Softcover. Chapel Hill, Algonquin Books, Uncorr. Proof, 2000, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover in yellow wrappers with some fading. Beginning when a dead Ray Williams arrives in Heaven, the novel unfolds as the deceased proceeds to tell his life story backwards. As dodgy and shiftless in the afterlife as he was on Earth, Ray finds himself in Heaven's popular Last Words discussion group, where, for dramatic effect, he lies about his final utterances. A series of flashbacks reveals Ray's defining moments, including his real last words and what they meant, in a funny, poignant narrative that moves with the clarity of a fable and the complexity of modern psychology. Advance Uncorrected Proof. Clean copy.
