Daykeeper

Daykeeper is novel about a widower who struggles with the loss of his wife to cancer and his relationship with a student at the university where he works. It's a contemplative story about life after the death of his loving spouse, particularly with the ensuing guilt of betraying their previous life and home together, which takes an unexpected turn when he becomes entwined with the inevitable lust for life with a woman half his age. This novel was the winner of the 2019 Indie Author of the Year Award (Indie Author Project).

The story is told as a brisque yet lyrical first-person narrative with Kwansaba poetry sprinkled throughout. I was deeply affected by the contemplation of living a life after a very loving spouse dies too soon from cancer, and Ed's struggle to continue without the love and support of his wife. The Kwansaba poetry does most of the heavy lifting to communicate the mournful distress Ed feels, then later in the novel turns passionate and yearnful for his new girlfriend. And the funny interactions between Ed and his older brother helped to lighten the mood whenever the story veered toward more maudlin territory.

My only criticism would be that there was an opportunity to explore Ed's grief in more detail, offering a fuller picture of why he was wracked with so much guilt for finding a new girlfriend. There were brief passages about his wife's budding career as a singer and pleasant car rides they took together while enjoying each others' company. But when Ed senses a familiarity with Tanya as pertaining to his deceased wife, there wasn't much offered in the way to prove that besides the two women coincidentally liking the same novel and both women exuding a certain amount of confidence. That's where the Kwansaba poetry contributed much-needed emotional resonance to the story, adding the depth and feeling that Ed wasn't otherwise explaining in his narration.

An insightful exploration into grief and passion for life renewed. I would give this novel four and a half stars.