The Summer Guest - Justin Cronin

With a rare combination
of emotional insight, narrative power, and lyrical grace, Justin Cronin transforms the simple
story of a dying man's last wish into a rich tapestry of family love.

"A work of art . . . a great American novel."-The Philadelphia Inquirer

On an evening
in late summer, the great financier Harry Wainwright, nearing the end of his life,
arrives at a rustic fishing camp in a remote area of Maine. He comes bearing two
things: his wish for a day of fishing in a place that has brought him solace for
thirty years, and an astonishing bequest that will forever change the lives of those
around him.

From the battlefields of Italy to the turbulence of the Vietnam era,
to the private battles of love and family, The Summer Guest reveals the full history
of this final pilgrimage and its meaning for four people: Jordan Patterson, the haunted
young man who will guide Harry on his last voyage out; the camp's owner Joe Crosby,
a Vietnam draft evader who has spent a lifetime "trying to learn what it means to
be brave"; Joe's wife, Lucy, the woman Harry has loved for three decades; and Joe
and Lucy's daughter Kate-the spirited young woman who holds the key to the last unopened
door to the past.

As their stories unfold, secrets are revealed, courage is tested,
and the bonds of love are strengthened. And always center stage is the place itself-a
magical, forgotten corner of New England where the longings of the human heart are
mirrored in the wild beauty of the landscape.

Intimate, powerful, and profound,
The Summer Guest reveals Justin Cronin as a storyteller of unique and marvelous talent.
It is a book to treasure.