The story of Kenzie Maxwell, who is facing his 70th birthday, addresses how we all look back at our lives and see with regret or with joy the choices we have made to bring us to whatever timetables we face. Kenzie is a character I think I would like, a writer who was raised in a high-striving family of achievers. He had made a life-changing slip when he fell in love with a 17 year-old street waif 20 years previously. A short but enduring relationship ended with the death of the girl after childbirth. He rears the little baby girl and gives her all his love, except that which is still reserved in his heart for the lost mother. The story revolves around reconciliation of the family, Kenzie with his brother whom he has not spoken to in 20 years, the brother with his step-son who he has never seen as good enough. It all culminates in a dramatic night of fear, loss and renewal. A good book that looks into the human soul.
Very enjoyable. Flawed people somehow finding mercy in the midst of imperfection, in true Buechner style.
