Synopses & Reviews
Regret looms large in Daniel Wallace's latest novel,
Ray in Reverse, the funny and poignant story of a life, told backward.
Sitting in the Last Words support group in Heaven, Ray Williams ruminates on his short life of fifty years, his episodes of infidelity, his premature marriage proposal, his sexual confusion, the dog he accidentally killed, and the baby he unwittingly saved. Ray is Everyman at his very best and his absolute worst even he can't always tell the difference. Beginning at death and ending in his childhood, Ray in Reverse leads us back to Ray in his innocence, achieving, against all odds, a happy ending.
Review
"[An] ingenious tragicomedy....Wallace's stylistic tour-de-force, bolstered by the richness of his family portraits, humor and appreciation of ordinary people, demonstrates again extraordinary originality, craftsmanship and charm." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
Review
"Entertaining, sometimes moving, sometimes comic...Wallace has produced a finely wrought novel." Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
Review
"[A] delightful small package of exquisite writing....If nothing else, Ray is real, and his life makes oddly compelling reading especially in reverse." Peggy Barber, Booklist (Starred Review)
Review
"A comic novel about death, about the mysteries of parents and the redemptive power of storytelling." USA Today
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"A magic carpet ride of a novel...amazing." Birmingham Weekly
Review
"Ray in Reverse is filled with wonder at the world and a gentle sadness over one man-child's baffled place in it. Unfailingly gentle and acute, the book somehow manages to get bigger and bigger as it moves toward its unusual vanishing point. A winning production from a singular writer." Thomas Mallon, author of Dewey Defeats Truman
Review
"A damn good book." Percival Everett, author of Glyph
Review
"Funny, thoughtful, full of refreshing surprises, it will take you to Heaven and back." Elizabeth Strout, author of Amy and Isabelle
About the Author
Daniel Wallace has published stories in numerous magazines. His first novel, Big Fish, has been translated into five languages and will soon be a major motion picture production directed by Tim Burton. His most recent novel is The Watermelon King.
Table of Contents
Ray in Heaven 1
Spring 1999, His Last Days 13
Fall 1994, the Art of Love 28
Fall 1993, After She Left Him 35
Fall 1993, His Calluses 42
Summer 1992, the House He Built 44
Fall 1982, Ray in Absentia 59
Winter 1981, What He Saw 70
Spring 1979, Work-in-Progress 82
Fall 1976, the Main Thing 104
Winter 1972, Cold Feet 136
Spring 1969, the Dog He Ran Over 148
Summer 1962, His Uncle's Ex-Wife 168
Fall 1961, Inheritance 186
Summer 1960, A Good Deed 201
Ray in Heaven 221