What You Have Left

weird, wonderful, slice of life: This small book (only 200 some pages) was crafted with care. You can tell that the author has sweated and suffered over every single word. It's almost perfect.

Allison's debut novel serves notice of a new literary star among us. It's the story of a woman's search for her lost father. She's really looking for herself. Along the way, she rediscovers the mother that she cannot reclaim, only reconsider.

There are some mighty fine characters on the side but this book belongs to the daughter, Holly, and her dad, Wylie. The author has chosen to employ a cross-cutting of chapters that zooms back and forth in time through the viewpoints of several characters.

It's a bold tactic that really adds to the effect show more of this supple, slyly witty concoction. Fans of coming of age epics, NASCAR, and South Carolina need to turn their friends on to this one.

I predict big things for Will Allison. Now, if he could only write faster! Just kidding. The next book will be well worth the wait. show less

This short, but satisfying novel of love, loss and amateur race car driving is told from several points of view, in chapters that span 37 years. We meet Holly, left with her grandfather at age five, Wylie, the father who couldn’t cope with the accidental death of his vibrant young wife, and Lyle, the soulful construction worker who falls for Holly and feels the reverberations of her family’s idiosyncrasies. The forward and backward flow of the chapters allows the reader to formulate impressions and emotions about the characters in almost cat and mouse like tidbits. We see Holly adjusting to her beloved grandfather’s decent into Alzheimer’s before we learn of her mother’s and father’s tumultuous beginnings. The cyclical show more nature of family behavior, the deep and inexplicable effects of love, and the complexities of dealing with loving so deeply are beautifully handled in this creative debut novel. show less

This book is a story of family, loss and (a little maybe) redemption.

The story is primarily about Holly, who's mother dies in a freak accident when Holly is young. Holly is then raised by her grandfather after her father disappears.

The book goes backward and forward in time, telling the story of Holly's parents, her own marriage and child, and a little of her grandparents' story.

This might have been a charming book, except I found none of the characters to be likeable or relatable. The book ends on a somewhat happy note, but is a bit abrupt. And I'm not sure there was any actual story arc.

The story of a daughter's determination to find a father who abandoned her over thirty years ago and her struggle to find her own identity told in different voices. I enjoyed the first part of the book with the exploration of the life of Holly and her grandfather. Once the grandfather dies, the book falls into despair with gambling, addiction, and loss of purpose. Allison's use of different characters reminds me of Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, but will less substance.

How a family grows both apart and together while dealing with, and hopefully learning from, the blows life deals them.
Allison's book reminds me of myself and those around me. Real people, real problems (sex, money, addictions).
His book reinvigorates my love of the English language - differing points of view, tenses, times. Forces me to pay attention, making it more enjoyable to read.

One of my very favorite books. Draws you in immediately.I love it when books are written in different voices, and this is one of those. Not a perfect childhood, adulthood, or parent/child relationship - but who has ever had those anyway.Pick it up. It's intriguing and satisfying.

A broken family in South Carolina finds ways to mark time, move forward and heal in this first time novel by Allison. Some sweet fluid writing marred by a somewhat episodic feel.