The Lowering Days: A Novel by Gregory Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What a gift of a book this was. There are so many things that I loved about this book but at the very top of my list is the exquisite writing. There are so many sentences in this book that stopped me in my track and made me rewind the audio to listen again. It’s truly exquisite writing.
This is the story of a small town in Maine along the Penobscot River. The town is adjacent to where the Penobscot Nation is and the town’s mill is harming their land. When the mill is burned to the ground on the eve of its reopening, it causes ripple effects across the town.
Most of the book is told from David Almerin Ames’ perspective as when he’s old and looking back to this time in his life. There is a wide range of issues covered in the book: identity, family, marriage, racism, war (Vietnam) and what it means to be man.
This is a quiet, slow-moving book. Even though a lot does happen in the book, it’s not about the action or the pace, it’s about the slow build of the characters, who they are, how they interact, how their lives intersect to both help each other and cause harm to each other.
The characters are well developed and complex and memorable. The setting is vivid and most definitely a part of the story, too. Absolutely magnificent. I have enjoyed every moment I spent with this book.
with gratitude to netgalley and Haper Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
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