Everything: A Novel
Publication date/ Length: 2010 / 282 pages
First line: The fifth of July, they went down to the river, RL and June, sat on the rocks with a bottle of Johnnie Walker Red and talked about Taylor.
Synopsis (from the jacket cover): On the fifth of July, RL and June go down to the river with a bottle of Johnnie Walker Red to commemorate what would have been Taylor’s fiftieth birthday. Taylor was RL’s boyhood friend and June’s husband, but after eleven years, June, a childless hospice worker, finally declares she’s ‘nobody’s widow anymore.’
Review: I knew I was in good hands when I read that Canty is also a short story writer. I hoped this would mean finely-drawn characters, attention to setting, and intentional prose. Happily, Everything included all that and much more.
The novel opens with the scene described above in the first sentence. At this point, the reader obviously does not know either RL or June, but within a few pages both become as well-known as old friends. Canty is generous with his characters – allowing the readers into their hearts and fears until we can’t help pulling for them throughout the entire novel.
While reading Canty’s prose, Hemingway came to mind more than once, even though Canty is not adverse to metaphor. Beyond the obvious focus on the river, fishing, and masculinity – Canty’s writing is muscular: spare, taut, yet fully revealing. I taught Hemingway for years and remember reading that in his attempt to write “one true sentence,” he assumed and expected his readers to “read between the lines,” to tap into an instinctual understanding of his prose. This is extremely difficult to accomplish, but Canty has mastered this and then managed to create likeable characters – of both genders — too.
Here is an example of Canty’s mastery:
Ten o’clock at night and the sun was well down, but the sky was lit a deep dark beautiful blue with the first few stars piercing it. The air was warm when it was still and then the river would blow a cool breeze through, rustling the leaves of the cottonwoods, riffling the water. RL felt a sadness in his chest that was like music, sad music. Taylor was gone, always gone. He had lived with this sadness eleven years until the jagged edges had worn smooth, like a river rock that he held in his hand, still warm from the day.
I strongly recommend this novel to anyone who loves strong syntax and wants to escape to Montana for a weekend…
This one does sound interesting – thanks for the review!