much to say.

[Deidre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. Though I did find some of the characters responses in the second half of the novel to be entirely not plausible. The book keeps moving along and most of the the events continued to surprise me but almost in a "would that really happen?" sort of way.

[Kat Leache · Rating 5 out of 5]

SUPER good. I have been "not reading" Yarbrough forever, even though he was highly recommended by most of my coworkers at the bookstore where I used to work. My bad. I'm off to find the rest of his stuff, now.