Book Beginnings: The Young Widower's Handbook

The Young Widower's Handbook: A Novel, by Tom McAllister (Algonquin Books, February 2017). From the novel:

On Monday Kaitlyn Cady went for a five-mile run, on Tuesday night she experienced severe stomach pains, by Wednesday morning she was dead, on Thursday she was burned down to ashes and poured into a stainless steel cube, and on Friday she was delivered by a stranger to her husband, Hunter. 

To describe her death as sudden is to reduce it to cliché, to not do justice to the swiftness with which she stopped existing.

About the Book:

After his wife Kait dies suddenly, 29-year-old Hunter Cady decides to take her ashes with him on a road trip so he can fulfill the promises he’d made to her that they would someday travel the country.

Initial Thoughts:

I'm cheating a little today — these lines are actually the first sentences of Chapter Two in the book, but somehow they just seem more like the book's beginning. Chapter One is short and has more of a feeling of "prologue" about it.

I was a little dubious about this one. Sounded like it could be a really depressing read. But I was encouraged by the claims that it was insightful, wry, and "laugh-out-loud" funny. And after reading the first 50 or so pages, I can say I'm enjoying it, but haven't really hit anything I'm laughing out loud about.

Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Friday.  As she says, the idea is to post the first sentence (or so) of the book you're currently reading, along with any first impressions or thoughts you have about the book, the author, etc.  It's a wonderful way of adding new books to your must-read list, and a chance to connect with other readers and bloggers.