What You Have Left

Written by Will Allison

Narrated by Jonathan Hogan, Angela Rogers and Joseph Collins

Just after her mother's funeral, five-year-old Holly is dropped off by her father at her grandfather's South Carolina dairy farm. It will be 30 years before Holly sees her father again-plenty of time to develop a fondness for drinking and video poker. And also plenty of time to contemplate why her father abandoned her. "Loss and redemption take center stage in story writer Allison's beautifully written debut novel."-Publishers Weekly, starred review

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 5, 2008
• ISBN: 9781436185776

Reviews for What You Have Left

[sriddell_8 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book is a story of family, loss and (a little maybe) redemption.

The story is primarily about Holly, who's mother dies in a freak accident when Holly is young. Holly is then raised by her grandfather after her father disappears.

The book goes backward and forward in time, telling the story of Holly's parents, her own marriage and child, and a little of her grandparents' story.

This might have been a charming book, except I found none of the characters to be likeable or relatable. The book ends on a somewhat happy note, but is a bit abrupt. And I'm not sure there was any actual story arc.

[delphimo_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The story of a daughter's determination to find a father who abandoned her over thirty years ago and her struggle to find her own identity told in different voices. I enjoyed the first part of the book with the exploration of the life of Holly and her grandfather. Once the grandfather dies, the book falls into despair with gambling, addiction, and loss of purpose. Allison's use of different characters reminds me of Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, but will less substance.

[tbrewer_23 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of my very favorite books. Draws you in immediately.I love it when books are written in different voices, and this is one of those. Not a perfect childhood, adulthood, or parent/child relationship - but who has ever had those anyway.Pick it up. It's intriguing and satisfying.

[stonelaura · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This short, but satisfying novel of love, loss and amateur race car driving is told from several points of view, in chapters that span 37 years. We meet Holly, left with her grandfather at age five, Wylie, the father who couldn’t cope with the accidental death of his vibrant young wife, and Lyle, the soulful construction worker who falls for Holly and feels the reverberations of her family’s idiosyncrasies. The forward and backward flow of the chapters allows the reader to formulate impressions and emotions about the characters in almost cat and mouse like tidbits. We see Holly adjusting to her beloved grandfather’s decent into Alzheimer’s before we learn of her mother’s and father’s tumultuous beginnings. The cyclical nature of family behavior, the deep and inexplicable effects of love, and the complexities of dealing with loving so deeply are beautifully handled in this creative debut novel.

[volvomom_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was an interesting read. It really wasn't at all what I'd expected. Allison set the characters up at the beginning to be somewhat of your typical Southern types - a Southern sorority belle, her rich granddaddy, and the poor handy man who falls in love with the rich gal. Little do we know what they really are later on. I was able to score the advance reader's edition through the New Yorker's online service (oh so rare!!!), and I'm thankful I did. This truly is a great book. The families and characters are real, and live lives that you feel we could touch.

[aimless22 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

How a family grows both apart and together while dealing with, and hopefully learning from, the blows life deals them.Allison's book reminds me of myself and those around me. Real people, real problems (sex, money, addictions). His book reinvigorates my love of the English language - differing points of view, tenses, times. Forces me to pay attention, making it more enjoyable to read.

[omphalos02 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A broken family in South Carolina finds ways to mark time, move forward and heal in this first time novel by Allison. Some sweet fluid writing marred by a somewhat episodic feel.