So Far Gone by Jess Walter: REVIEW

Synopsis

Back in 2016, Rhys Kinnick punched his far-right conspiracy-theorist son-in-law in the face, threw his cellphone out the car window, and took to a cabin in the woods to escape society’s madness. But now his grandchildren have arrived at his doorstep. They inform him that his daughter is missing, his son-in-law has been drawn into a cult, and his 13-year-old granddaughter is set to be “betrothed” to the cult-leader’s college-age son. If anything could draw him out of his seclusion, this is it.

My Review

Forget the impression you just got from the synopsis. This is actually a funny and heartwarming book! It’s shelved a lot as a mystery/thriller, but the mystery aspect doesn’t last long. It’s more of a humour-tinged, literary adventure novel. With occasional raccoons!

What I loved

This was my first time reading Jess Walter, and I was really impressed with his characterizations. Every single character feels like a real person, maybe even a person you’ve met before. They each have their own quirks, motivations, and speech patterns, and each one’s perspective feels well-rounded and believable. Considering how many characters are polar opposites of each other, this was no small feat.

I also really loved the sense of humour that sneaks into Walter’s writing. I wouldn’t say this novel is a comedy, but there’s a lightness to it and genuine laugh-out-loud moments here and there, and to me that makes it feel all the more realistic. Life does have funny moments, even in the darkest of times, if you hold onto your sense of humour. Walter brings that across really well, while tackling some otherwise dark subject matter.

More than anything, though, I loved the sense of family in this novel. The relationship between Rhys and his daughter is explored beautifully, the bond we see forming between him and his grandchildren is sweet, and there are also a handful of side characters that steal their scenes and add a found-family dynamic into the mix. It all feels so very… human.

What I didn’t love

If I had to offer one little criticism, this book did trigger one of my pet peeves a little too often: the use of the phrase, “That’s when…” to introduce a new action in the narrative.

I know it’s supposed to make it sound like someone’s telling you a story, but in my personal opinion, it should be used sparingly, and preferably by a first-person narrator: “That’s when I…” That wasn’t the case here, so it felt jarring to me. I’m much more likely to overlook things like that in a young or debut author, but Jess Walter has written quite a few books now. I don’t know, I’m probably the only person who is bugged by it, and honestly, any weaknesses in the writing kind of add to its humour and charm. Just ignore me and my picky Editor Brain, it’s fine. 🤣

Conclusion

Overall, this was a delightful read! Perfect for a lazy summer day. I’ll probably pick up another Jess Walter sometime.

You can purchase So Far Gone here on Bookshop.org*
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