The premise of the book — "It's about men who disappear" — is intriguing, if somewhat elusive. Overnight, and as I write this, it seems to me that it's about those who disappear from family, friends and their worlds, but, rather, those who never appear to themselves. Nathan Longfort gives us the narrative of his life, beginning with the funeral procession by slow train of his grandfather from DC to TN, introducing us to all of his family tree ... including Aubrey. It's Aubrey's death at the end — clearly the end of something — along with Nathan's son Brax's coming of age as an artist that ultimately defines Nathan as someone he didn't quite become. But perhaps we don't define ourselves individually; perhaps we are defined by all of those around us ... ( )

Beautifully written but kind of boring ( )

He is a fabulous storyteller. Can't remember all of this, but I know that I really enjoyed this book. I wasn't crazy about the ending, but loved the story. ( )

Taylor gives us Nat Longfort, a young man travelling with his family on the train carrying his grandfather, a US Senator, to lie in state. We learn about Nat's very southern family: parents, aunts and uncles, and his mysterious "natural" (i.e., illegitimate) cousin Aubrey. Nat's mother hopes he will become an artist, but he ends up choosing the "safer" path of being a critic and historian of art. This career takes him to a variety of universities.

Nat tells us his story while looking back on his life. We learn of his marriage and his sons, as well as his fascination for men who just walk out of their lives and disappear. He ruminates about the path he has chosen, contrasting it with those of his sons and cousin Aubrey. Taylor's prose in this, his last novel, is graceful as always and a pleasure to read. ( )

In 1916, a young boy, Nathan Longfort, is on the funeral train bearing the body of his grandfather, The Senator, from Washington, D. C., to Knoxville, Tennessee. The memory of this journey will haunt him for the rest of his life. On this trip, he meets the enigmatic Cousin Aubrey, a man of irregular kinship, the black sheep of the Longfort clan. As the years pass, and Aubrey disappears into the world, Nathan begins to compulsively collect rumors about his faraway life-as Nathan's mother's first true love, a charmer of European society, a Don Juan, a worldly success-and sees it a stinging contrast to his own unfulfilled dreams of becoming an artist. Much later in life, the two men-now old-will meet again. ( )