REASONS FOR WAKING

In Foster’s debut novel, a reclusive college professor delves into the tragedy that defined his life.

Philip Rutledge lives a solitary life, teaching in the English department at Virginia’s Grainger University. “I hadn’t come to Grainger to have fun,” narrates the 30-year-old. “I came to teach and to be left alone in a town where no one knew me or cared to.” A fire at a campus dorm that kills eight students barely penetrates his standoffishness (he’s even reluctant to allow his seizure-prone Labrador, Dilsey, to comfort the traumatized survivors). Then he receives an email from a young woman named Emily Warner. She’s looking for information regarding a shooting that took place a decade earlier in which Philip’s younger brother was killed—Philip and his father, a powerful politician, were also involved and hospitalized for their injuries. The shooter was Emily’s father, and she only ever knew him to be a good man. How, then, did it all go so wrong? At first, Philip refuses to get involved; he’s buried the pain and grief so deeply that unearthing them feels impossible. As he and Emily begin sharing notes, however, Philip realizes he doesn’t know much about the shooting either. When he begins asking questions, he learns that there may be more to the story than his secret-filled family ever let on. The author’s elegant prose mirrors Philip’s emotions, as when the description of his family’s farm reflects his fears of returning home after a long estrangement: “The paved drive to the farm’s main entrance diverged abruptly from the road and headed into dense pines and hardwoods. Iron double gates flanked by brick columns connected the wrought iron fencing that stabbed upward on either side of the drive.” The novel is a bit long at nearly 400 pages, but the premise is intriguing and the plot unfolds at a steady pace.

A compelling novel of grief and family secrets.