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Everything
In taut, exquisite prose, Kevin Canty explores the largest themes of life—work, love, death, destruction, rebirth—in the middle of the everyday.
On the fifth of July, RL and June go down to the river with a bottle of Johnnie Walker Red to commemorate Taylor’s fiftieth and last birthday. Taylor was RL’s boyhood friend and June’s husband, but after eleven years, June, a childless hospice worker, finally declares she’s “nobody’s widow anymore.” Anxious for a new beginning, June considers selling her beloved house. RL, a divorced empty-nester, faces a major change, too, when he agrees to lodge his college girlfriend, Betsy, while she undergoes chemotherapy. Caught between Betsy’s anguish and June’s hope, the cynical RL is brought face-to-face with his own sense of futility, and the longing to experience the kind of love that “knocks you down.”
Set in Montana, reflecting the beauty of its landscape and the independence of its people, Everything is a shimmering novel about unexpected redemption by a writer of deep empathy and prodigious talents.
On the fifth of July, RL and June go down to the river with a bottle of Johnnie Walker Red to commemorate Taylor’s fiftieth and last birthday. Taylor was RL’s boyhood friend and June’s husband, but after eleven years, June, a childless hospice worker, finally declares she’s “nobody’s widow anymore.” Anxious for a new beginning, June considers selling her beloved house. RL, a divorced empty-nester, faces a major change, too, when he agrees to lodge his college girlfriend, Betsy, while she undergoes chemotherapy. Caught between Betsy’s anguish and June’s hope, the cynical RL is brought face-to-face with his own sense of futility, and the longing to experience the kind of love that “knocks you down.”
Set in Montana, reflecting the beauty of its landscape and the independence of its people, Everything is a shimmering novel about unexpected redemption by a writer of deep empathy and prodigious talents.
- GenresFiction
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
5 people are currently reading
421 people want to read
About the author
Kevin Canty
26 books107 followersKevin Canty writes novels and short stories. He is a faculty member in the English department at the University of Montana at Missoula, where he currently resides. He received his Masters degree in English from the University of Florida in 1990, and M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of Arizona in 1993.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
March 3, 2016
Esta es una novela coral, que transcurre en un pequeño pueblo de Estados Unidos. RL, un hombre de mediana edad que regenta un negocio de pesca, piensa que no ha logrado mucho en la vida. Con su hija Layla se lleva bien, aunque siente que no ha conectado con ella. June, que hace poco ha enviudado, es amiga de RL desde hace años, y permanece anclada en la vida que llevó con su marido. Sin embargo, desea seguir adelante y para ello piensa en vender su casa. Layla es la joven hija universitaria de RL, que hace una visita a su padre. Y por último, está Betsy, un amor de juventud de RL, que padece cáncer, y que está casada y con hijos, aunque esto no será un impedimento para que RL tenga esperanzas de volver con ella.
‘Todo’ (Everything, 2010), del escritor Kevin Canty, es una novela pausada, en la que el autor pretende mostrarnos a una serie de personajes imperfectos que luchan por seguir adelante. En realidad es una historia en la que apenas suceda nada importante. Interesante, aunque me esperaba más.
‘Todo’ (Everything, 2010), del escritor Kevin Canty, es una novela pausada, en la que el autor pretende mostrarnos a una serie de personajes imperfectos que luchan por seguir adelante. En realidad es una historia en la que apenas suceda nada importante. Interesante, aunque me esperaba más.
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December 30, 2010I didn't as much read this story as drift through it. I was caught up in the lives of RL, June, Layla, and to a lesser extent Betsy and Edgar, much the way we get caught up in the lives of people around us, particularly in a small town. It was an easy book to put down when I had other things to do, but also very easy to get back into it when I picked it up again.
This is what I call a quiet novel. There isn't a lot of exciting action. It's not that nothing happens, but none of it is remarkable. It's pretty normal, routine, even. Instead we are put into the heads of the main characters through their somewhat mundane lives. It was as if I were observing them. Their crises are also the normal every day kind that most people face. This is, in part, what made it so appealing to me. I found myself thinking about what was happening in their lives and thinking about my own life. I also found myself telling them to wake up or pay attention when I thought they weren't acting as they should or were missing something that I thought was obvious. While none of these characters was someone I totally identified with, they all nonetheless became people I cared about. They were real to me.
Even though there isn't much action, there is a definite turning point, an apex to the plotline. It's more than simply a set period of time in their lives. It has the requisite change that makes it a novel rather than an overlong vingette.
At first Canty's lack of quotation marks for his dialog bothered me, even tripped me up occasionally. But as I got into the story I didn't really notice it any more. Over all, his writing style is smooth, literate without being snooty or highbrow. I enjoyed this novel.
This is what I call a quiet novel. There isn't a lot of exciting action. It's not that nothing happens, but none of it is remarkable. It's pretty normal, routine, even. Instead we are put into the heads of the main characters through their somewhat mundane lives. It was as if I were observing them. Their crises are also the normal every day kind that most people face. This is, in part, what made it so appealing to me. I found myself thinking about what was happening in their lives and thinking about my own life. I also found myself telling them to wake up or pay attention when I thought they weren't acting as they should or were missing something that I thought was obvious. While none of these characters was someone I totally identified with, they all nonetheless became people I cared about. They were real to me.
Even though there isn't much action, there is a definite turning point, an apex to the plotline. It's more than simply a set period of time in their lives. It has the requisite change that makes it a novel rather than an overlong vingette.
At first Canty's lack of quotation marks for his dialog bothered me, even tripped me up occasionally. But as I got into the story I didn't really notice it any more. Over all, his writing style is smooth, literate without being snooty or highbrow. I enjoyed this novel.
April 6, 2011
Everything by Kevin Canty, Nan A. Talese/ Doubleday 2010, New York
Kevin Canty’s Everything is an all-encompassing fiction novel about life, love and the limitless cycle of death and rebirth.
The book opens with the scene of a majestic, flowing river. June and RL are perched on a couple of cool rocks sipping hard liquor straight out of the bottle. From the beginning, we are presented with a sense of confusion and uneasiness. June mourns the anniversary of her dead husband, as she does each year, while RL listens and wallows in his own self-pity. Happiness acts as a common theme among characters and Canty expertly throws us into the peaks and valleys of a human experience.
Eloquent, prose sentence structure dictates most of the piece, pulling readers down the page and making it nearly impossible to stop reading. This is coupled with strong imagery and an ominous yet optimistic voice. For example Canty describes the joy ride between girls as, “June waited as they came down a long curving hill to meet the other highway where it came up out of the river valley, gray fields and black crows under a sky that was suddenly covered in a black cloud”(228). The visual imagery of this scene brings readers to the dark side of life and tempts them to accept their fate. He also shows readers his optimism through other visual symbols. The main symbol of nature, more specifically the river, captures a feeling of perpetual growth. No matter the pain you feel now, life will continue to move forward as long as you persevere. Throughout the novel we are exposed to scenes of each character near the river. For example, Edgar running to find love, Layla fishing for a better catch, June searching for herself and RL searching for peace.
Everything is formatted in a very unique manner where different chapters act as a microscope for each of the characters personal stories. In the first half of the book, we are presented with our core characters, June, RL, Layla, Edgar and Betsy. We quickly develop relationships with them and empathize with their situations. For example when Betsy is diagnosed with cancer and RL swings to her rescue, we are exposed to a softer side of RL that we haven’t seen before. Again we see this when RL runs off to Mexico on a whim and his daughter, Layla, is left to clean up the mess.
The ambiguity of the ending left an abundance of information to the reader’s interpretation. Although, I was left wondering what would become of Layla, June and RL. Canty created such an undeniable connection between characters and readers, that it almost seemed set for a sequel. However, if he did not have a sequel in mind, I would have liked to see a little more clarity toward the end of the book. Was the flame sparked between my two favorite characters? Did Layla find a way to move from her past and proceed with the future alone, or does she have someone by her side? Many questions were left unanswered. Either adding to the suspense or taking away from the overall story, depending on the reader’s perception.
Everything is not only a novel, but also a depiction of the trials and trumps of everyday life. The experiences we encounter with the characters are those that you would find on a day-to-day basis. Encompassing the fears of growing up, being alone, falling ill, loosing or gaining a fortune, dying and eventually forgetting it all and being reborn. Canty does an exceptional job of removing readers from their reality and placing them in the back woods of Montana, only to watch them fish or be fished.
Kevin Canty’s Everything is an all-encompassing fiction novel about life, love and the limitless cycle of death and rebirth.
The book opens with the scene of a majestic, flowing river. June and RL are perched on a couple of cool rocks sipping hard liquor straight out of the bottle. From the beginning, we are presented with a sense of confusion and uneasiness. June mourns the anniversary of her dead husband, as she does each year, while RL listens and wallows in his own self-pity. Happiness acts as a common theme among characters and Canty expertly throws us into the peaks and valleys of a human experience.
Eloquent, prose sentence structure dictates most of the piece, pulling readers down the page and making it nearly impossible to stop reading. This is coupled with strong imagery and an ominous yet optimistic voice. For example Canty describes the joy ride between girls as, “June waited as they came down a long curving hill to meet the other highway where it came up out of the river valley, gray fields and black crows under a sky that was suddenly covered in a black cloud”(228). The visual imagery of this scene brings readers to the dark side of life and tempts them to accept their fate. He also shows readers his optimism through other visual symbols. The main symbol of nature, more specifically the river, captures a feeling of perpetual growth. No matter the pain you feel now, life will continue to move forward as long as you persevere. Throughout the novel we are exposed to scenes of each character near the river. For example, Edgar running to find love, Layla fishing for a better catch, June searching for herself and RL searching for peace.
Everything is formatted in a very unique manner where different chapters act as a microscope for each of the characters personal stories. In the first half of the book, we are presented with our core characters, June, RL, Layla, Edgar and Betsy. We quickly develop relationships with them and empathize with their situations. For example when Betsy is diagnosed with cancer and RL swings to her rescue, we are exposed to a softer side of RL that we haven’t seen before. Again we see this when RL runs off to Mexico on a whim and his daughter, Layla, is left to clean up the mess.
The ambiguity of the ending left an abundance of information to the reader’s interpretation. Although, I was left wondering what would become of Layla, June and RL. Canty created such an undeniable connection between characters and readers, that it almost seemed set for a sequel. However, if he did not have a sequel in mind, I would have liked to see a little more clarity toward the end of the book. Was the flame sparked between my two favorite characters? Did Layla find a way to move from her past and proceed with the future alone, or does she have someone by her side? Many questions were left unanswered. Either adding to the suspense or taking away from the overall story, depending on the reader’s perception.
Everything is not only a novel, but also a depiction of the trials and trumps of everyday life. The experiences we encounter with the characters are those that you would find on a day-to-day basis. Encompassing the fears of growing up, being alone, falling ill, loosing or gaining a fortune, dying and eventually forgetting it all and being reborn. Canty does an exceptional job of removing readers from their reality and placing them in the back woods of Montana, only to watch them fish or be fished.
April 6, 2011
Everything: An Intricate Tapestry of Humanity, of Emotion…of Life.
Reviewed by: Laura Arocho
Published in 2010 by Doubleday, a division of Random House
Set in Montana, Kevin Canty’s Everything follows RL, Layla, June and Edgar, who are all intertwined not just by the bonds of their relationships, but by their mutual desire for something more, something better than the empty lives that they currently have.
June and RL, linked by June’s late husband, Taylor (who was RL’s best friend) seek to end the emptiness in different ways. For June, it’s letting go of the past, not meeting with RL every year to celebrate her husband’s birthday, getting rid of the old house she shared with Taylor that “fit over her like a shell, like a snake’s skin, something she needed to split, to crack, to grow out of,” and moving on. For RL, it means holding fast to the past, to the friendships that he had in a time before divorce, before his daughter Layla went to college, before the loneliness set in. This need for a connection, to be rid of loneliness, in combination with his need for redemption are what guide him into a misguided romance with an old college girlfriend who is terminally ill – and married. Meanwhile, Edgar and Layla seek true happiness – and find it in each other. But that happiness comes at a high cost for the both of them, Layla’s being bitterness and Edgar’s being soul-wracking guilt for not already being happy in his marriage.
Canty writes with excellent vividness and the scenes in this work are crisp, clean and alive in the mind’s eye. The work moves at a very steady, enjoyable pace that allows the reader to become immersed in the story while not drowning in prose. His style of not punctuating dialogue, while at times difficult to follow and slightly confusing, definitely aids the piece in moving right along.
Also, Canty does an excellent job of confronting true emotions in this work; the loneliness, the bitterness, the pain, the need for connection, the lives that these characters face every day in Missoula, Montana is very palpable and real. Although the characters are well done, it’s the emotion that truly gives life to the characters and what pulls the reader in more than anything. Without the palpability of their emotions, the truth contained in their struggle, I’m not quite so sure that they would stand very well and a true connection with the characters would be very difficult to form.
Although Everything is not an “action-packed” or overly dramatic piece, it is an every-man piece that has the ability to speak to all of us simply because the conflicts and uncertainties that it contains in its pages are ones that we ourselves have to confront in our lives at some point or another. Written with masterful insight, Everything is 282 pages of excellence.
Reviewed by: Laura Arocho
Published in 2010 by Doubleday, a division of Random House
Set in Montana, Kevin Canty’s Everything follows RL, Layla, June and Edgar, who are all intertwined not just by the bonds of their relationships, but by their mutual desire for something more, something better than the empty lives that they currently have.
June and RL, linked by June’s late husband, Taylor (who was RL’s best friend) seek to end the emptiness in different ways. For June, it’s letting go of the past, not meeting with RL every year to celebrate her husband’s birthday, getting rid of the old house she shared with Taylor that “fit over her like a shell, like a snake’s skin, something she needed to split, to crack, to grow out of,” and moving on. For RL, it means holding fast to the past, to the friendships that he had in a time before divorce, before his daughter Layla went to college, before the loneliness set in. This need for a connection, to be rid of loneliness, in combination with his need for redemption are what guide him into a misguided romance with an old college girlfriend who is terminally ill – and married. Meanwhile, Edgar and Layla seek true happiness – and find it in each other. But that happiness comes at a high cost for the both of them, Layla’s being bitterness and Edgar’s being soul-wracking guilt for not already being happy in his marriage.
Canty writes with excellent vividness and the scenes in this work are crisp, clean and alive in the mind’s eye. The work moves at a very steady, enjoyable pace that allows the reader to become immersed in the story while not drowning in prose. His style of not punctuating dialogue, while at times difficult to follow and slightly confusing, definitely aids the piece in moving right along.
Also, Canty does an excellent job of confronting true emotions in this work; the loneliness, the bitterness, the pain, the need for connection, the lives that these characters face every day in Missoula, Montana is very palpable and real. Although the characters are well done, it’s the emotion that truly gives life to the characters and what pulls the reader in more than anything. Without the palpability of their emotions, the truth contained in their struggle, I’m not quite so sure that they would stand very well and a true connection with the characters would be very difficult to form.
Although Everything is not an “action-packed” or overly dramatic piece, it is an every-man piece that has the ability to speak to all of us simply because the conflicts and uncertainties that it contains in its pages are ones that we ourselves have to confront in our lives at some point or another. Written with masterful insight, Everything is 282 pages of excellence.
October 1, 2010
Unhappy people searching for meaning....
I realize we all seem to want what we can't have (which may tie into the title), but this book takes the focus from being a have-not to a whining and pathetic have-not. Most of the characters are my age or older, and none the wiser for their years. Many of their mistakes are self-inflicted, and despite the vast amounts of time they spend pondering their life course, they seem pretty inactive in changing it.
I did find the character of June, a dying mother, more fascinating, and wished it was more about her than the rest of her desperate friends.
I'm not giving up on the author, he has a brisk voice that reveals much about observation and nature. I just didn't click with his characters.
I realize we all seem to want what we can't have (which may tie into the title), but this book takes the focus from being a have-not to a whining and pathetic have-not. Most of the characters are my age or older, and none the wiser for their years. Many of their mistakes are self-inflicted, and despite the vast amounts of time they spend pondering their life course, they seem pretty inactive in changing it.
I did find the character of June, a dying mother, more fascinating, and wished it was more about her than the rest of her desperate friends.
I'm not giving up on the author, he has a brisk voice that reveals much about observation and nature. I just didn't click with his characters.
July 28, 2010
Won this through the First Reads program. Personally, this book just didn't do it for me. While I can definitely appreciate Canty's writing style, the storyline and characters, for me, were weak. I was not compelled to turn the pages and see what happened; I did not develop relationships with the shallow characters; and I had very little interest in the novel overall, forcing myself to read through it. The characters needed more depth, the story needed more intrigue. I found this book to be a depressing account of some miserably sad lives. I prefer to stick with happy stories. Real life has enough depression. I read to escape; this book didn't provide an escape.
April 13, 2022
This book was meandering and weak. The writing style was a turn off, no proper punctuation. I suppose some people don’t mind that but to me it makes it harder to read. The characters were boring, even though their stories and lives were interesting, it was just told in a boring way. I hate to be so negative, but this book really didn’t do it for me. I wanted more answers and finishing of characters and plots. This book reminded me of some smoke, just lingers for a while and has no real substance. Layla and Edgar relationship could have been better, Edgar was a jerk to cheat on his wife. RL was cool, as was June. I wonder if Betsy recovered from cancer, and I wonder if she returned to her husband and kids. Did Layla keep the baby? I want to her about all this and more. Is starts out with a memory of RL and June of June’s husband/RL’s friend who passed away. I thought this would be more a part of the book but it wasn’t, except to set the characters afloat. I wouldn’t recommend this book to read honestly. Also the setting could have been beautiful, Montana is great and the main reason I chose to read this book. But the settings and generic and not inspiring…. Alright kudos to anyone who likes this book. Sorry for my negative response but this is my honesty.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 4, 2025
A 3.5
This started blistering hot for me. I loved the sparse prose and the loneliness of the characters. They misunderstood each other in beautiful ways. But as it went on, my enjoyment waned. And the ending didn't work for me.
"All this feminine truth-telling. RL didn't want any more of it. He longed for his illusions - that he was happy, that he was loved, that he was taking care of his people, that he even knew his people. He looked from face to face and knew that it was a lie. A like that he loved. A series of lies." p. 267
This quote near the end seems to sum up what most men seem to want these days. A pretend life where they fool themselves into their own importance and happiness, all the while being miserable.
This started blistering hot for me. I loved the sparse prose and the loneliness of the characters. They misunderstood each other in beautiful ways. But as it went on, my enjoyment waned. And the ending didn't work for me.
"All this feminine truth-telling. RL didn't want any more of it. He longed for his illusions - that he was happy, that he was loved, that he was taking care of his people, that he even knew his people. He looked from face to face and knew that it was a lie. A like that he loved. A series of lies." p. 267
This quote near the end seems to sum up what most men seem to want these days. A pretend life where they fool themselves into their own importance and happiness, all the while being miserable.
July 15, 2021
Wonderful book. Good story. Solid, relatable characters.
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March 3, 2011Review: Everything by Kevin Canty
Everything, a novel by Kevin Canty is about four characters whose lives intertwine in a strange almost abnormal way. Canty’s book tells the story of romance, friendship, lost, failure, and hope. All these factors are the core of this work and reflects the essence and purpose of the human life.
The main character, RL, is a man who is a business owner and generally, a good friend and caring father. He has a romance with Betsy, a woman he’s known since college. He runs into her because she has come home to be treated for cancer. When we first meet RL, he is remembering his old friend Taylor who passed away eleven years before. RL and June, Taylor’s widow, sit by the river smoking and sipping from a bottle of Johnny Walker Red. June decides to give up the ghost of her dead husband and let him go, to stop loving him. In a passionate, almost ceremonious speech, June declares that she’s “going to die alone because everybody does” ...but she doesn’t want to “live alone”. Eventually she finds herself falling for a local man and having a whirl wind romance.
Layla, RL’s daughter, is a college student who is very connected to nature. She has a boyfriend who is away for school, but this doesn’t stop her from sparking up a fling with Edgar, who works for her father. Edgar has a pregnant wife at home but spends his time drawing portraits of Layla after breaking his arm in a boat accident.
All of these characters are deeply attached to the natural elements around them and they have great appreciation for their surrounding and home town, Montana. They live simplistic lives, and if it were not for their relationships, friendships, and lots of liquor, they would lead dull or just stress free lives. Canty incorporates a lightness into the sadness within these characters (especially RL) to add balance. They are regular people that you would meet in a small town. The thing that make them come to life and hold a reader’s interest is the simple and clever manner in which Canty unfolds the story.
The main characters find themselves struggling within their relationships and trying to stay afloat. By the end of the novel all the main characters develop a deep bond with one another, even though they fight with each other. These characters are able to get it together and have a laugh at how silly they have been. It is an honest account of how people can come together. We see honesty in Canty’s characters that are relatable. They love, cry, laugh and know that they are blessed find hope under the Montana Sky.
Everything, a novel by Kevin Canty is about four characters whose lives intertwine in a strange almost abnormal way. Canty’s book tells the story of romance, friendship, lost, failure, and hope. All these factors are the core of this work and reflects the essence and purpose of the human life.
The main character, RL, is a man who is a business owner and generally, a good friend and caring father. He has a romance with Betsy, a woman he’s known since college. He runs into her because she has come home to be treated for cancer. When we first meet RL, he is remembering his old friend Taylor who passed away eleven years before. RL and June, Taylor’s widow, sit by the river smoking and sipping from a bottle of Johnny Walker Red. June decides to give up the ghost of her dead husband and let him go, to stop loving him. In a passionate, almost ceremonious speech, June declares that she’s “going to die alone because everybody does” ...but she doesn’t want to “live alone”. Eventually she finds herself falling for a local man and having a whirl wind romance.
Layla, RL’s daughter, is a college student who is very connected to nature. She has a boyfriend who is away for school, but this doesn’t stop her from sparking up a fling with Edgar, who works for her father. Edgar has a pregnant wife at home but spends his time drawing portraits of Layla after breaking his arm in a boat accident.
All of these characters are deeply attached to the natural elements around them and they have great appreciation for their surrounding and home town, Montana. They live simplistic lives, and if it were not for their relationships, friendships, and lots of liquor, they would lead dull or just stress free lives. Canty incorporates a lightness into the sadness within these characters (especially RL) to add balance. They are regular people that you would meet in a small town. The thing that make them come to life and hold a reader’s interest is the simple and clever manner in which Canty unfolds the story.
The main characters find themselves struggling within their relationships and trying to stay afloat. By the end of the novel all the main characters develop a deep bond with one another, even though they fight with each other. These characters are able to get it together and have a laugh at how silly they have been. It is an honest account of how people can come together. We see honesty in Canty’s characters that are relatable. They love, cry, laugh and know that they are blessed find hope under the Montana Sky.
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April 16, 2011There are four main characters in “Everything”, who form the basis of Cantys new book. RL is the main character, and the story begins with him and June. Soon we are introduced to Layla, RL’s 19-year-old daughter. The characters are in remembrance of RL’s old friend, and June old husband, who died.. They are drinking by the river, and Cantys description of the Montana river, soon to be followed by other beautiful but not flowery details of the open blue sky of Montana really call out to the reader. Each of these characters wants something. The point of unrest begins when June dumps the rest of the bottle they are drinking from into the river, decisively moving on. RL feels as though he is drifting away from her. He is also beset by the feeling that he is not doing a good job as a father for his copetent and outdoorsy daughter. Each character wants something, beyond or different from the life or love they chose. The story mainly circulates itself around RL, who is in love with a woman with cancer. The human interactions the Canty writes are superbly detailed, and resonate with the truth of the daily life, capturing the tension and pull of a simple conversation. Layla, the daughter, starts up a relationship with Edgar. Canty implies that she is working off her jealousy and doubts about a boyfriend studying in Russia. Edgar is married and this leads to another satisfying level of tension and climax. Edgar is a good man and feels guilty about his affair, even as he draws portraits of Layla. Even simple sentences are re-written with artistic and unique sentences, most typically natural metaphors. All of this is made very believable and sympathetic by Cantys skill. Although there is a lot of heart break the book ends on a lighter note, brimming with the charity of human kind. June also finds complicated love with her real estate agent as she tries to sell her house. The house becomes something she needs to overcome or grow out of, it is the house she had with her now deceased husband. None of these relationships go as planned. I particularly enjoyed his long poetic passages, although he was adept at adjusting his syntax and keeping it fresh. I don’t want to ruin it for anybody but the ending was really satisfying as each of the characters interacted with one. Typically characters don’t know each other and you wonder how they will meet up.
June 25, 2013
The thing is, you can't just all a novel "Everything" and excuse its being kind of all over the place. Sure, there are shifting POVs, and that's fine, but the tonal shifts are extremely jarring (I mean within POVs), as are the tense shifts, which are also inexplicable, arbitrary, and annoying. Canty is a good writer, I'd say, and sometimes really good, but I think he's way more stylish (or stylized) than is good for him. Everything is sheathed in cool, hip fragments or (albeit subdued) hypercontemporary fireworks, which detracts from the overall effect of the book. As a whole, this isn't a terrible novel, but there's so much going on that works against what the author has set up (structurally, character-wise, plot- and story-wise). The lack of quotation marks in dialogue, which, unless you're James Salter, come on. And why? More stylish fireworks for no discernible outcome. But the weirdest thing, which I just can't figure out for the life of me, is the double carriage return between every paragraph. I've never seen this before—at least not sustained for an entire novel. The book doesn't (it definitely shouldn't) concern itself with any sort of structural experimentalism, so the whole thing was pretty baffling. Again, I have no idea what purpose it served, except to add a bunch of ***s at the top or bottom of the page throughout. How does something that's bound to distract the reader have any place in a novel that, I think, purports to be straightforward (if stylish) realism? Overall just sort of a perplexing novel, and one that could have been a lot better.
December 18, 2010
The author is a University of Montana teacher of fiction writing. The New York Times’ reviewers really liked this book. I found throughout it was a bit depressing (with a tiny uptick at the end). None of the 4 major characters plus two minor characters is happy. The primary character is pushing 50, has a fishing store in Missoula. He or someone on his small staff take clients on fish-float trips. His wife ran off years ago. His 19-year-old daughter lives with him, is involved with several guys, attends UW, has issues. His years-ago, hippy girl friend lives in the woods up near Big Fork with her husband and kids, lives in a shack, and has cancer. He wants to save her (in major part because he is getting older and lonelier and hornier). The fourth character is the widow (now over 10 years) of his best buddy. Guess what? She is trying to discover herself and going through her issues
If you judge good writing by both the words used in creating characters and their feelings, and weave in wonderful descriptions of the surroundings, then this is a good book. If you judge a good book by a good story (hopefully with some action), then this is not a good book. If you like sparse writing and a short book, then this is a good one.
If you judge good writing by both the words used in creating characters and their feelings, and weave in wonderful descriptions of the surroundings, then this is a good book. If you judge a good book by a good story (hopefully with some action), then this is not a good book. If you like sparse writing and a short book, then this is a good one.
November 25, 2012
This novel, set in the Swan Valley of Montana, starts out with RL and June on a river bank in their annual tradition of remembering RL's best friend and June's husband who had died 11 years earlier. The story continues with June's decision that she needs to move on with her life and the steps she takes to do that. RL's daughter, Layla, a student at the University of Washington who is home for the summer, and Edgar, a painter who also works for RL's fishing guide company, also become central to the story. Meanwhile, RL confronts his own life as June and Layla move on, his life being transformed when he reconnects with a former girlfriend who is battling terminal cancer.
This book is at its best when connecting with Montana, the author makes you feel like you are living there and makes you understand why people want to live there. At the beginning, the characters are compelling but towards the end, with the exception of RL's life transformation resulting from his renewed friendship with his friend battling cancer, the book finishs a bit shallow, as if the author tried to do too much with too many characters.
But all in all, a good book that I recommend
This book is at its best when connecting with Montana, the author makes you feel like you are living there and makes you understand why people want to live there. At the beginning, the characters are compelling but towards the end, with the exception of RL's life transformation resulting from his renewed friendship with his friend battling cancer, the book finishs a bit shallow, as if the author tried to do too much with too many characters.
But all in all, a good book that I recommend
November 15, 2010
Set in the Swan Valley of Montana, Everything starts out with RL and June on a river bank in their annual tradition of remembering Taylor, RL's best friend and June's husband who died 11 years earlier. June's decides she needs to move on with her life and takes steps she takes to do that. RL's daughter, Layla, a college student who is home for the summer, and Edgar, one of the fishing guides for RL's company become part of the story. RL also confronts his own life as June and Layla move on, and his life is changed as he reconnects with a former girlfriend who is battling terminal cancer.
The setting is Montana is a huge part of this book and to me a somewhat distracting part—how about a map if all of these places are going to play such a major part. The story is told from multiple points-of-view and seems to wander around in time. The story lines are only vaguely connected and so are the characters and that to me is the biggest downfall of this book. That's why I am saying that it was just "Ok," maybe 2.5 stars.
The setting is Montana is a huge part of this book and to me a somewhat distracting part—how about a map if all of these places are going to play such a major part. The story is told from multiple points-of-view and seems to wander around in time. The story lines are only vaguely connected and so are the characters and that to me is the biggest downfall of this book. That's why I am saying that it was just "Ok," maybe 2.5 stars.
August 2, 2010
This is the first Canty I've read. His writing is indeed Carver-esque, as are his characters and story line. Having lived in Montana and being an alum of UM I was attracted to the idea of the story simply through geography, but as I turned the pages (fairly rapidly at that, although it took some time to get comfortable with the extra white space on the page between the dialog) I was pulled into the story and those in it.
Canty is a 'home-grown' product of the MFA program at UM, having studied (and apparently caroused quite a bit) with Kittredge and Hugo. And yes, Missoula is a good 'drinking' town. It's also a fly-fishing town and Canty appears to know his way off a bar stool and into a river. The focus on the drinking gets a little old, but I guess we often write about what we know. Overall, I'd say this is a strong 3.5 read and worth your time.
Canty is a 'home-grown' product of the MFA program at UM, having studied (and apparently caroused quite a bit) with Kittredge and Hugo. And yes, Missoula is a good 'drinking' town. It's also a fly-fishing town and Canty appears to know his way off a bar stool and into a river. The focus on the drinking gets a little old, but I guess we often write about what we know. Overall, I'd say this is a strong 3.5 read and worth your time.
September 28, 2012
R.L and June are commemerating what would have been Taylor's fiftieth birthday. He was June's husband and R.L'S boyhood friend. June works as a hospice worker and has no children. She finally declare's she;s nobodys widow. And is considering selling her house and starting a new beginning. R.L , is a divorced empty nester and is facing a major change also. When he agrees to let Betsy his old college girlfriend stay with him while she goes through chemotherapy. Caught between June's hopes for a new beginning and Betsy's anguish R.L. is brought face to face with his own futility and his longing to experience the kind of love that "that knocks you down" A fantatic read. Look forward to more books by Kevin Canty
February 21, 2011
I would really like to give this book three and a half stars. Maybe in time, I'll give it a fourth star. You know what? Screw it, I'm changing it to four stars right now. Just for pages 96-98 if for no other reason.
I was really impressed with Canty's ability to articulate murky emotions into concise and often humorous prose. He has a unique writing style that I like. It sort of gives a casual, relaxed feel to the whole read, almost like you're furniture in the character's lives, watching the story unfold around you.
I would like to take away half a star because the conclusion was weak. It just trailed off. I'm starting to think that's a pet peeve of mine.
My final word: off the beaten path, but worth the trip.
I was really impressed with Canty's ability to articulate murky emotions into concise and often humorous prose. He has a unique writing style that I like. It sort of gives a casual, relaxed feel to the whole read, almost like you're furniture in the character's lives, watching the story unfold around you.
I would like to take away half a star because the conclusion was weak. It just trailed off. I'm starting to think that's a pet peeve of mine.
My final word: off the beaten path, but worth the trip.
May 12, 2011
Not a book about everything per se, but a book about everything, yes, about what makes us human, about how we live and how we get through life, about the decisions that make up our lives and how we reach them and how we don't. A book about people, real people, making real life mistakes and celebrating minor victories while suffering from major tragedies. This is a book about us, written from many points of view in clear language that approaches poetry but never feels "written" or "writerly." It has an ending that is fully deserved and yet still feels surprising. A satisfying and deeply moving book that doesn't seem to move at all until you suddenly realize that you are reading something about the entire world and the people who live in it. Highly recommended.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 16, 2011
Kevin Canty's novel "Everything" is beautifully written. The imagery is sharp and clear and one can hear in the cadence of the novel the voices of people from the Montana region. I would designate this a "quick read" because of the fluidity of the writing style, the lack of quotation marks around dialogue, and the line breaks between non-traditional paragraphs that are almost in themselves works of mini-fiction. While I would have liked to have been a little more surprised about the characters and where they would end up (you can see all of the plot "turns" coming from a mile away), I enjoyed being able to share their journeys.
January 1, 2011
In short, alternating chapters, we see the thoughts of the four main characters whose lives are interconnected. None of them are particularly likable or interesting, yet somehow you can relate to their disaffected lives and feelings. Two of them are middle-aged and two are younger. Coping with getting older (and still wondering "what's it all about?") and dealing with relationships (family ones and romantic ones) are two key themes. Staying true to the tone throughout, there are no real revelations at the end either, but it is an interesting and worthwhile read.
July 23, 2010
As I read this book, which I won on Goodreads/First reads btw, I couldn't help but think about how much it reminded me of Hemingway's work. Kevin Canty's style is similar in its simplicity and economy. Each word is carefully chosen for effect and the sentence structure is designed for impact. The characters are so realistic in their search for meaning. I found this book to be very powerful...a meaningful story that left me with a very complete, satisfied feeling.
August 28, 2010
Kevin Canty does a marvelous job of making the characters human. They are incredibly realistic and relatable. I felt like I could have been any of them, regardless of the fact that I have very little in common with any of them.
That having been said, on the whole the book was rather depressing. It did not have a definite plot line. It was just life and pain. The end of the book does bring about some hope for June, RL, and Layla, but I did not find it to be entirely satisfying.
That having been said, on the whole the book was rather depressing. It did not have a definite plot line. It was just life and pain. The end of the book does bring about some hope for June, RL, and Layla, but I did not find it to be entirely satisfying.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 16, 2010
Kevin Canty was a professor of mine at U of M, so maybe I'm not the most unbiased reviewer, but I think this novel ranks among his best work, which is saying something. It's a book about sad people who try to take steps that they think will make them less sad, and they generally meet with mixed results. A lot of loneliness and depression, lots of drinking and hanging around in Montana. In other words, it's right in my wheelhouse as a reader.
September 5, 2010
This book was picked out by somebody else and I decided to read it. I was surprised to find out it takes place in Missoula, MT. So far I am not far enough into it to say if it's going to be good or not, but I'll give it a chance based on the setting.
I finished reading. There were a lot of characters and was not really much development. Everybody seemed depressed and never really came to any resolution of their inner turmoil.
It was okay, but not very exciting.
I finished reading. There were a lot of characters and was not really much development. Everybody seemed depressed and never really came to any resolution of their inner turmoil.
It was okay, but not very exciting.
October 24, 2010
A very skilled writer, Canty is, and I know that I will reread this novel. It is, in a way, about everything that matters at the core of life, presented by the author with spare and incisive prose. Despite this spare writing it is picturesque, and he has a great deal of empathy for his characters. They are all trying to create new lives, or new directions, for themselves and Canty develops this in a very plausible fashion.
September 8, 2014
I am interested in books about the American West, an area I've visited but don't know well. This had a very Montana, small town in the West feel about it - but of course I wouldn't know anything about the authenticity. Still enjoyed it, the landscape especially, and the portrayal of the personal relationships. I liked the unfinished stories, some important issues not quite resolved - as in real life. First book I've read by Canty and would read others.
October 13, 2010
Yeesh--pretty rare to find a writer who puts together such elegant sentences and knows his way around a plot, too. This book falls into the small genre of "Montana fiction"--which is to say that there's a River Runs Through It type thing going on--but it's most successful when it rises above that, which it does with an almost sneaky effectiveness. Way to go, KC.
November 9, 2010
Took me way to long to finish this excellent book. I can't quite put my finger on what makes Kevin Canty's writing so wonderful. He writes with a simple elegance, the kind of 'plain' style of writing of John Williams who I love so much. Definitely a great book set in the lonesome West. Highly recommended.
October 17, 2010
This was an okay read. I think there was potential to the story, but the author already knew what his characters were thinking so he did not always give enough to the reader. There were times when I felt lost on why the characters were taking the actions they were taking.
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