Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Mon May 08 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

An old man's routines are interrupted by a woman in pink in this wistful fable.Bob Comet, a retired librarian, is 71 and has lived an unremarkable life in Portland, Oregon, in a mint-colored house that belonged to his late mother. "He had no friends, per se; his phone did not ring, and he had no family." The year is 2005, and this dreary state of affairs stems partly from the fact that shortly after he married her in 1959, Bob's wife ran off with his best friend. Things begin to change for the retiree when he encounters a woman about his age in a pink sweatsuit staring at the refrigerated beverages in a 7-Eleven. After he learns that she is a resident of a nearby senior center and returns her there, he makes a startling discovery. The narrative shifts to Bob in his 20s, when he becomes a librarian and meets his wife-to-be and the man who would become his best friend, before the two betrayed him. The story shifts again, to Bob at age 11, when he ran away from home and had an adventure with two eccentric women who performed elaborate stage shows. They are among the several lesser characters who provide color and light in this gray tale. DeWitt has gained a following with the black comedy of his past three novels-French Exit (2018), Undermajordomo Minor (2015), and The Sisters Brothers (2011). The new book is different, marked by the resigned melancholy surrounding Bob, a mood not always understated: "There had been whole eras of Bob's working life where he knew a lamentation at the smallness of his existence." He brings to mind John Williams' Stoner and Thoreau's chestnut about "lives of quiet desperation," but it is telling that deWitt chooses to capture him at times when his life takes a turn.A quietly effective and moving character study.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

An old man's routines are interrupted by a woman in pink in this wistful fable.Bob Comet, a retired librarian, is 71 and has lived an unremarkable life in Portland, Oregon, in a mint-colored house that belonged to his late mother. "He had no friends, per se; his phone did not ring, and he had no family." The year is 2005, and this dreary state of affairs stems partly from the fact that shortly after he married her in 1959, Bob's wife ran off with his best friend. Things begin to change for the retiree when he encounters a woman about his age in a pink sweatsuit staring at the refrigerated beverages in a 7-Eleven. After he learns that she is a resident of a nearby senior center and returns her there, he makes a startling discovery. The narrative shifts to Bob in his 20s, when he becomes a librarian and meets his wife-to-be and the man who would become his best friend, before the two betrayed him. The story shifts again, to Bob at age 11, when he ran away from home and had an adventure with two eccentric women who performed elaborate stage shows. They are among the several lesser characters who provide color and light in this gray tale. DeWitt has gained a following with the black comedy of his past three novels-French Exit (2018), Undermajordomo Minor (2015), and The Sisters Brothers (2011). The new book is different, marked by the resigned melancholy surrounding Bob, a mood not always understated: "There had been whole eras of Bob's working life where he knew a lamentation at the smallness of his existence." He brings to mind John Williams' Stoner and Thoreau's chestnut about "lives of quiet desperation," but it is telling that deWitt chooses to capture him at times when his life takes a turn.A quietly effective and moving character study.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

DeWitt follows up French Exit with a bittersweet tale of a retired librarian. It’s 2005 in Portland, Ore., but Bob Comet, 71, is stuck in the past. He’s lived alone since he was a young man in the house he inherited from his mother, who died when he was 23. Intensely introverted, Bob has no friends or family and communicates with the world “by walking through it, but mainly by reading about it.” One day, he follows a lost elderly woman out of a convenience store. From her name tag, he deduces she is from the local senior center and returns her there. After a tour, Bob decides to volunteer, and soon he bonds with a motley group of seniors and gradually shares details of his life. He was briefly married, having divorced 45 years earlier just months after his new bride ran off with his charismatic best man, leaving Bob with a “shock of bitterness... as if he’d been unkindly tricked.” Before, the young Bob had plenty of adventures—at 11, he ran away from home and befriended two elderly women who tried to get him to join the theater. Though Bob is quite staid, deWitt imbues the people he meets with color and quirks, leaving a trail of sparks through an otherwise low-key narrative. This one gradually takes hold until it won’t let go. Agent: Doug Stewart, Sterling Lord Literistic. (July)