Lewis Madigan is young, gay, out of work, and getting antsy when he's roped into providing end-of-life care for his insufferable homophobic neighbour, Chester Wheeler. Lewis doesn't need the aggravation, just the money. The only requirements: run errands, be on call, and put up with a miserable old churl no one else in Buffalo can bear. After exchanging barbs, bickering, baiting, and pushing buttons, Chester hits Lewis with the big ask.
Lewis can't say no to a dying wish: drive Chester to Arizona in his rust bucket of a Winnebago to see his ex-wife for the first time in thirty-two years-for the last time. One week, two thousand miles. To Lewis, it becomes an illuminating journey into the life and secrets of a vulnerable man he's finally beginning to understand. A neighbour, a stranger, and a surprising new friend whose closure on a conflicted past is also just beginning.
So Long, Chester Wheeler is an uplifting novel about looking deeper into the heart and soul to form bonds with the last people we'd expect-only to discover that they're the ones who need it most.
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The first thing I need to say, and the most important thing you can know, is that for most of the time I was forced to know him I despised Chester Wheeler.CHAPTER ONE: THE BAD-NEIGHBOUR LOTTERY
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(Lake Union Publishing, 6 December 2022, e-book, 302 pages, #ARC from the publisher via @ NetGalley)
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I really loved So Long, Chester Wheeler. I disliked Chester at first. He's rather unpleasant. He's old, homophobic and prejudice, hating everyone but white straight people. His own children have little to do with him. He's dying and has scared away every care worker in the country. Enter Lewis, between jobs who becomes his reluctant end of life carer. Lewis is far more patient than I ever could be. I began to warn to Chester despite my best efforts. This book made me laugh and cry a lot.