What Are You
Reading?
What Are You Reading? A project sponsored by the Friends of the Macomb Public Library District to encourage reading and book discussion in our community. Would you like to share your favorite books with other readers? Please send your name, occupation or grade level, book author and title, and a brief statement about the book and why you liked it to Kate Joswick, [email protected].
Reviewer’s Name: Lois Iversen Reviewer’s Occupation: Retired Book Title: The Life We Bury Book’s Author: Allen Esken College student Joe Talbert has the modest goal of completing a writing assignment for an English class. His task is to interview a stranger and write a brief biography of the person. With deadlines looming, Joe heads to a nearby nursing home to find a willing subject. There he meets Carl Iverson and soon nothing in Joe’s life is ever the same. Carl is a dying Vietnam veteran and a convicted murderer. With only a few months to live, he has been medically paroled to a nursing home, after spending thirty years in prison for the crimes of rape and murder. As Joe writes about Carl’s life, especially Carl’s valor in Vietnam, he cannot ignore the heroism of the soldier compared to the despicable acts for which he was accused. Joe, along with a girlfriend, Lila, throws himself into uncovering the truth and the real murderer. At the same time, he is restricted by having to deal with an autistic brother, Jeremy, who is being taken care of by an alcoholic, dangerously dysfunctional mother. Joe, along with Lila, throw themselves into uncovering the truth. With many twists and turns, Joe and Lila, with the help of Jeremy, unravel the complicated conviction of Carl.
