Description
"An exquisitely moving novel of sorrow, love, and the miracle of human connections." Kamila Shamsie, author of Home Fire
One warm night Oliver Loving joins his classmates at the annual school dance, hoping for a glimpse of the girl he's long been in love with. But as music fills the gymnasium and students timidly approach the dancefloor, a young man enters with a gun, leaving five people dead and Oliver in a coma.
A decade later, Oliver remains in limbo, wordless and paralyzed. His brother has long since fled. His father has turned to drink in the Texan desert. His town has withered, its people unable to forget. Only his mother, buoyed by the result of fresh neurological tests, holds onto the unshakeable hope that Oliver will soon wake up, and finally answer the questions that have slept with him for ten long years.
About the Author
Stefan Merrill Block grew up in Plano, Texas. His first book, The Story of Forgetting, was an international bestseller and the winner of Best First Fiction at the Rome International Festival of Literature. Stefan's stories and essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, NPR's Radiolab, GRANTA, The Los Angeles Times, and many other publications. Stefan lives in Brooklyn.
Reviews
An exquisitely moving novel of sorrow, love, and the miracle of human connections. * Kamila Shamsie, author of 'Home Fire' *
A dazzling, psychologically astute, scientifically engaged novel about love, loss, and the mysteries of the mind... Block dares to ask some of the most profound questions of what it means to be alive. * David Ebershoff, author of 'The Danish Girl' *
Stefan Block's profound novel, Oliver Loving, is intricately constructed and rich with devastating, gorgeous prose. * Jami Attenberg, New York Times bestselling author of 'The Middlesteins' *
Haunting, bittersweet, addictive. * J. Courtney Sullivan, author of 'Maine' *
Oliver Loving is an extraordinary novel about family and community, told with real heart and humour and style. Stefan Merrill Block has the rare ability to capture, in his literature, the secrets we store in silence - the pages of a life that are rarely read aloud. * Jonathan Lee, author of 'High Dive' *
The last book that made me cry: Stefan Merrill Block's Oliver Loving. Its subject matter - a young man in a coma after a school shooting, and the repercussions for his family - lends itself to tears, but the novel's real accomplishment is to avoid pulling heartstrings. * Guardian *
A haunting, imaginative, and deeply poignant story by one of America's great wordsmiths. I love this wise, probing and beautiful novel. * Steve Toltz, author of the Man Booker shortlisted 'A Fraction of the Whole' *
In elegant and beautiful prose, Block describes how Oliver's family splits apart after his shooting. * Psychologies *
A moving novel of love, family, and loss, Stefan Merrill Block's Oliver Loving pulls on every heart string. * PopSugar *
A captivating, powerful novel. * Teddy Wayne, author of 'The Love Song of Jonny Valentine' *
Brilliantly illuminates the enduring bonds of family and offers one of literature's best explorations of the limits of communication we all grapple with. * Matthew Thomas, New York Times bestselling author of 'We Are Not Ourselves' *
Book poses big questions about what constitutes a life worth living. * Publishers Weekly *
A beautifully rendered meditation on the nature of forgiveness, mercy, and healing. * Library Journal, Starred Review *
At once timely and timeless. * Booklist, Starred Review *
Psychologically astute.
Book Information
ISBN 9781786492104
Author Stefan Merrill Block
Format Paperback
Page Count 400
Imprint Atlantic Books
Publisher Atlantic Books
Weight(grams) 295g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 25mm
