Reviews

Late City by Robert Olen Butler

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manic_swens's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Late City by Robert Olen Butler is about a 115-year old Sam Cunningham in 2016 following the presidential election. While approaching death, he converses with God, who allows him to revisit scenes throughout his life in stream of consciousness. Sam is a newspaper writer by trade and tells the stories of his life in the rapidly changing 20th and 21st centuries. These scenes illustrate the breadth of his life and provide insight into formative experiences and relationships.

The beginning was a little slow for me, but picked up about 1/3 in and I became more interested in the events that shaped his life and way of thinking. I really liked how his life as a progressive newsman intersected with social and civil progress. The most affecting and poignant experiences were about his family and war. I loved the thoughtfulness of Sam and pondering how we perceive our actions and what happens to us. I listened to the audiobook which was well narrated by Danny Campbell and seemed like an excellent fit for Sam Cunningham.

Thank you Grove Atlantic / Highbridge Audio and NetGalley for providing this ebook and audiobook ARC.

renaplays's review

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3.0

3.5 for lively writing; a sweep of a century through one man's experience--no surprises, but that's fine, too.

rj42's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Late City takes a highly original approach to a reflection on a life, as our protagonist – newspaperman, husband and father Sam Cunningham – converses with God on his deathbed as he replays his pivotal moments with a journalist's ear for narrative and fact finding. In the wrong hands, this could be a sentimental mess but here it works perfectly – the pace and positioning of the tale is spot on, and Butler builds believable, nuanced, imperfect characters you feel genuinely invested in. There is a sense of trying to construct a book of the American Age, with important events and people shoehorned into the narrative when actually the personal moments are arguably the more convincingly drawn, but this is a book that does not disappoint in its scale or ambition.

mhoffrob's review

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4.0

I found this novel rough going at the start, but sticking with it was so worth it. Having enjoyed Robert Olen Butler's previous works, especially "A Small Hotel" I was drawn to request this Advanced Readers Copy, with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Grove Atlantic.

Sam Cunningham is the oldest living WWI veteran, lying in his nursing home bed at 116 in 2016. The novel proceeds as a conversation with God in which Sam reaches a reckoning on his life, resolving issues with his father, his mother, his wife and his son. He watches events of his years unfold as if he does not know their outcomes as they happen, reliving his reactions and judging his own words and actions. He lived his life as a newsman, reporting on Al Capone and Hughey Long, and then as an editor and an editor in chief. Many of his memories appear to him as if they are headlines in the Late City edition of the Cunningham News, as well as the actual headlines announcing wars, elections, and other world events. He comes to realize his own short comings and faults, where he fell short and where he can still, on his deathbed, still atone and correct his behaviors.