The Book of Reuben

The fifth novel about Nodd's Ridge, Maine, chronicles the life of the popular Reuben Styles, who survives an abuse-filled childhood and seems to find the American dream, only to have it crumble away from him.Reuben Styles tries to do everything right according to the standard American success story - but life in Nodd's Ridge, Maine, is not a straight line for him. He stars in sports, but has to abandon athletic ambitions to go to work. He works his way up to owning the local filling station, but is frustrated by obstacles. He meets a rich and beautiful older woman who takes him into her bed, and has the misfortune to witness her child's mysterious drowning. He marries his childhood sweetheart and is faced with the troubling aftermath. While nothing turns out the way he expects, Reuben never caves in. When he meets the beautiful Pearl he is ready to try love again. And he never stops struggling to become the person he had envisioned. Filled with the intriguing mysteries of unexpected love and death... and the kind of secrets whose tellings change lives forever, this deeply moving novel touches a common nerve.