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. ( )

AUTHOR: ALLISON, Will
TITLE: What You Have Left
Date Read: 11/25/13
RATING: 4/B
GENRE/PUB DATE/PUBLISHER/# OF PGS: Fiction/2007/Free Press/210 pgs
SERIES/STAND ALONE: SA

TIME/PLACE: 1970's, 1990's & 2007/ South Carolina
CHARACTERS: Wylie Greer father to Holly; Lyle - Holly's husband

FIRST LINES: I was sentenced to life on my grandfather's dairy farm in the summer of 1976. The arrangement was supposed to be temporary, a month or so until my mother recovered from her water-skiing accident, but after one week, on the first day she was able to get out of her hospital bed & walk, a blood clot traveled up from her leg, blocked the vessels to her lungs, & killed her.

COMMENTS: A book that I had sitting on my shelf -- have no idea why/how I acquired it but @ one point someone must have recommended it or there was something that interested me, I don't recall what it was. The story jumps from Holly's early childhood in the 1970's when she was left w/ her grandfather after her father leaves shortly after the funeral of his wife/Holly's mother. Holly was never a character I could quite warm up to. I liked her in the beginning when she seemed to want to take care of her grandfather when he was diagnosed w/ Alzheimer's but I could never really see the bond between Holly & Lyle & why Lyle put up w/ all of Holly's issues. Holly does feel like something is missing and has tried over the years to contact her father & it isn't until her mid 30's that they finally connect. ( )

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 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.

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. ( )

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. ( )