In Gary E. Carter’s third book, two longtime friends reunite to fulfill the pact they made three decades ago in college: if either one of them is ever terminally ill and staring down the end, the other will come help him leave the planet on his own terms.
The novel opens with feisty, colorful Henry notifying his affable best friend Charlie that the time has come to make good on that deal. But Charlie is struggling at the moment. His wife of twenty-plus years recently left him, then he lost his banking job. So, rudderless and “inert” (as he puts it), he heads out to the mountains near Asheville, North Carolina, for some extended time with his ailing friend Henry, Henry’s loving wife Sara, and their teenage son Sam.
Henry is still surprisingly energetic and spry for someone so close to dying, and insists Charlie take them both on a series of solemn errands—and rollicking adventures. They relive some of their most treasured memories and make a few more while they still can. Instead of a sad, tragic elegy for a dying friend, the book becomes a defiantly vibrant ode to life itself and the power of family, music, and friendship.
“You know what I am for you, Charlie?”
Having no idea, I shake my head.
“I’m your sin-eater.”
“My what?”
“Your sin-eater. It’s an ancient and honored custom. In my final time on this stupid planet, I’m going to eat your sins, Charlie. Absorb them and, therefore, absolve you so that you can concentrate on getting something meaningful out of the time you have remaining. Which, by the way, you have absolutely no idea how long that might be. Hell, pal, shit could happen, I could still be here when they throw the dirt in your face.”
This book has such a truthful ring of lived experience, and the characters (especially Henry) are so engaging that I was compelled to ask the author if this was based on his own life. Was Henry indeed a real friend he lost after a life-affirming trek out to the mountains? He was so ironically lively he just had to be. Much to my surprise, Gary Carter replied that the book is in fact largely fictional, though it was inspired in part by some conversations he’s had with a close cousin and other friends, and of course some of the people he really has lost over the years. That’s the mark of a great novelist, y’all.
Not Dark Yet
A Novel
Gary E. Carter
Back Nine Books
288 pages
Author website: https://gecarterwriter.com
Share
More Recent