Imagine Me Gone
by Adam Haslett · 2016
Buy on AmazonMichael is John and Margaret's eldest son. He's a precocious kid, smart and funny, obsessed with books and music. His sister Celia is the sensible one in the family: tougher than the boys, unshakeably certain about how the world works. And then there's Alec, the youngest, the most ambitious and also the most sensitive. He grows up in the shadow of Michael's distant coolness and Celia's pragmatic confidence, never quite keeping up with the others. The children are still living at home when their brilliant, beloved father walks into the woods by their house and take his own life. Years later, one of them will follow him. How are we damaged by what we inherit? How much can any family give to save one of its own?…
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"This stunning novel from author Adam Haslett tells the story of decades in the life of a family living in the shadow of depression and suicide. Told from rotating points of view, Imagine Me Gone is sometimes quite funny and often heartbreaking. Haslett’s characters are fully formed and true to life, and he writes in a beautiful, distinct voice. It’s not just one of the best novels of the year; it might be one of the best novels ever about living, and dying, with mental illness."
NPR Books We Love — 2016 · apps.npr.org