AFTER THIS is vintage Alice McDermott. The story takes place in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Ms. McDermott writes about larger issues with her new novel; the effect of war on families, the changes that have taken place in the Catholic Church, and the loss of innocence and optimism we feel as a country post- 9/11. 

Reading AFTER THIS is a crash-course on how to write prose; there is not a wasted word, nor a wasted scene. Aspiring writers can learn much from reading Ms. McDermott’s novels. I loved AFTER THIS and believe it deserves to be read by a large audience. It is a quiet, yet powerful, novel that resonates long after the reader turns over the final page.