I was looking forward to another book after The Reliable Wife and this book did not disappoint!! This is a different kind of read for me as I usually like quick and witty dialog. It was as enjoyable as the first and I'm glad I was involved in this book discussion.

It is one of the best books I've read in a long time. I love the way Goolrick writes, it's so evocative. My heart actually hurt after reading some of the scenes...the characters and their emotions just glow from the pages...and being a Southerner myself, I could totally sense the gothic nature he was describing. And the sense of, for lack of a better word, anticipation...you could feel the train wreck approaching and it was painful.

I really enjoyed this book. I was not expecting the ending. It built up to the end throughout the book, making you love the characters as it went along. The book has many unexpected twists.

I really enjoyed the book. I like Goolrick's writing style (I also really liked A Reliable Wife), and he created truly believable characters. I was never able to anticipate what would happen, and because the story moved along very quietly the shocking events were totally unexpected.

I thought it was a great book. I will recommend it to my book club. The descriptions of the people and the natural settings of the area were "wonderful." I am familiar with small town life even if mine is in the northern part of the U.S. people are the same and they are described very well in this book.

I enjoyed the book a lot. The characters and setting were well developed, yet there was still some mystery left open about Charlie. Where did he get he's money, what exactly happened to him in the War, etc. There was always this balance between something bad happening and everything working out happily ever after.

Loved the book! I thought the pace of the book reflected the pace of life in the town and period. The story was exceptionally well written. I really enjoyed Charlie, he was a likeable and extremely interesting person. I can't wait to read the prequel that explains where Charlie got the money.

I thought it was a very powerful story. I felt so sorry for Sam, with Charlie involving him in the afraire he was having with sylvan. At first I liked Charlie as a character, but as he began to be obsessed by Sylvan, I felt my feelings for him change. He put that poor little boy through hell. And he said he loved him. If he really loved him, he would have spared him from keeping that horrible secret. I did like the book;I couldn't put it down, once I started reading it. But it was truly a sad story.

I've posted here before that I very much enjoyed this book and have loaned it to a friend. The friend e-mailed me to let me know how much she like it also, so we have two yes votes. Because I enjoyed this book so much, I went back and read A Reliable Wife. I must admit that i didn't particularly care for that one and am glad that I didn't read it before Heading Out to Wonderful. I believe Goolrick's writing improved a lot between his first and second books. He is making a personal appearance in Seattle this Tuesday evening. Oh, how I'd love to be in his audience, but being of a certain age and limping a lot, I guess I won't be able to go, but I shall be there in spirit. I'm sure he will have a large and enthusiastic audience.

I loved it! My experience may partially be due to listening to the audio book version. The narrator, Norman Dietz, did an over-the-top outstanding job of describing what was going on in the boy's mind during critical scenes in the book. It was as if I was there watching the boy. Characters were lovingly developed and clear as a bell to the reader. Highly recommend.

I found it to be well written and interesting