Northwest Corner

Twelve years ago the Arno family fell apart when Dwight accidentally killed a little boy. After serving prison time for attempting to cover up the accident, Dwight has moved from Connecticut to Santa Barbara in order to build a new life in a place where he can forget his past. Just when Dwight believes he has erased his demons, his estranged son turns up at his door. Now a young man, Sam is running away from his own trouble but isn't quite ready to forgive his dad. Struggling to connect with his son and keep Sam from repeating his own mistakes, Dwight reaches out to his ex-wife, setting off an emotional journey that will mend a broken family, although in a vastly transformed shape.

"Nuanced and moving . . . [a] story about the indestructible bonds of family."-The New York Times

From John Burnham Schwartz, one of the our most compelling and compassionate writers, comes a riveting novel about the complex, fierce, ultimately inspiring resilience of families in the face of life's most difficult and unexpected challenges. Twelve years after a tragic accident and a cover-up that led to prison time, Dwight Arno, at fifty, is a man who has started over without exactly moving on. Living alone in California, Dwight manages a sporting goods store and dates a woman to whom he hasn't revealed the truth about his past. Then Sam, Dwight's estranged college-age son, shows up without warning, fleeing a devastating incident in his own life. As the two men are forced to confront their similar natures and their half-buried hopes for connection, they must also search for redemption in their attempts to rewrite, outrun, or eradicate the past.

Praise for Northwest Corner

"A great American novel."-Abraham Verghese

"One of the most emotionally commanding novels of the year."-NPR

"Exhilarating . . . In Schwartz's hands, the narrative unfolds delicately, each chapter a puzzle piece that fits seamlessly into the whole. [Grade:] A."-Entertainment Weekly

"A compelling tale of a family . . . finding their way back together again."-The Christian Science Monitor

"Stark and deeply affecting . . . Readers will grow to care deeply about whether and how [the characters'] lives can be redeemed."-Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"The masterful Northwest Corner is that finest of things-a moral novel about mortal events."-Dennis Lehane