Book Description
“Rebecca Kauffman writes like a sunbeam, strong and warm on whatever lands in her path. This book only looks short—in reality, it reveals a family so richly drawn, so deep and complex, that it contains the whole world.” —Emma Straub
A modern and classic story of family, I’ll Come to You chronicles intersecting lives over the course of one year—1995—anchored by the anticipation and arrival of a child. With empathy, insight, and humor, Rebecca Kauffman explores overlapping narratives involving a couple whose struggle to become pregnant has both softened and hardened them, a woman whose husband of forty years has left her for reasons he’s unwilling to share and the man who is now disastrously attempting to woo her, a couple in denial about a looming health crisis, and their son who is fumbling toward middle age and can’t stop lying. Ultimately, these storylines crescendo and converge into a dramatic and harrowing turn of events. With heart, wit, and courage, and through pain, these characters traverse territory that both challenges and defines the bonds of family.
Sweeping yet compact, I’ll Come to You investigates themes of intimacy, memory, loss, grief, and reconciliation, and the wonder, terror, frustration, fear, and magic of brushing up against the unknowable—both around us and within us.
Praise For This Book
A New York Times Book Review Editors' ChoicePeople, A Best Book
Literary Hub, A Most Anticipated Book of the Year
"A warmhearted new novel about a complicated family." —Greg Cowles, The New York Times Book Review
"The joy in this book is something to admire deeply . . . Kauffman does provide, with exquisite precision, all the toxic snits, the petty furies, the lure of nostalgia, the gnaw of needs never met. But she insists, too, on granting each character, siloed though they may be, their share of wins. The delights aren’t cheap, either: Kauffman loves them enough to bestow upon them the genuine, radiant, quiet, don’t blink kind of happiness. She shows us there is room in a novel—as in the heart—for everyone." —Claire Luchette, The New York Times Book Review
"A gentle, comic touch . . . sweet and satisfying."—Sam Sacks, The Wall Street Journal
"Kauffman packs an abundance of heart in her compact book as she explores the hopes, disappointments, inadequacies and triumphs of woefully normal people who aren’t always likable . . . Kauffman’s flawed characters don’t just tug on the heartstrings. They are everyday people searching for relevance who linger in the mind long after the tale concludes." —Leah Tyler, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"Kauffman reveals who her characters are at a fast clip with carefully selected details that suggest she has an exceptional ability to read humans . . . What sticks with me is that, like for the characters in I’ll Come to You, no matter my state of ordinariness or the extent of my flaws, I can change to do a better job of loving the people I’m striving to love and also in receiving love." —Mary Ann Zehr, The Harrisonburg Citizen
"Intimate, wise and funny . . . A true gem about life's changing seasons." —People
"Full of heart and wit, I'll Come to You investigates themes of intimacy, memory, loss, grief and reconciliation." —Sarah Stiefvater, PureWow
"Each of [the characters] is portrayed with deep compassion—a word that comes up often when describing Rebecca Kauffman’s work. The description is particularly fitting for this novel, where the simplest yearnings tend to stir complex emotions." —A. Delphine Delmore, Southern Review of Books
"Tender and charming, I'll Come to You candidly exposes generational gaps in understanding and will appeal to fans of Jonathan Tropper's This Is Where I Leave You (2009) and Amy Jo Burns' Mercury." —Booklist
"Kauffman thoughtfully portrays family relationships in all their tension and secrets as well as all their intimacy and wonder, in an unhurried narrative similar to the introspective style of authors like Ethan Joella or Ann Napolitano . . . I’ll Come to You surprises with moments of poetic poignancy . . . As the seasons change, defining moments from each character’s past take on new significance. The many facets of family vacations, Christmases, late nights in a hospital and any time of day with a newborn are all tangibly displayed in Kauffman’s precise and descriptive prose." —Melissa Brown, BookPage
"A finely tuned family drama . . . The author has drawn authentic and believable portraits of these flawed but decent people as they negotiate life’s upheavals . . . Kauffman’s fans will love this." —Publishers Weekly
"Kauffman takes time to explore the inner lives of her characters, some more than others, and each character’s vulnerabilities are made clear through the compassionate narration . . . Throughout, the characters are grasping at what they hold dear, fighting insecurities and jealousies that coexist with desperate love and hope. Kauffman sets a scene that ultimately allows for generosity and togetherness. Thoughtful characterization and light humor make for a pleasant, if not gripping, novel." —Kirkus Reviews
“Rebecca Kauffman writes like a sun beam, strong and warm on whatever lands in her path. This book only looks short—in reality, it reveals a family so richly drawn, so deep and complex, that it contains the whole world.” ––Emma Straub
"An exquisite work of fiction that shines a light on one year in the life of a family—their truths and lies, vows and betrayals, seductive dreams and deepest fears. Like Elizabeth Strout and Marilynne Robinson before her, Kauffman is brilliant at drawing out the subtle links between lives—and at capturing the mix of awe and terror that exists within us all." ––Jonathan Lee, The Great Mistake
"Ordinary lives are rendered with extraordinary insight in I'll Come to You, a novel as delightful as it is darkly funny, at once caustic and profoundly compassionate. Rebecca Kauffman, where have you been all my life?" —Andrew Ridker, author of The Altruists and Hope
"I’ll Come to You is a deft, engrossing novel, full of subtle humor and compassion. In scenes as precise and intimate as lighted windows on a dark street, Rebecca Kauffman explores those everyday encounters and accidents that can loom so large they overwhelm a life." —Sofia Samatar, author of The White Mosque: A Memoir
