1986Pulitzer 1987
A Summons to Memphis
Peter Taylor · 1917–1994 · USA
Why it matters
An adult son is summoned back to Memphis to talk his elderly father out of a scandalous late-life romance, and finds three decades of unresolved family betrayal waiting for him too. Taylor's only Pulitzer-winning novel distills a career of Southern short fiction into one quietly devastating book.
At a glance
family sagapsychological novel
Difficulty 5/10slow pace224 pagesRestrained, digressive first-person narration demands attention to what's implied rather than stated.
Deep dive
A son is summoned home to stop his father's remarriage, and discovers the plot he's really been drafted into was set in motion decades earlier — by the father, against his own children.
Where to go next
Richard Yates · 1961Revolutionary RoadLvl 4Medium pace
Mavis Gallant · 2002Paris StoriesLvl 5Medium pace
John Cheever · 1978The Stories of John CheeverLvl 4Medium pace
Sherwood Anderson · 1919Winesburg, OhioLvl 3Medium pace
Anton Chekhov · 1899Selected StoriesLvl 4Medium pace
William Maxwell · 1979So Long, See You TomorrowLvl 5Slow burn