I’ll Let You Go: A Novel
I’ll Let You Go: A Novel by Bruce Wagner, published by Villard on January 2, 2002, is a first edition that spans 576 pages in English. This novel presents a sprawling family saga set against the backdrop of contemporary Los Angeles, exploring the lives of its characters through a series of vivid vignettes. The story centers on twelve-year-old Toulouse “Tull” Trotter, who navigates his complex family dynamics while living on his grandfather’s expansive estate. As Tull interacts with his mother, Katrina, and his cousins, a pivotal revelation sets off a transformative chain of events that impacts the entire Trotter family.
Readers will encounter a rich tapestry of characters, including a woman in search of lost love and a family grappling with their intertwined fates alongside an orphan and a homeless protector. The narrative weaves elements of mysticism and dark humor, featuring unforgettable figures such as a deranged former social worker and a streetwise devil. Wagner’s work is characterized by its intricate prose and sharp wit, offering a unique perspective on themes of wealth, family, and the search for identity within the chaotic landscape of Los Angeles.
Official synopsis Publisher
“[Wagner] slices open the self-satisfied bosom of Los Angeles yet again in his third novel, a sprawling family saga that trades the usual mush-mouthed sentimentalities for cascading shards of knife-edged vignettes. A masterful, modern-day fantasy of millionaires and madmen, fathers and sons, reality and dreams.”
–Kirkus Reviews
Bruce Wagner’s I’m Losing You was hailed as “outrageous — dead-on in every way” by Janet Maslin in The New York Times. New York magazine’s Walter Kirn called it “the year’s best book.” And John Updike, in The New Yorker, wrote that Bruce Wagner “writes like a wizard.” In I’ll Let You Go, Wagner offers a stunning novel that surpasses anything he’s done before.
Twelve-year-old Toulouse “Tull” Trotter lives on his grandfather’s vast Bel-Air parkland estate with his mother, the beautiful, drug-addicted Katrina, a landscape artist who specializes in topiary laby-rinths. He spends most of his time with his young cousins Lucy, the girl detective, and Edward, a prodigy undaunted by the disfiguring effects of Apert Syndrome. One day, an impulsive revelation from Lucy sets in motion a chain of events that changes Tull — and the Trotter family — forever.
Though the story unfolds in contemporary Los Angeles, the reader hears echoes of Proust and 1,001 Nights as Toulouse seeks his lost father, a woman finds her lost love, and a family of unimaginable wealth learns that its fate is tied to those of the orphan Amaryllis (who officially aspires to be a saint) and her protector, a courtly giant of a homeless schizophrenic — both of them on the run from the law. Along a path shaded by murder and mysticism, we meet such unforgettable characters as Fitzsimmons, a deranged former social worker; the enterprising Monasterio family of servants (Candelaria, Epitacio, and Eulogio); “Someone-Help-Me”, a streetwise devil; and Pullman, a seemingly ageless Great Dane.
Complexly wrought, deeply moving, and scathingly ironic, I’ll Let You Go dazzles the reader with the unique blend of gorgeous prose, acerbic wit, and deep emotion that are the specific province of Bruce Wagner.
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