Goodbye Lemon

by: Adam Davies

Published by: Riverhead Trade

Reviewed by Karen Morse

Adam Davies follows his 2002 debut novel, Frog King, with a gut-wrenching story about love, loss, and family.

In Goodbye Lemon, Davies takes a cliched story line--grown child returns home to confront the past he left behind and finds redemption--and injects it with smart, dark humor and well-conceived characters to create a novel that is fresh and amazingly honest.

Washed-up academic Jack Tennant is still reeling from the loss of his brother Dexter (nicknamed Lemon) twenty-seven years ago. For fifteen years, he's been estranged from the alcoholic father he blames for both Dexter's death and his own failings in life.

After his father suffers a stroke, Jack succumbs to pressure from his mother and girlfriend Hahva (who knows nothing about his past) to go home and help care for his father.

The stress of coming home will bring Jack to his breaking point. There is much he must realize about himself and his family before he can come to terms with the past. The question is: will he self-destruct first?

Narrative tricks--like the running score of Jack vs. the house--make Goodbye Lemon a joy to read. And, Jack is such a sympathetic character, despite his flaws, that readers will be engaged through every bit of Jack's turbulent reunion.

Armchair Interviews says: Another great story of love and loss and a family many will relate to.