Heather Wescott asked Will Schwalbe:

I loved The End of Your Life Book Club and was inspired to read several of the books you discussed with your mom during her illness. I want to thank you for bringing Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner into my life. It is one of the most beautiful novels I have ever read and I don't know that I would have discovered it otherwise. Are there any other hidden gems with writing that exquisite that you could recommend?

Will Schwalbe Dear Heather: I'm so touched that you read my book, and went on to read some of the books Mom and I discussed. And especially glad to know that you loved Crossing to Safety as much as my mother and I did. It's a tough task to come up with a book that rivals that one. But there is a book I read recently that's something of a hidden gem and everyone I urged to read it has loved it: Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls. It's a novella from 1982; very different from Crossing to Safety, but thoroughly remarkable in its own way. Another book I hugely recommend is Old Filth by Jane Gardam. If you haven't read that yet, you are in for a huge treat. (Strange title, I know). Warmest best! Will

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