A World Too Wide

by Gregory McDonald

David MacFarlane, retired jazz composer/pianist, in offering his farm as site for the wedding of model Lucille Nelson and writer Tony Prescott, manages a grand reunion of the generations

290 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think McDonald overreaches here. There's a lot to admire in the book--thematically, it's about time and what it does to people's relationships. It's got a ton of characters, most of them well-rounded, catching up or meeting at a wedding. There's lots of nice dialogue and interesting relationships. Unfortunately, I spent the whole book waiting for things to really happen. But nothing ever really does. Now, some stuff does happen at the very, very end, but it's too little and too unrelated. Sort of a addendum: oh, and then a wild party broke out. It unfortunately has the opposite of the intended effect: instead of satisfying my desire for some action, it just made me realize that 97% of the book has nothing happening. So, while it's a promising idea, and quite well-developed, there just needed to be more...stuff.

[Dennis Osborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read about a retired Jazz musician who hosts a wedding on his farm in Tenessee and the interaction of all the various characters who show up & how their lives are intertwined . Looking forward to reading more from this author