If we’re lucky enough to reach old age, our lives will continue to surprise us—in ways that are as varied and utterly transformative as our youth. In speaking to friends and elders, I got to see the range of experiences that someone can have later in life, on their path to deeper self-discovery: uplifting, sad, adventurous, fraught, unexpected.
Over the course of the years I spent writing my first novel, some of my friends and loved ones were reaching advanced age with the question: what do I do now? That line informed How Does That Make You Feel, Magda Eklund?, the story of a New York psychiatrist who unexpectedly winds up on a road trip with her best friend’s urn..
I’m, of course, far from the first writer to be intrigued by the foibles of humanity, especially at an age where you think you have it all figured out—only to be humbled time and again. Whether it’s pursuing a giant, relentless marlin or embarking on a road trip with your ex-husband, here are a few favorites with senior protagonists on great adventures:
Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout
Lucy Barton, a writer, embarks on a road trip with her ex-husband, William, in the hope of understanding a family secret just revealed to him. Over the course of the journey, Strout beautifully depicts the peaks and valleys of a marriage, and the ways in which family— despite everything that can tear them apart—will endure.
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
Allan Karlsson couldn’t be less interested in the celebrations for his 100th birthday. He’s tired of the nursing home in which he’s taken residence, would prefer to have more freedom with which to drink vodka, and so he slips out the window and winds up on a rollicking adventure. Beyond what he sees, though, it becomes clear that Karlsson has lived many adventures before that— as a munitions expert, bearing witness to some of the biggest (literal) explosions in history.
Death in Her Hands by Ottessa Moshfegh
An elderly woman living a solitary life in the woods is startled when, on a routine walk, she comes across a note explaining the presence of a dead body. The curious part? There is no body. The narrator becomes obsessed with unspooling the mystery, but in doing so, begins to lose her grip on reality. The explanations for this note and the subsequent discoveries could prove either innocent or deeply disturbing, the unreliable narrator pulling the reader further into the depths of her confusion.
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Backman’s beloved first novel chronicles a crotchety old man whose life is rocked by the arrival of his new neighbors: a young couple and their two cheerful daughters. This comic romp is a heartwarming one, showing the value of friendship (however unexpectedly it arrives) and its ability to shift our perspective.
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
This classic novella chronicles an aging fisherman whose months-long streak of catching nothing has rendered him profoundly unlucky. When a giant marlin crosses his path, his obsession with catching—and then protecting—the fish reaches furious new heights.
Deacon King Kong by James McBride
McBride’s latest opens with an old church deacon who, unexpectedly and in plain view of a housing project, shoots a drug dealer. This surprising act of violence leads to a moving, heartfelt story about the interconnectedness between the characters, and, ultimately, the capacities of humanity and faith to change our lives.
The Life Impossible by Matt Haig
Grace is a retired math teacher, whose life is rocked by a long-lost friend’s death, after which she is bequeathed their old house on a Mediterranean island. Puzzling over her friend’s death requires her to examine her own life, delving into the past and reimagining what her future could look like.
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