Next Life Might Be Kinder - by Howard Norman (Paperback)

About the Book

From National Book Award finalist Howard Norman, a novel of extraordinary emotional power--the story of a writer whose short and erotically charged marriage has ended in his wife's unsolved murder, and who, in the confusing aftermath, sells the story to an ambitious filmmaker

Book Synopsis

"Norman elegantly crafts a murder story that isn't a mystery; a ghost story without shivers. At its heart, this is a bittersweet love story, about the hole left in a life." -- Seattle Times

Sam Lattimore meets Elizabeth Church in 1970s Halifax, in an art gallery. Their brief, erotically charged marriage is extinguished with Elizabeth's murder. Sam's life afterward is complicated. In a moment of desperate confusion, he sells his life story to a Norwegian filmmaker named Istvakson, known for the stylized violence of his films, whose artistic drive sets in motion an increasingly intense cat-and-mouse game between the two men. Furthermore, Sam has begun "seeing" Elizabeth--not only seeing but holding conversations with her, almost every evening, and what at first seems simply hallucination born of terrible grief reveals itself, evening by evening, as something else entirely.

"Beautifully and carefully written and unique, its meaning both elegant and elusive." -- Ann Beattie

"Compelling and satisfying. Howard Norman has written a complex literary novel and a page-turner that's impossible to put down." -- Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Quirky and probing . . . riveting . . . sexy." -- Washington Post

From the Back Cover

Norman elegantly crafts a murder story that isn t a mystery; a ghost story without shivers. At its heart, this is a bittersweet love story, about the hole left in a life. Seattle Times

Sam Lattimore meets Elizabeth Church in 1970s Halifax, in an art gallery.Their brief, erotically chargedmarriage is extinguished with Elizabeth s murder. Sam s life afterward is complicated. In a moment of desperate confusion, he sells his life story to a Norwegian filmmaker named Istvakson, known for the stylized violence of his films, whose artistic drive sets in motion an increasingly intense cat-and-mouse game between the two men. Furthermore, Sam has begun seeing Elizabeth not only seeing but holding conversations with her, almost every evening, and what at first seems simply hallucination born of terrible grief reveals itself, evening by evening, as something else entirely.

Beautifully and carefully written and unique, its meaning both elegant and elusive. Ann Beattie

Compelling and satisfying. Howard Norman has written a complex literary novel and a page-turner that s impossible to put down. Minneapolis Star Tribune

Quirky and probing . . . riveting . . . sexy. Washington Post

HOWARD NORMANis a winner of the Lannan Award for fiction.His novels The Northern LightsandTheBird Artist were bothnominated for a National Book Award. He is also the author of the novels The Museum Guard, The Haunting of L, andWhat Is Left the Daughter.His recent memoir is I Hate to Leave This Beautiful Place.
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Review Quotes

"an opening sentence worthy of the Noir Hall of Fame...provocative...haunting...deft"--Janet Maslin, New York Times "Engrossing...Norman pulls off a fascinating balancing act here: the literary page-turner that, when it's done, you want to retrace"--The Seattle Times "compelling and satisfying. Howard Norman has written a complex literary novel and a page-turner that's impossible to put down."--Minneapolis Star Tribune "quirky and probing...riveting...sexy"--Washington Post "This latest novel, a strange and tragic love story told with great power and beauty, is a remarkable achievement... Shining through the confusion and madness is Norman's masterly depiction of Sam and Elizabeth's love affair before the murder, showing two people living modest, quiet lives who are redeemed and blessed by having found real love. VERDICT An inspiring and beautiful book; enthusiastically recommended for fans of literary fiction." --Library Journal, STARRED review "Once again Norman (What Is Left the Daughter, 2010) portrays Nova Scotia as a mystical realm, where the dead haunt the living, and time is tidal. The inspiration for this dark, sexy, allusive, and diabolical tale is found in Norman's memoir, I Hate to Leave this Beautiful Place (2013), further complicating the novel's eerie investigation into the yin and yang of verisimilitude and aberration."--Booklist, STARRED review "Sweet, elegaic...you'll be richly rewarded."--Washingtonian "a beguiling tale"--Kirkus Reviews "[A] somewhat far-fetched but nonetheless entertaining novel"-- Publishers Weekly
"A nimbus of unknowability lights up this exploration of love, and how we live in the ambiguous context of love, always moving backward and forward, as we do dancing the Lindy.　 Howard Norman has created a very real mystery, in writing a mystery about what we choose to look at as 'very real.'　 It's vivid, haunting, and - as always, with this writer - beautifully and carefully written and unique, it's meaning both elegant and elusive. I greatly admire Howard Norman's writing." --Ann Beattie --

About the Author

HOWARD NORMAN is a winner of the Lannan Award for fiction. His novels The Northern Lights and The Bird Artist were both nominated for a National Book Award. He is also the author of the novels The Museum Guard, The Haunting of L, and What Is Left the Daughter. His recent memoir is I Hate to Leave This Beautiful Place.