The bestselling, beloved author returns with her first novel in over a decade, an intimate and profoundly moving look at a long marriage and the ways in which a startling request can change a couple’s understanding of who they are, together and apart.

Eliot and his wife Claire have been happily married for nearly four decades. They’ve raised two children in their sleepy Connecticut town and have weathered the inevitable ups and downs of a long life spent together. But eight years after Claire was diagnosed with cancer, the end is near, and it is time to gather loved ones and prepare for the inevitable.

Over the years of Claire’s illness, Eliot has willingly—lovingly—shifted into the role of caregiver, appreciating the intimacy and tenderness that comes with a role even more layered and complex than the one he performed as a devoted husband. But as he focuses on settling into what will be their last days and weeks together, Claire makes an unexpected request that leaves him reeling. In a moment, his carefully constructed world is shattered.

What if your partner’s dying wish broke your heart? How well do we know the deepest desires of those we love dearly? As Eliot is confronted with this profound turning point in his marriage and his life, he grapples with the man and husband he’s been, and with the great unknowns of Claire’s last days.

Ann Packer makes a triumphant return with this powerful novel that is tender and raw, visceral and unexpected. Emotionally vibrant and complex, Some Bright Nowhere explores the profound gifts and unexpected costs of truly loving someone, and the fears and desires we experience as the end of life draws near.

I received an advance copy of this book courtesy of the publisher. All thoughts are my own.

I picked this one up hoping for the kind of book that breaks your heart and then gently puts it back together again. I was in the mood for something emotional and introspective, something that would leave me thinking about love and loss and the quiet ways people drift apart. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite deliver that for me.

The setup had promise. Eliot and Claire have been married nearly forty years, living an ordinary life in a quiet Connecticut town. Claire’s been battling cancer for eight years, and the end is finally near. Eliot has devoted himself entirely to her care. He’s the perfect, loving husband, and Claire is his entire world. But when Claire makes a final request that upends everything, Eliot’s sense of devotion, control, and understanding of his marriage begins to unravel.

It sounds like the makings of a powerful, gut-wrenching story, and for many readers, I can see how it might be. But for me, it didn’t land with the emotional punch I was hoping for. The story is told entirely from Eliot’s point of view, which creates a certain emotional distance from Claire. This is a strange choice because her choices drive the story. Eliot is confused and hurt by her decisions, and because we only experience events through his limited understanding, Claire’s true motives remain a mystery. I kept wanting to hear her voice, to understand her reasoning, but that never came.

As a result, much of the book felt repetitive. Eliot spends pages speculating about what Claire’s request means, circling around the same thoughts, the same heartbreak, without much progression. It’s realistic in the sense that grief and confusion are cyclical, but it didn’t make for a compelling reading experience. I found myself wanting more insight and a bigger emotional payoff.

Packer’s writing, to be clear, is beautiful. She’s skilled at capturing the small, unspoken moments between people, but beautiful writing only carries so far if the emotional core doesn’t quite connect.

Thematically, the book explores how little we sometimes know about the people we love, even after decades together. It examines what it means to truly honor someone else’s wishes when those wishes break your heart. Those ideas are compelling, but the execution felt too restrained. Claire’s choice should have been the emotional anchor, but I never fully understood her motive, which made it difficult to feel invested in her fate. Instead of feeling gutted at the end, I felt detached, unsure of what the book wanted me to take away from it.

Honestly, I was hoping for something along the lines of Catherine Newman’s We All Want Impossible Things, which absolutely wrecked me when I read it a few years ago. That book felt raw, messy, and human in all the ways this one didn’t. I think going in with that expectation is part of why I ended up not connecting with it.

That said, I don’t think it’s a bad book, it’s just one that didn’t align with what I wanted it to be. I can easily see readers who appreciate quiet, reflective stories about marriage and mortality connecting with it more deeply. But for me, the lack of Claire’s perspective left a hole in the middle of the story that no amount of lovely prose could fill. In the end, I closed the book feeling more “hmm” than heartbroken. It’s thoughtful, well-written, and restrained, but I wanted it to take bigger emotional risks.

Book Club/Book Box: