What Happened to Henry? [Hardcover]

Sharon Pywell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 15, 2004

What Happened to Henry is a funny, moving, wise, and powerful tale of a family's struggle to understand their own son-who is either crazy or blessed, not unlike the Cold War America in which they live.

Nine-year-old Lauren Cooper is devoted to her brother, Henry. She looks to him for strength, wisdom, and the cool levelheadedness that, she is realizing, she lacks. But when a sudden tragedy upsets the balance of her close-knit family, Henry's steadfastness starts to crack, and Lauren is forced to watch out for her onetime protector as he grapples with a strange-although not altogether negative-affliction.

As the Cooper children stumble into adulthood, Lauren continues to keep an eye on Henry, whose already loose ties to the world seem to be weakening. But Lauren is starting to suspect that there's another layer to her brother's "illness" that they're all overlooking. And if she can understand what's happening to him, she will unlock nothing less than the mysteries of the universe itself.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Pywell's thought-provoking debut features a profoundly inventive plot revolving around a tightly knit family. Henry, Lauren, and Winston Cooper are 10, 7, and 5 in 1960, when their newborn sister dies of SIDS. Henry pulls his younger siblings through their grief while their mother is barely functioning and their father is lost in his work. But four years later, Henry begins to crack, becoming obsessed with a picture of a man near Hiroshima's firestorm. He not only feels the horror that the man, Asagao, feels, but he also begins spontaneously speaking Japanese, and spouting Japanese beliefs in the afterlife. Lauren and Winston struggle with Henry's odd behavior, while the siblings stay close through college and after as Asagao becomes a "shadow brother" to them all. Henry's need to communicate with Asagao in person escalates, leading to the poignant denouement. A powerful novel full of surprises, unbreakable sibling bonds, and insightful reflection on the power of love to overcome grief, by a promising new author. Deborah Donovan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

A fascinating blend of family drama and metaphysical inquiry. -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review, April 15, 2004

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult (July 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399151680
• ISBN-13: 978-0399151682
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,431,457 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book, May 4, 2006

By 

Good reader "GR" (.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What Happened to Henry (Paperback)

This is an author who should be getting more attention. Her writing is lovely and her story equally so. From the first sentence you know you are in the hands of someone who can write and has a story to tell. It is a rare combination of talents. I loved these characters. They were beautiful and moving and REAL, and I missed them when the book was over. I can't wait for her next book.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a lovely book, February 20, 2005

By 

JS "a reader" (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What Happened to Henry? (Hardcover)

This book is a beautifully written account of a family and the Japanese spirit that inhabits one of the children. While it might sound far-fetched, the presence of Asagao is perfectly natural and is essential. What Happened to Henry is a special combination of great writing, strong characters, and good dialogue. I was sorry to see it end and I look forward to Pywell's next novel.

4.0 out of 5 stars Exploring complex sibling relationships, April 7, 2008

By 

Ella Kaye - See all my reviews

This review is from: What Happened to Henry (Paperback)

This book is a fascinating novel that follows three siblings relationship through adulthood coping in a fairly positive way with a dysfunctional family life . The story is primarily seen through the middle child's eyes--a girl--a la Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird. But the story is filled with magical realism, and a secondary story about the bombing of Hiroshima on the individuals and its far reaching effect on the generation of the 1950's. There is more of a dark perspective about family, sibling relationships, and growing up in the guilty consciousness of the US culture of the 1950's than Lee's book has about its cultural conflict of racism. It is a compelling book, realistic, and doesn't dwell on the family environment looking for blame or restitution, but on the children making it through into adulthood as they survive all the adult responsibilities they shared as kids.