“”All these people,” she said sorrowfully. “And all of that trouble. And look, they’re all dead now. So what did it all matter in the end?””

Great authors are able to create stories that convey the human existence. While each person has a different experience, what reveals a person’s purpose is all the love, connection, pain, empathy, big mistakes, hard lessons, joy and the mundane chores that keep us human.

“But for all that we had, for all the luxury to which we were accustomed, we were both denied love, and this deficiency would be scorched into our future lives like an ill-considered tattoo inscribed on the buttocks after a drunken night out, leading each of us inevitably toward isolation and disaster.”

The is a good book until the halfway point, then it becomes a great book as Cyril Avery tells his life story form 1945-2015. The humor and cadence of the language is engaging and realistic. As with any human, Cyril is not all good and not all bad. He makes awful mistakes and he finds redemption in love and empathy.

““Every man is afraid of women as far as I can see,” said Julian, displaying an understanding of the universe far beyond his years. “That’s true,” she said. “But only because most men are not as smart as women and yet they continue to hold all the power. They fear a change of the world order.”

I went into this book blind and I’m glad I did. This is why I am offering no synopsis or detail. During the time of COVID none of us are going anywhere fast. This is an excellent way to use your time. I read from the halfway mark up to the final four chapters in one sitting which kept me up into the wee hours of the next morning. My pups had me up at the usual time, so I made a made a cup of tea. The ending left me in a puddle of tears. It was beautiful and hopeful. The fictional Cyril has a full life.

“Maybe there were no villains in my mother’s story at all. Just men and women, trying to do their best by each other. And failing.”