Ray in Reverse

Wallace follows his inventive debut novel, Big Fish, with another ingenious tragicomedy about a father and son, death and life, storytelling and reality. Beginning when a dead Ray Williams arrives in Heaven, the novel unfolds as the deceased proceeds to tell his life story backwards. As dodgy and shiftless in the afterlife as he was on Earth, Ray finds himself in Heaven's popular Last Words discussion group, where, for dramatic effect, he lies about his final utterances. A series of flashbacks reveals Ray's defining moments, including his real last words and what they meant, in a funny, poignant narrative that moves with the clarity of a fable and the complexity of modern psychology. Ray spent his life hiding--from the demands of marriage and fatherhood; from his fears of sexual ambiguity--and each chapter riffs on his signature confusion about reality. Ray builds a tree house for his 10-year-old son, James, then usurps it, using it as a getaway from his wife and life, drinking and dreaming about his girlfriend. Elsewhere, Ray walks through his life like a ghost, although it is 1982 and he's alive. Often in the wrong place at the wrong time, Ray can be a meddler, as when he chases bluebirds in the yard of the attractive widow next door or finds himself accidentally in the middle of another couple's messy divorce. Consistently, scenes of Ray's everyday life turn both farcical and insightful. When Ray writes a letter to an ex-girlfriend, he's honest, then heartfelt, then confused, then ridiculous, and then he starts over again. Wallace's stylistic tour-de-force, bolstered by the richness of his family portraits, humor and appreciation of ordinary people, demonstrates again extraordinary originality, craftsmanship and charm. Author tour. (Apr.) FYI: Big Fish was a Book Sense and Barnes & Noble Discovery selection.