The Reason You’re Alive by Matthew Quick | Book Review

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The New York Times bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook offers a timely novel featuring his most fascinating character yet, a Vietnam vet embarking on a quixotic crusade to track down his nemesis from the war.
After sixty-eight-year-old David Granger crashes his BMW, medical tests reveal a brain tumor that he readily attributes to his wartime Agent Orange exposure. He wakes up from surgery repeating a name no one in his civilian life has ever heard—that of a Native American soldier whom he was once ordered to discipline. David decides to return something precious he long ago stole from the man he now calls Clayton Fire Bear. It may be the only way to find closure in a world increasingly at odds with the one he served to protect. It may also help him to finally recover from his wife’s untimely demise.
As David confronts his past to salvage his present, a poignant portrait emerges: that of an opinionated and good-hearted American patriot fighting like hell to stay true to his red, white, and blue heart, even as the country he loves rapidly changes in ways he doesn’t always like or understand. Hanging in the balance are Granger’s distant art-dealing son, Hank; his adoring seven-year-old granddaughter, Ella; and his best friend, Sue, a Vietnamese American who respects David’s fearless sincerity.
Through the controversial, wrenching, and wildly honest David Granger, Matthew Quick offers a no-nonsense but ultimately hopeful view of America’s polarized psyche. By turns irascible and hilarious, insightful and inconvenient, David is a complex, wounded, honorable, and loving man. The Reason You’re Alive examines how the secrets and debts we carry from our past define us; it also challenges us to look beyond our own prejudices and search for the good in us all.

The Reason You’re Alive by Matthew Quick is another spectacular book from the author. At this point, I’ve read everything by Quick except Sorta Like A Rock Star. Each of his books has had a profound impact on me. The Reason You’re Alive is a book that I also had found impactful — although — not incredibly memorable. However, that is completely subjective — I read this book while first trimester pregnant and very ill – so not a timeline conducive to remembering everything. What I do know is that I plan to someday go back and re-read this book because I do find Quick’s books to be essential to my reading life.

Quick’s The Reason You’re Alive is about a Vietnam War Vet named David Granger. Granger is sixty eight years old and as the book opens, he has crashed his BMW. At which point it is revealed that he has a brain tumor from exposure to Agent Orange. David wakes up and is fixated on confronting a man he served with named Clayton Fire Bear. They had an interaction where David had to discipline him. Meanwhile, David and his son Hank are reconnecting again — Hank is an art dealer. Also, David has a granddaughter named Ella. He considers a young Vietnamese woman named Sue to be his best friend.

So, I think if you go into this book you need to be aware it is from the perspective of a sixty something year old White war vet with a brain tumor. David says a lot of things that are off color. I think you should probably be aware that just because David says those things and thinks them doesn’t necessarily mean the author endorses them. David is conservative. He’s made a lot of money. He is patriotic to a fault. And well, the world is changing on David. I think this book was brilliantly written and an interesting exploration of character. But again, just know going into it, that the main character is NOT meant to be likable or even really palatable.

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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