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So Far Gone

A Novel

ebook
0 of 2 copies available
Wait time: About 9 weeks
0 of 2 copies available
Wait time: About 9 weeks

National Bestseller

"A warm, funny, loving novel. . . . It's an American original."—Ann Patchett, New York Times bestselling author of Tom Lake

"Who better to give us the latest version of a recluse with a heart of gold than Walter?... It's a gleeful, kooky and tender homage to Charles Portis' "True Grit" with echoes of Tom Robbins and yes, Elinor Lipman too." — Los Angeles Times

A Vogue "Best Book of the Year" * An Amazon "Best Book of the Year" * A Publishers Weekly "Most Anticipated" * A Washington Post "Most Anticipated" * An Oprah's Book Club "Best Summer Read" * An Esquire "Best Book of the Summer" * A Los Angeles Times "Must Read Book for the Summer" * A New York Times "Book to Read This Summer" * A Good Morning America "Kate and Charlies Ultimate Summer Read" * A CBS Sunday "New Summer Read * An NPR "Dark Tale to Hit the Shelves" * An Elle "Best Book of the Summer" * A Lit Hub "Must Read Book for the Summer" * A Chicago Tribune "Summer Book" * A Minnesota Star Tribune "Terrific Book for the Beach" * An Alta Magazine "Book of the Month" * A New York Times "New Book We Recommend" * A Lit Hub "Best Reviewed Book" * A NY Post "Best New Book" * A New York Times "Book Readers Are Most Excited About This Summer" * A Huffingting Post "Book that Should Be on Your Summer Reading List" * An Airmail "Best Read of the Week" * A Publishers Weekly Starred Review * A Kirkus Starred Review * A Library Journal Starred Review * A BuzzFeed "Book That Should Be On Your Summer Reading List"

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Ruins—and in the propulsive spirit of Charles Portis' True Grit—comes a hilarious, empathetic, and brilliantly provocative adventure through life in modern America, about a reclusive journalist forced back into the world to rescue his kidnapped grandchildren.

Rhys Kinnick has gone off the grid. At Thanksgiving a few years back, a fed-up Rhys punched his conspiracy-theorist son-in-law in the mouth, chucked his smartphone out a car window and fled for a cabin in the woods, with no one around except a pack of hungry raccoons.

Now Kinnick's old life is about to land right back on his crumbling doorstep. Can this failed husband and father, a man with no internet and a car that barely runs, reemerge into a broken world to track down his missing daughter and save his sweet, precocious grandchildren from the members of a dangerous militia?

With the help of his caustic ex-girlfriend, a bipolar retired detective, and his only friend (who happens to be furious with him), Kinnick heads off on a wild journey through cultural lunacy and the rubble of a life he thought he'd left behind. So Far Gone is a rollicking, razor-sharp, and moving road trip through a fractured nation, from a writer who has been called "a genius of the modern American moment" (Philadelphia Inquirer).

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  • Reviews

    • Kirkus

      Starred review from April 1, 2025
      A hermit comes out of the woods to save his family--and see if life in the world is worth living again. The wild energy of Walter's latest book is encapsulated in an exchange between former journalist Rhys Kinnick and a manic ex-cop name Chuck he's connected with when his grandchildren are kidnapped out of his care: "Dude! Let's do this!" Young Leah and Asher were delivered to Rhys' ramshackle pile in the woods north of Spokane by a neighbor per the instructions of their mother, who needed a little break from her life. The thing is, Rhys hasn't seen the kids in so long he doesn't recognize them at first. He's been living off the grid and out of touch ever since he punched his son-in-law in the face at Thanksgiving dinner in 2016. When the kids are almost immediately nabbed by goons connected with said son-in-law, Rhys gets help from a variety of partners: Lucy, an old flame from the newspaper; Chuck, who's her old flame; and a Native American friend named Brian. Two out of three of these are packing heat, and several showdowns ensue, plus a high-spirited visit to a drug-positive electronica festival in the Canadian woods. The characters are created with loving care, the plot with reckless glee; Walter seems as fed up with various aspects of modern life as the smartphone-hating Rhys, and gives his version of the modern Northwest a distinctly Old West vibrational overlay. Things get really serious toward the end in a way we might not be totally prepared for, and doesn't feel absolutely necessary, but perhaps it's Walters' way of saying the danger is real. Walter is a beacon of wit, decency, and style.

      COPYRIGHT(2025) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Booklist

      May 1, 2025
      When Rhys Kinnick's grandchildren appear on his doorstep, he doesn't even recognize them. Seven years ago, after a politically charged argument with his daughter Bethany's husband, Shane, during which Kinnick regrettably sucker-punched "Shithead Shane," Kinnick fled to family land in off-grid Washington state, throwing his phone out the window on the way, and never looked back. Now it appears Bethany has made her own flight and somewhat shockingly directed the children to her estranged father. Shane, meanwhile, is caught up in the militia wing of a radical church. Walter (The Angel of Rome, 2022) fills out the story with flashbacks to Kinnick's career in journalism before the industry (and his marriage) fell apart, and to Bethany's youthful efforts not to disappoint her dad, who ultimately disappointed her. Hapless Kinnick struggles to get his bearings, constantly thinking aloud and being told he smells bad, but he knows when to person up. Walter's trademark mix of clever dialogue, diverting tangents, heartrending emotional stakes, and real-feeling characters caught in amped-up human situations will please a broad range of readers.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Readers will be excited to see Walter's first novel since the best-selling and award-winning The Cold Millions (2020), especially as it tackles our current political moment.

      COPYRIGHT(2025) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Library Journal

      May 1, 2025

      After the 2016 U.S. election, Rhys Kinnick is fed up and goes off the grid, until he must reemerge to rescue his daughter and grandchildren from a dangerous militia. The latest from bestselling Walter, whose multi-best-booked The Cold Millions was a LibraryReads and Indie Next pick, receives a 200K-copy first printing. Prepub Alert.

      Copyright 2025 Library Journal

      Copyright 2025 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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  • English

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