The Language of Love and Loss - by Bart Yates (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

When his difficult mother is diagnosed with ALS, a sharp-witted yet sensitive artist reluctantly returns to his New Hampshire hometown - and all the ghosts he left behind.

Fans of Andrew Sean Greer, Bryan Washington, and Jonathan Tropper will adore this outrageously funny, deeply touching, buoyant novel from the award-winning author of Leave Myself Behind.

As it turns out, you can go home again. But sometimes, you really, really don't want to . . .

Home, for Noah York, is Oakland, New Hampshire, the sleepy little town where Noah's mother, Virginia, had a psychotic breakdown and Noah got beaten to a pulp as a teenager. Then there were the good times--and Noah's not sure which ones are more painful to recall.

Now thirty-seven and eking out a living as an artist in Providence, Rhode Island, Noah looks much the same--and swears just as colorfully--as he did in high school. Virginia has become a wildly successful poet who made him the subject of her most famous poem, "The Lost Soul," a label Noah will never live down. And J.D., the one who got away--because Noah stupidly drove him away--is in a loving marriage with a successful, attractive man whom Noah despises wholeheartedly.

Is it any surprise Noah wishes he could ignore his mother's summons to come visit?

But Virginia has shattering news to deliver, and a request he can't refuse. Soon, Noah will track down the sister and extended family he never knew existed, try to keep his kleptomaniac cousin out of jail, feud with a belligerent neighbor, confront J.D.'s jealous husband--and face J.D. himself, the ache from Noah's past that never fades. . . . All the while, contending with his brilliant, unpredictable mother.

Review Quotes

Praise for Bart Yates:

"Brimming with self-awareness and wit...This is a sequel fans of the original didn't know they needed."--Publishers Weekly on The Language of Love & Loss

"Yates effectively captures the honest, sometimes silly, often tender interactions between his fragile characters." --Booklist on Leave Myself Behind

"The next Holden Caulfield... Bart Yates' main character and narrator, Noah York, has Caulfield-style teenage authenticity. Noah's voice is more than just honest or original; it's real." --The Plain Dealer on Leave Myself Behind

"In his assured debut, Leave Myself Behind, Bart Yates wrung bittersweet romance and wry humor out of brutal fag-bashing and family secrets. His sad, witty follow-up, The Brothers Bishop, begins like a snappy beach read, but soon treads equally dark thematic waters. [Yates]... finds hard-won joy in hot-button issues. His compelling debut novel was no fluke." --Out

"With Leave Myself Behind, Bart Yates gives us both the laugh-out-loud and refreshingly sincere coming-of-age story we've been missing all these years." --Instinct Magazine

"One of the strengths of Yates's writing is his ability to work out complicated plot points and weave together the threads of the story in a dramatically effective manner." --Bay Area Reporter on The Brothers Bishop

"Brilliantly written and funny as hell." --Edge Boston on The Distance Between Us

"Absorbing. Brims with quiet intensity." --Publishers Weekly on The Distance Between Us

About the Author

Bart Yates is the Alex Award-winning author of novels including Leave Myself Behind, The Brothers Bishop, and The Third Hill North of Town, written as Noah Bly. He is also a musician, and plays clarinet, saxophone, and bass guitar. He lives in Iowa City, IA and can be found online at BartYates.com.