Green based this profoundly moving story of one man’s life and afterlife on that of his Irish Catholic grandfather, and in doing so has paid him a great tribute. The tale begins with Martin Radey witnessing his first daughter’s death from beyond the grave, then cycles back to Radey’s own demise, which is followed by a postmortem journey through time and space to the small Canadian town of Elora, where he lived peacefully until age eight. From Elora, Radey progresses to Toronto, where he relives the stages of his life: the excitement of sex, the satisfaction of love, the melancholy of loneliness, the desperation of unemployment, and the anguish of loved ones’ deaths. Green’s novel is well paced and beautifully written, and Martin is so real that readers may wonder whether their own stern and stoic grandfather knew him. Green makes Martin’s emotions so vivid they become his readers’ emotions, and readers will feel that their spirit has, like Radey’s, found something precious they didn’t even know they were looking for.
 
 

Deborah Rysso