As Time Goes By by W Royce Adams

Having watched those he loved leave the world before him, our narrator, known only as Old, prepares for the final chapter of his own story. Working on his memoir, Old muses on the key moments of his life that had a profound impact on him, telling us of the after-effects of a mob lynching, a punch-up at summer camp, naval service during the Korean War, drug and alcohol-fueled binges in Spain, relationships won and lost, and struggles with cancer. It’s a bitter sweet reflection on a long and storied life.

Additional Info

The book is divided into three distinct parts: Early Years, Middle Years and Later Years. Though this structure offers a distinctly chronological ordering, the stories themselves often aren’t directly related to each other. Instead, each chapter paints a portrait of an interesting character Adams met, or divulges a valuable lesson he learned, working like short stories in and of themselves. Adams’s prose is eloquent yet unfussy, controlled yet never strained, characterized by a touching humanity that makes the reader feel everything the author is feeling.