In the words of Dylan Thomas, “Do not go gentle to that good night,/ Old age should burn and rage at close of day;/ Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

Henry James Stuart was such a one. He did not go gently, he went on his own terms. Some would say he beat death at its own game, although he would have been the first to tell you that death is always the winner, eventually.

What we can learn from Henry Stuart is more about life than it ever could be about death. He was an amazingly complex, but unbelievably simple, man. He made difficult decisions, some of which others could barely understand, but he was true to his belief that all men are a part of God and His plan, and cannot be divorced for Him. He took joy in being a cog in a great machine, but recognized that the machine would not run as smoothly without the cog serving its function.

There is a temptation to compare Stuart to Thoreau. If you have read Walton, you cannot avoid the connection. He went into the woods, built his own distinct home, and separated himself from others for a period of time to commune with nature and his own psyche. In doing so, he honed his soul into something that sparkled and twinkled from his head to his very bare feet. But, unlike, Thoreau, his experiment was done only for himself, with no intent to share its outcome with others, for he had been given a terminal diagnosis by a doctor in Idaho. And, unlike Thoreau, he did not set the limits of his exile, he had them set for him by the awakening of his soul and with that the discovery of the meaning of his life.

I found this to be an amazing story. It was no doubt as much fiction as fact, for while Henry did live and build and thrive at Tolstoy Park in Alabama, the fact that he deliberately kept no journal during this time precludes anyone knowing exactly what his thoughts and feelings were. That matters little. His life alone tells us something of him, and Sonny Brewer can be extremely proud of the way he has filled in the missing parts and given this story a depth of both feeling and intellect that is superbly done.

I have seldom wanted to preserve so many quotations from a text. Besides his own astute observances, Mr. Brewer has quoted some of the greatest minds of literature and fit them seamlessly into the tale he has woven. It is as beautiful and as intricate as the handwoven rugs of Henry Stuart, or as the myriad creations of a God of infinite possibilities.

For an example of beauty of language:
Sleep rolled over Henry like a fog over the marshes at the headwaters of Mobile Bay, and his mind was still and quiet as the silver mist under a windless sickle of moon and the arcing of the stars in Leo.

Or of thought:
But now he felt better the intimate connection between all people, and most important, a common mortality. If there was any way at all to feel deep inside some kinship with the strangers who constitute humanity, it would have to be accomplished in the single knowledge that we will all die.
A truth that takes on new meaning the closer and closer we get to the inevitable. And, yes, I speak from experience.

What a wonderful way to finish my year of reading. I hope it bodes well for all the great books I might find in 2018.

This book was a personal recommendation from Goodreads legend Mike Sullivan, who champions Southern writers, both classic and recent. That's good enough for me - or even decent people - to give it a try.

This book, inspired by a true life, tells the fictionalized story of Henry Stuart, 67 and recently widowed, living in Idaho in 1925 when his doctor informs him he has advanced, but non-contagious tuberculosis, and has about a year to live. Henry is a mystical sort, soon to become eccentric. Distant from his two sons, but friendly with the local preacher, he conducts an inter vivos disposition of his worldly goods and takes a train to Fairhope, Alabama. There he builds a round concrete 'hut' by himself, weaves rugs, and follows the philosophy of Tolstoy. He never wears shoes. He ruminates and discourses in theological matters. Clarence Darrow comes to visit six times.

The story, despite the promise of plot, is rather banal. There's a lot of how-to. How to mix cement. How to dig a foundation. How to ride out a hurricane. I didn't find Stuart very likable. And I found the dialogue stilted. Folks here couldn't have a conversation without one of them putting his hand on the shoulder of the other. They say 'shall' a lot and try and outdo each other quoting poets, philosophers and Indian sages. When Stuart is about to go out into a major hurricane, a little girl tells him, "You are safe...This is a good place for hiding. The storm cannot find you here. I promise."

Here's a sentence which I think will give you a flavor of the writing style:

When Henry wove a rug, he wove it from the depths of his spirit and from the fullness of his heart, and with the careful eye of a focused mind.

Oh. And I don't revere Darrow, which the author clearly does, like just saying his name is enough. There are people who think if the cause is right then any means, even jury tampering, is acceptable. I'm not one of those people.

All that said, this book had many charms. I liked his reflection of the Rilke poem Be ahead of all parting. I liked that Stuart, as a younger man, considered a murder case where the victim, a decent man, was not a churchgoer. The killer wasn't either till he took up the habit in prison. A grammar-schooler, thought Henry, could see something wrong with the killer getting his writ to enter Heaven while a good man had been murdered and tossed to Hell.

I liked that after a one-day read, admittedly underwhelmed, I could reach the final pages, with my feet in the sand, and my eyes puddling up.

Very thought provoking. Reading this book motivated me to purchase Tolstoy's "A Calendar of Wisdom".

Wonderful story beautifully told. … Just finished reading a second time. Might have been a bit better this time around.

While I would have enjoyed a little more time with this grumpy old curmudgeon of a lead character, I was not disappointed when I finished this book. Based on a true story, the "poet" spends quite a bit of time in his own head, battling thoughts of death and frequently incorporating Tolstoy quotes into everyday life. A good read if you want something fairly short but challenging.

A very slow, philosophical book. I’m intrigued about Henry Stuart and Fairhope, AL. A worthwhile read. 3.5 stars.

I picked up this book hoping to learn more about its central character, Henry James Stuart. I discovered that the book is in fact a novel, loosely based on the historical Stuart.
He was a man who in the 1920's moved from his long time home in Idaho to Fairhope AL on the shores of Mobile Bay, sight unseen. He was in his 60's and left Idaho after contracting tuberculosis and being informed that he had only a year to live. He built a concrete igloo and lived by himself in the woods. The building still stands and inspired me to learn more about the man. The locals referred to him as "The Hermit" but he apparently had many visitors, including such luminaries as Clarence Darrow and Sherwood Anderson.
The author provides some factual info about Stuart and uses it as a framework on which to build his fictional story. The story is not that interesting and the pacing is slow. But then again, how can a story about a hermit be anything but slow!The philosophy he attributes to Stuart makes for the most interesting part of the book. The author speculates that Stuart based his philosophy on that of Tolstoy who, unbeknownst to me, published many non-fiction books on philosophy. Books I now intend to seek out.

I bought this book when I first visited Fairhope, enchanted by the place as well as the little round house Henry built. it's beautifully crafted and tells a take of the difficult life of early settlers. Interesting, but a slow read at first...I finally finished it on my second visit to Fairhope. I feel inspired by the story of Henry's life, but wish the author had written more about the utopian founders of the town.

Sonny Brewer' first writing attempt was really hard for me to read. I found that the way he wrote the character, Henry Stuart, to be selfish and arrogant. Sort of like this line from the book, "We become obsessed with our own cleverness." Sonny Brewer is obsessed with his own cleverness and transposed that onto his protagonist. That he left his sons, I found unfathomable, that he didn't want live with them, a testament to his failure as a father. That he preferred the company of stranger, I found unforgivable. The author should have done a better job explaining this.

I think there was more to Henry Stuart that Brewer was unable to communicate. The literary allusions seemed designed to let the reader how smart the author is and well as let the reader know how stupid and uneducated they are. Stuart's dialog was stilted and unreal, I kept asking myself, "Who talks like that?"

I am sorry. I tried to like this book. The author just kept digging a deeper 14 foot wide hole for himself.

I really liked this book. I bought it because it is about an historical figure who lived in Fairhope, Alabama, my father's home time. The main character, Henry Stuart, was a retired college professor from Idaho. He had been diagnosed with tuberculosis and told he had only one year to live. He moved to Fairhope, a utopian colony, and built a beehive shaped house, thinking that working with his hands was the best way to live out his life. But, he didn't die, but lived for 20 more years. I remember seeing the house when I was a child. The book was, of course, about facing the end of life, and the author did a credible job.

Henry Stuart’s doctor told him he was dying from consumption, with a year to live, and suggested finding a warmer climate to spend his remaining time. So Henry, in his late sixties, forsakes family and friends and moves from Idaho to Alabama becoming a modern Thoreau.

Well-written with memorable passages exploring one man’s personal quest to find peace and harmony, even if others don’t understand his quest.

Wonderful book

It was nice to read about this man. I visited Tolstoy Park last month and this book really brought the whole story to me. A good read for all!