![]() ![]() ![]() But Goodbye, Vitamin finds the voice of an aimless, but altogether balanced, 30-year-old. Super depressing, no? I mean, yes, on the surface. Her father has Alzheimer’s, and Ruth has no immediate plans, so her mother asks her to stay home for a year to help out. Let’s start with Goodbye, Vitamin, which tells its story chronologically over the course of roughly one year, spoken first person from the novel’s sole protagonist: 30-year-old Ruth, who returned home after her fiancé left her for another woman. But where Goodbye, Vitamin hands those elements to you, Idaho tosses them at you and says, “Catch!” Beyond the dementia element, both books contain strong themes of grief, love, family, and self-forgiveness. There’s a true intellectual joy to reading these books back to back. Idaho does no such thing, and after about 20 pages of this epic mystery/family drama/tale of redemption, I knew my time at the bed and breakfast was done and I had to rough it in the woods. Goodbye, Vitamin, approaches its primary narrative with such focus, gentleness, and humor. Known connections to this year’s contenders: “None.”Īs I began Idaho, I thought, naively, oh yeah, I can do this. ![]() He makes theater and dance and lives in New York state. He also co-writes the Welcome to Night Vale podcast, live shows, and novels. Jeffrey Cranor created the podcast Within the Wires. ![]()
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