Toward the end of Elders, one of the novel’s protagonists muses about how he sometimes views his life like a storyteller. When he does a good deed or works on a project, he tries to take in the details around him so they can be woven into a future narrative. As a result, he’s horribly disappointed when that effort is wasted because those moments don’t turn out to provide a satisfying story at all. It’s a self-aware moment for first-time author Ryan McIlvain, who is more concerned with painting an honest portrait than providing the action or drama that makes a traditional good story.
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