The End of the Alphabet by C.S. Richardson

In a tender, intimate novel of an ordinary life defined by an extraordinary love, Richardson tells the story of a 50-year-old man who learns that he has one month to live.

I was thrilled to find this book at my public library, but I read and read and read without really bonding with the story or the characters. Yes, I finished it, but only because it was short.

A very charming and romantic book.

My mom recommended this to me as a quick book to read on the flight to Istanbul. I didn't end up reading it on the flight to Istanbul, but about a week afterwards. Thankfully I had nothing to fear; there was no Turkey-necessitated context that I needed to make use of.

The book itself though, ehh. We have two characters whose initials are AZ and ZA, and AZ gets some sort of immediate, incurable disease that's going to kill him in a month. The rest of the book is reflections on their marriage, and coming to terms with the end. Perhaps it's more salient in ones golden years; the message didn't connect with me, but I can see how it might in thirty years or so.