A Retrospect in Death

At the beginning of this visionary tale, the only thing the reader knows about the protagonist is that he has just died. Not even his name is known. By the time the reader is inexorably drawn to the conclusion of A Retrospect in Death, the only thing the reader doesn't know about the narrator is his name. Shifting back and forth in time as he reviews his life, its joyous triumphs and staggering sorrows, the narrator examines the scope, worthiness and purpose of all that has happened over the course of his days. Once again J. Conrad Guest has challenged and conquered another genre--indeed he has written a compelling, haunting novel that cannot be characterized, but leaves no doubt that the reader is in the capable hands of a superior author.