So Far Gone

"A warm, funny, loving novel. . . . It's an American original."—Ann Patchett, New York Times bestselling author of Tom Lake"Searing and sublime … Walter is a slyly adept social critic, and has clearly invested his protagonist with all of the outrage and heartbreak he himself feels about the dark course our world has taken ... What gets us all through … are novels like this one.” Leigh Haber, Los Angeles Times.From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Ruins—and in the propulsive spirit of Charles Portis’ True Grit—comes a hilarious, empathetic, and brilliantly provocative adventure through life in modern America, about a reclusive journalist forced back into the world to rescue his kidnapped grandchildren.

"I loved this book, and marveled how Jess Walter managed to build such a warm, funny, loving novel out of so many horrible parts. It's an American original." — Ann Patchett, New York Times bestselling author of Tom Lake

"A tumultuous road trip through a tumultuous America."
— Washington Post, Books to Watch for in 2025

“Great art… draws you in and doesn’t really let up for the next 256 pages. Told with an omniscient third-person sense of humor, the book’s themes are nonetheless serious… Most readers won’t need more than a day or two to reach the final page.” — Associated Press

“The characters are created with loving care, the plot with reckless glee; Walter seems as fed up with various aspects of modern life as the smartphone-hating Rhys, and gives his version of the modern Northwest a distinctly Old West vibrational overlay….Walter is a beacon of wit, decency, and style.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"So Far Gone is a marvel—a taut literary thriller that is also a moving, deeply humane exploration of the way one family falls apart and puts itself back together in a moment of crisis. Jess Walter is a prodigiously talented novelist, a writer willing to confront some of the most important and divisive issues of our time without losing his nerve or his sense of humor. " — Tom Perrotta, New York Times bestselling author of The Leftovers

"Jess Walter is beloved for being a prose wizard with a sparkling, infectious sense of humor and a huge heart. He makes readers love his characters even when they don't find themselves particularly loveable. So Far Gone speaks directly into the profoundly troubled soul of our fractured, embittered country; miraculously, it does so with gentle wryness and angry love. What a rollicking good time." — Lauren Groff, New York Times bestselling author of Matrix

"Like Station Eleven and The Handmaid’s Tale, this novel by Walter (The Angels of Rome and Other Stories) feels both prescient and timely yet with a backward glance....Gritty survivalist stories, from bunkers to bar rooms, converge in this propulsive novel that glances backward to 2016 while signaling what dangers come to fruition when people relinquish human bonds in favor of ideological fervor....This work is a tremendous achievement... with an urgency that may make it one of the strongest realist but dystopian novels of the present era." — Library Journal (starred review)

"Propulsive...Walter serves up a rollicking and heartrending adventure about a broken man determined to set things right in an increasingly divided America....Walter offers an honest and even touching look at the [characters'] need for purpose while finding deadpan humor in their failings....This captivates." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Rhythmically snarky and surprisingly tender, So Far Gone will claim a spot near the Edgar Allan Poe Award-winning Citizen Vince in Walter’s impressive canon." — Seattle Times

“Against this backdrop Jess Walter’s buoyant, witty caper So Far Gone . . . Walter’s affinity for his quirky cast shines through in their banter. Amid a spike in white nationalism, as our country reels from threats within, Walter seeks deeper bonds of affection, a holistic vision of We the People, even if it’s a mirage.” — The New York Times