I’d never read anything by Millet before, although she’s quite prolific. But a few friends really enjoyed this, so I decided to give it a shot. Boy, am I glad I did. I thought this was fantastic.
When Gil’s relationship ends, he is hurt and angry and feels rudderless. He decides to leave his home in NYC and move to Arizona—but he doesn’t just move there, he WALKS there. The whole way. It takes him five months, and the scenery was quite repetitive at times, but at times it was beautiful.
He buys a house sight unseen, one that looks like a castle. Then one day, a family moves into the glass-walled house next door. Gil can’t help but be drawn to the family as he witnesses the everyday occurrences in their lives, and it’s not long before his life becomes enmeshed with theirs. He becomes a mentor/friend to young Tom, a confidante to both Ardis and her husband Ted, and he even makes Clem, their teenaged daughter, smile on occasion.
This is a story about connection, how enhanced our lives become through our relationships, and how much life they bring to a solitary person. It’s also a story about nature, as Gil’s house attracts many different kinds of birds, and he becomes attached to them. And it’s also about regret, grief, and allowing yourself to let others in.
Not a lot happens in this book, but I hung on every word. There were so many places in which the plot could have veered into melodrama, and I was so glad it didn’t. Millet tells a beautiful, poignant story that I really connected with.
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