Walk Me to the Distance: A Novel (Southern Revivals) Paperback – 30 Oct. 2015

An early (1985) novel by America's best kept secret, nowhere near as brilliant as Erasure but still displaying those touches of genius that mark him out from other modern writers: in this case (1) an elegant development of characters that make you care deeply for them as real people despite the madness of the world he creates around them and (2) a gentle, angry satirical bent.The story concerns David Larson, a Vietnam vet trying to build a life for himself in the years after the war. He ends up in a tiny rural hamlet and forges an unlikely relationship with his old landlady and her mentally deficient son. The events that follow his decision to stay are increasingly bizarre and difficult to bear but his attempts to make a normal life for himself and his new-found 'family' serve as an allegory for every person's struggle to make their way in the world.Touching, often strange but always beautiful.