The Dearly Departed
The Dearly Departed by Elinor Lipman, published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group on August 13, 2002, is a reprint edition comprising 288 pages. This novel delves into themes of returning home and confronting the complexities of one’s past, all while maintaining Lipman’s signature humor and warmth. The story centers on Margaret Batten, a part-time amateur actress and single mother, whose unexpected death prompts her estranged daughter, Sunny, to revisit their small town of King George, New Hampshire.
Readers will find a narrative that intertwines elements of golf, love, and DNA as Sunny navigates her memories and relationships in a town where everyone knows each other. As she grapples with her mother’s legacy and her own past, Sunny discovers that her former high school tormentors have matured in surprising ways. The presence of a chief of police with a personal interest in Sunny adds another layer to this exploration of familial ties and personal growth. With its blend of humor and black humor, this work offers a thoughtful look at the intricacies of life and relationships.
Official synopsis Publisher
With her trademark humor and warmth, the beloved author of Ms. Demeanor and Every Tom, Dick & Harry explores what it means to return home and find light in the dark corners of one’s inhospitable past in a dazzling novel about golf, love, and DNA.
Everyone in King George, New Hampshire, loved Margaret Batten, part-time amateur actress, full-time wallflower, and single mother to a now-distant daughter, Sunny. But accidents happen. The death of Margaret, side by side with her putative fiancé, brings Sunny back to the scene of the unhappy adolescence she thought she’d left behind. Reentry is to be dreaded; there’s no hiding in a town with one diner, one doctor, one stop sign, one motel. Yet allies surface; even high school tormentors have grown up in unforeseen and gratifying ways. Just possibly, Sunny begins to think, she wasn’t as beleaguered as she felt she was. And maybe her mother’s life was richer than anyone suspected. Add to the mix a chief of police whose interest in Sunny exceeds his civic duty, and you have the makings of an irresistibly beguiling tale from an author who writes with all the wit and wry authority of a latter-day Jane Austen.
Author
Publisher
Topics
FAQ
What is “The Dearly Departed” about?
Who is the author of “The Dearly Departed”?
When was “The Dearly Departed” published?
What is the ISBN for “The Dearly Departed”?
What are the book details (language, pages, edition)?
