A Thousand Miles From Nowhere

Brown’s contemplative fourth novel dissects ideas about grief, loss, and the thin line between sanity and madness. Henry Garrett, a middle-aged former high school teacher, has fled New Orleans in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, seeking refuge in a Virginia motel. Its owner, Latangi, befriends Henry, and through their conversations the reader learns that Latangi’s husband, Mohit, has recently died. Mohit has left behind a vast masterwork, an epic poem that his wife asks Henry to read. Meanwhile, Henry hopes to reconcile with both his estranged wife, Amy, and his sister, Mary. Through memories and flashbacks his problematic relationships with both women are slowly revealed, along with details of his troubled upbringing. Just when Henry seems at his lowest ebb, things get even worse, but unfolding events seem to offer him a revived sense of purpose that gradually leads him back from the precipice. The author methodically conveys a sense of time and place, weaving in references to Kate Chopin’s classic 19th-century novel set in New Orleans, The Awakening, and vivid descriptions of the city in the wake of the 2005 hurricane. Brown (Audubon’s Watch) is an expert storyteller, and his latest only further reinforces that claim. Agent: Lisa Bankoff, ICM Partners. (June)