I Was There the Night He Died

Description

A Womens National Book Association Great Group Reads Author, 2013Shortlisted for the Hilary Weston Prize, 2011and the Trillium Prize, 2008So, she says. Who died tonight?Sam Samson, meet Samantha. Sams a novelist: his dad has Alzheimers, his mother died of stroke, his wife was killed seventeen months ago in a car crash. Samantha, eighteen, is a cutter. She lives across the street from Sams parents house. Marijuana and loneliness spark an unlikely friendship, which Sam finds hard to navigate, especially as his dads condition worsens and the money for his care suddenly vanishes. Yet somehow, between a record player and a park bench, through late-night conversations about the deaths of Sams musical heroes, and ultimately through each other, Sam and Samantha learn to endure the things they fear most.Starring a 40-something writer who stumbles through the small town he thought hed left behind forever, and a marooned teenager who wishes she were anywhere else,I Was There The Night He Diedis a saucy, swaggering look at loss, love, and the redeeming power of music in the twenty-first century.Praise forI was There the Night He DiedSharp-tongued as Robertson ponders family and home as well as what it means to love someone and to lose someone and to have to go on living anyway, he presents an intriguing character whose very real troubles are offset by bright flashes of hope.Publishers WeeklyI Was There the Night He Died,[Ray Robertsons] seventh novel, is an absorbing and hilarious read, despite the most tragic of narratives filled with sly wit and keen observation an exceptional novel by one of the countrys finest literary voices.The National PostProblems increasingly familiar to baby boomers embroider Ray RoberstonsI Was There the Night He Died aging and ill parents; the prevalence of Alzheimers; difficult relatives, and the attendant duties of ushering them out of this world.Minneapolis Star-TribuneAn uplifting read the style is writerly, self-conscious and poignant a redemptive story about love despite the prevalence and certainty of death.The Globe & MailRay Robertson returns with a novel that considers themes of death, loss, and self-harm, all presented with a folk singers slouched but sturdy backbone and a cowboys loaded smile If theres one thing Robertson gets just right, its heartbreak.Quill & QuireFor Ray Robertson, writing is more than a career. Beyond a passion and a proclivity, its a way of making sense of a world that can often seem pretty senseless For a writer so accomplished and prolificI Was There the Night He Diedis his seventh novelRobertson is remarkably humble.PostCity MagazineRay Robertson is one of those rare writers who has both swagger and soul.NOW MagazineRobertsons style of writing is exceptionally readable; youll fall right into this book. His writing is wry, full of a poets wisdom in its observations on life and death, and replete with a dark (readhonest) kind of wit.The OvercastI Was There The Night He Dieddoesnt read like a lot of Canadian fiction. Its urban, it has a lot of alt country and obscure rock and roll in it, and its not trying to turn anyone into a better human being. Its just a great story populated by some very real, very flawed characters many of us will remember fondly a life not too far removed from our own, and have a laugh on the way.David Worsley, bookseller, Words Worth Books (Waterloo, ON)Penned in the stark-yet-warm rocknroll prose that has become his signature Robertson creates characters who dance and sing even as they suffer the malaise of life [and] has a great deal of fun with his chosen profession, poking sly jabs at the stereotypical image of the writer while at the same time paying tribute to it.The Winnipeg ReviewA refreshing read that will surely please even the most finicky readers.The UrbaniteThe novel is portrait of a self-medicating mans midlife crisis, a testimony to loves persistence despite death and decline, and ultimately a passionate defence of the power of popular music to change our lives.Chatham This WeekI have read and enjoyed some of Robertsons books, includingWhat Happened Later, DavidandWhy Not? The way he describes neighbourhoods and places, I can see it in my minds eye.Chatham Daily News