Search Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »
My library | Help | Advanced Book Search | Web History | Sign in

Books

The Widower's Tale

Front Cover
131 Reviews
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2011 - Fiction - 466 pages

Seventy-year-old Percy Darling is settling happily into retirement: reading novels, watching old movies, and swimming naked in his pond. But his routines are disrupted when he is persuaded to let a locally beloved preschool take over his barn. As Percy sees his rural refuge overrun by children, parents, and teachers, he must reexamine the solitary life he has made in the three decades since the sudden death of his wife. With equal parts affection and humor, Julia Glass spins a captivating tale about a man who can no longer remain aloof from his community, his two grown daughters, or—to his great shock—the precarious joy of falling in love.

What people are saying - Write a review

User ratings

5 stars
26
4 stars
27
3 stars
28
2 stars
26
1 star
24

Julia Glass is an elegant writer. - Goodreads
There is no tidy ending just like in real life. - Goodreads
Another fine novel from a spectacular writer. - Goodreads
Like she just got tired of writing. - Goodreads
Lots of meaty story lines for you to enjoy and ponder! - Goodreads
Her pacing is impeccable and so are these characters. - Goodreads

Review: The Widower's Tale

User Review  - Chris - Goodreads

I hated for this book to end as I had become really involved with many of the characters. And there are lots of characters, but it wasn't difficult to keep them straight. Julia Glass' gift for ... Read full review

Review: The Widower's Tale

User Review  - Mary Lou - Goodreads

The Widower's Tale by Julia Glass is a charming novel about love, loss, family, and survival in which men play the dominant roles. Percy Darling age 70, is the widower; Robert, his nephew is a college ... Read full review

All 130 reviews »

Related books

Other editions - View all

About the author (2011)

Julia Glass is the author of Three Junes, winner of the 2002 National Book Award for Fiction; The Whole World Over; and I See You Everywhere, winner of the 2009 Binghamton University John Gardner Book Award. She has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Her short fiction has won several prizes, and her personal essays have been widely anthologized. She lives in Massachusetts with her family.

Bibliographic information