All That's Left

by Lisa Guenther

Darby Swank's entire life changed when her Aunt Bea was brutally murdered one summer in their rural Saskatchewan community. Following her gripping debut Friendly Fire , Lisa Guenther skillfully picks up Darby's story a few weeks after the dramatic finale.
Building her life anew, Darby makes new and lasting friendships and connections with newly found family members, including her charismatic cousin Brynny, a young woman leading a new and inclusive church in rural Alberta. Darby begins to make a name for herself on the Canadian music scene. Landing a sought after gig in an established Toronto band, Darby is thrust into the life of a working musician on the road. Still haunted by the violence hidden in her past, Darby must find a way to live at least partially in the public eye, as her music career takes off, and her Aunt Bea's art and story become more and more well known.
Guenther's second novel is a pressing account of a life wrecked by trauma, and rebuilt brick by brick with joy, love, and friendship. Guenther asks important questions of privacy, safety, the vulnerability of artists in the public eye as well as mediates on the importance of art and the transcendental properties of music.

344 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2024

Reviews

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer- I read this book in draft form.

"All that's left" is an intriguing story about a young woman coming into herself. Darby Swank is from small town Saskatchewan and she is reeling after her aunt's murder. Through a series of circumstances, she ends up getting involved with a number of different bands, and has a very successful musical career. The underarching theme of the book is violence against women, and how easily things can get out of control.

Darby Swank is a great character, and I loved reading about her exploits as a travelling musician. I felt that Lisa really got the details right.

[Jennifer Brooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Closer to 3.5 stars. This book was disjointed for me - the first half was slow, I enjoyed the flow of the second half however it was very disconnected from the first half of the book. So many characters in this book that didn't have a huge importance made it very difficult for me to follow. Could have had a much stronger impact considering the subject matter. Fell flat for me.

[Maggie Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

very disjointed the second section didn't fit with the rest of the story. If it wasn't a book club read I would have stopped reading after all the unneeded info on guitars. felt too much extraneous filler to lengthen the book.

[G.A. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much trauma dilutes a potentially great story into a mishmash of thematically related violences, rendering the story and its characters into a blur of irrelevance.