So Long, See You Tomorrow

The narrator explains that he still remembers the murder 50 years later because he knew the murderer’s son. He also claims to be ashamed of something he did at the time and says that writing this book is his attempt to make amends.

Before telling of the murder, though, he needs to introduce his history. His mother’s family experienced a string of accidents from 1909 to 1919. In one, his older brother lost a leg. The narrator notes that the boys never discussed the older boy’s artificial leg, despite sharing a room. The final disaster occurs two days after his younger brother is born when his mother dies of pneumonia, a victim of the 1918 influenza epidemic.

Caretakers help raise the newborn baby and numerous aunts help raise the older boys. The narrator’s father is devastated by his wife’s death. The narrator remembers pacing around the house at his silent father’s side. He gathers from overheard conversations that his father blames himself in some way for his wife’s death. The narrator’s older brother is silent as well: The two boys never discuss their shared loss. The narrator takes comfort in books and inanimate objects.

The father devotes himself to his work as a traveling insurance agent. The narrator helps his father by alphabetizing inspection slips. The father is preoccupied with winding clocks around the house, which the narrator associates with time and the grieving process.

People speak in vague, idealized terms about his mother. There are few photographs of her and the best one bears little resemblance to the narrator’s memory of her. He gradually loses his memory of her appearance but can still clearly remember her voice.

The narrator wonders why his father never tried to talk to him about his mother’s death. He traces the silence between them back to an incident when the narrator was five or six and his father said that he was too old for an intimate ritual the boy had enjoyed up until that point. He is a sensitive and bookish child given to emotional reactions. He thinks he is a disappointment to his father.

Months after his mother’s death, he and his father begin socializing again. His father is invited to parties and is expected to eventually remarry. The narrator’s social life is focused on an upcoming Halloween party he’s hosting at his house. His father doesn’t like the idea of the party and will only allow it in a small unused room. The boy is embarrassed by this but the partygoers don’t find it strange.

His father tells him that he is going to be married. The idea of a new woman in their house causes the narrator to comprehend the finality of his mother’s death. The new stepmother is a kind young woman the boy has met before and likes. The narrator, in the present day, has his stepmother’s old photograph album, which includes some photos of his father. Looking at the pictures, he wonders why the sight of his father being happy troubles him and feels like a threat.

In 1921, the narrator notes how changing social mores affect the women in his town, and he can’t imagine his mother keeping pace. In the Prohibition Era, his father and stepmother enjoy bootleg whiskey. One night, they drunkenly attend a dancing class and are kicked out for doing a provocative dance. The father responds by using his social clout to make trouble for the dancing instructor. The narrator also takes classes from her, and when she tearfully tells him what happened he feels sorry for her and embarrassed about his father.

The boy also takes music lessons but is more interested in the lives of the composers than in the music. His father is a gifted musician, and the narrator’s lack of talent is another source of disappointment. His refusal to improve as a musician is a subtle form of rebellion he secretly relishes.

The father sells their house and moves the family into a small rental where they will stay while their new house is being built. The narrator is especially nostalgic for the furniture and sentimental objects that didn’t survive the move.

After waiting for years—following social convention—the narrator’s father and stepmother are officially wed. The narrator knows that it is time for him to move on from the life he had with his mother. But he finds himself more attached to the past than ever.