July,July by Tim O'Brien

July,July

Tim O'Brien

An annual high school reunion of 50 somethings, Kennedy's generation. Monkees, moon landing, Vietnam, triple heart bypasses and divorces. A gently observed novel that draws you in without you realising it. I couldn't leave it half-read.

Extract
Across campus in a dim, empty banquet room, Dorothy Stier and David Todd foraged for food. They moved from table to table, grazing from an array of leftovers. 'I'm a veggie, you know,' Dorothy was telling him,' so I have to be careful. This lovely chicken tarragon, for instance. I won't actually swallow, except for an itsy-bitsy bite.'
Parallels
  • A Room Full of Mirrors. by Keiko Ikeda
  • Peggy Sue Got Married - the film