Peace Like a River

This piquant outing from Gould (The Hammerhead Chronicles) examines the fraught but loving relationships among a father, son, and grandson. When retired English teacher and part-time shoe salesman Elwin learns his father is dying, he returns to the tiny river town of Kingstree in the South Carolina Lowcountry for the first time since his mother’s funeral 15 years earlier. He’s accompanied by his precocious 13-year-old son Thom, the product of a one-night stand with Roma, 25 years Elwin’s junior, with whom he shares custody. Back in town, Elwin strikes up a tentative rapprochement with “the Old Man,” whom he’s resented for quickly moving on from his mother’s death by taking up with the woman next door. Thom, meanwhile, develops a sweet romance with the bookish daughter of the perpetually stoned owner of the motel where he and Elwin are staying. Gould’s sly sense of humor and talent for old-fashioned storytelling keep the narrative flowing briskly along over an eventful few days, as a death takes place, a boat overturns, a snakebite threatens a life, Roma unexpectedly shows up, and Elwin contends with the past. It’s a rewarding slice of life. (Aug.)