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  • Things Behind the Sun: A novel

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David W. Berner
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Things Behind the Sun: A novel Paperback – March 31, 2020

by David W. Berner (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars (12)

Martin Gregory believes he has one last shot at emotionally connecting with the son he adopted seventeen years ago from the only woman he ever loved. A long road trip could be the answer. But the boy has other ideas as the two of them navigate the past and contemplate the future during a summer journey through the American West. The trip uncovers long-held secrets—both Martin's and his son's—and becomes an exploration of whether the deep emotions that brought them together in the first place are more important than what could tear them apart. Things Behind the Sun is an inspired coming-of-age story about the powerful, complicated yet enduring bond between fathers and sons.


"Beautifully and patiently rendered, Things Behind the Sun is a meditative and empathic exploration of fate, family, and finding one's way. David W. Berner has created a vast emotional landscape as vibrant and expansive as its Pacific Northwest backdrop." —Claire Lombardo, author of the New York Times bestselling novel, The Most Fun We Ever Had


“Things Behind the Sun is full of pathos and wisdom. Deep friendships and the complexity of family are the binding glues that hold this exquisitely told story together.” —Shawn Shiflett, author of Hey, Liberal!


“Powerful…emotionally charged…an intricately connected, lyrical and moving story.” —Veryan Williams-Wynn, author of The Spirit Trap


"A captivating exploration of identity. Things Behind the Sun reveals there is no chasm of secrets large enough that a summer road trip can't bridge." —Michelle Burwell, Windy City Reviews


“Things Behind the Sun is a wonderfully realized story of love, devotion, and coming to terms with one's heritage and life commitments.” —Floyd Sullivan, author of Called Out: A Novel of 1908


David W. Berner is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, author, and associate professor at Columbia College Chicago. In 2011, he was named the Jack Kerouac Writer-in-Residence at the Jack Kerouac Project, and in 2015 David was named the Writer-in-Residence at the Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Home in Oak Park, IL.

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  1. Print length
    192 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    March 31, 2020
  4. Dimensions
    6 x 0.48 x 9 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1951896777
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1951896775
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Beautifully and patiently rendered, Things Behind the Sun is a meditative and empathic exploration of fate, family, and finding one's way. David W. Berner has created a vast emotional landscape as vibrant and expansive as its Pacific Northwest backdrop." --Claire Lombardo, author of the New York Times bestselling novel, The Most Fun We Ever Had

"Undoubtedly this book shines as a stunning modern Kerouac. Written by a gifted author this book simply flows like a river running its natural course" --N.N. Light Reviews

"Things Behind the Sun is full of pathos and wisdom. Deep friendships and the complexity of family are the binding glues that hold this exquisitely told story together." --Shawn Shiflett, author of Hey, Liberal!

"Powerful...emotionally charged...an intricately connected, lyrical and moving story." --Veryan Williams-Wynn, author of The Spirit Trap

"A captivating exploration of identity. Things Behind the Sun reveals there is no chasm of secrets large enough that a summer road trip can't bridge." --Michelle Burwell, Windy City Reviews

"Things Behind the Sun is a wonderfully realized story of love, devotion, and coming to terms with one's heritage and life commitments." --Floyd Sullivan, author of Called Out: A Novel of 1908

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Adelaide Books
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 31, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1951896777
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1951896775
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.3 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.48 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 out of 5 stars (12)

About the author

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David W. Berner

David W. Berner

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David W. Berner is the best-selling author of several books of fiction and memoir. His novella, THE ISLANDER has won several prestigious awards, including the NYC Big Book Award for Novellas, was an honoree at the Paris Book Festival, and a finalist for the Hawthorne Prize. His memoir, WALKS WITH SAM, is a best-seller from Collective Ink Books. He's also the author of award-winning books DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME, A WELL-RESPECTED MAN, OCTOBER SONG, ACCIDENTAL LESSONS, ANY ROAD WILL TAKE YOU THERE, THERE'S A HAMSTER IN THE DASHBOARD, NIGHT RADIO, and the memoir THE CONSEQUENCE OF STARS.

David has also been honored and has won awards from the prestigious Society of Midland Authors, the Chicago Writers Association, Literary Titan Gold Award, and the Eric Hoffer Book Award. David has also been the Writer-in-Residence at both the Jack Kerouac Project in Orlando, FL and at the Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Home and Museum in Oak Park, IL.

David moved from Pittsburgh to Chicago to work as a radio reporter and news anchor for CBS Radio and later pursued a career as a writer and educator. His first book ACCIDENTAL LESSONS is about his year teaching in one of the Chicago area's most troubled school districts. The book won the Golden Dragonfly Grand Prize for Literature and has been called a "beautiful, elegantly written book" by award-winning author Thomas E. Kennedy, and "a terrific memoir" by Rick Kogan (Chicago Tribune and WGN Radio). ANY ROAD WILL TAKE YOU THERE—a 2013 Book of the Year from the Chicago Writers Association—is the author's story of a cross-country road trip with his sons and the revelations of fatherhood. The memoir has been called "heartwarming and heartbreaking" and "a five-star wonderful read." His novel, A WELL-RESPECTED MAN was a 2019 honoree in the fiction category of The Society of Midland Authors Awards.

David continues to work as a journalist an instructor at the Gotham Writers' Workshop out of New York City.

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
12 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

  • Julie M. Shea
    5.0 out of 5 stars A tangled web of human relationships
    Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    I was intrigued, just reading the blurb. Human relationships can be so tangled and complicated, and it is always interesting to get a peek behind the curtain, into the depths of someone's mind.

    Martin adopted Chase as a baby from the love of Martin's life. After their relationship was over, his love became pregnant by a new boyfriend, but she soon learned she would not live to raise the baby and did not want the child's biological father involved.

    This sets up quite a tangled web. Martin has, over the years, been sharing bits and pieces of the past with him...leaving now 17-year-old Chase feeling like a boat without a rudder.

    Martin has his own set of issues to wrestle with. This child, who is not his biological child, caused a U-turn in his life that he hadn't planned on. He had given everything up for this child of the woman he had once loved. He had no idea who he was anymore. Can he find his way back?

    Can a summer road trip help the two of them close the gap between them, or will it all come crashing down around them? If you have ever wanted to be a fly on the wall, getting a look into someone else's life, read this book. You'll be rooting for both of them to find their way home.
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  • Kelly M
    5.0 out of 5 stars An author who knows how to explore the workings of the inner mind
    Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Carefully and believably crafted story of a memorable man and his son. It's the author's attention to detail and, more importantly, to inner emotions that make this story as special as it is. David Berner travels deep into the depths of the human psyche and really explores what makes the characters tick. Most readers can relate to some part of the emotional elements of the story. There is young unrequited love...there is an honest and binding love...there are characters who are real and flawed...and everything centers on the love between a father and son and the journey their lives take them on.
    One person found this helpful
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  • CriticalEye
    4.0 out of 5 stars All Roads Lead to Ourselves
    Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2020
    Artistry without artifice. Berner finds the soul within and lays it bare, and in the process he reveals the essential humanity of his characters. His writing grows stronger and richer with every outing.
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  • Richard W. Wise, Author:: Redlined: A Boston Novel
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Coming of Age and a meditation of living
    Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    David Berner's Things Behind The Sun is a, in one sense, a coming of age novel. In another it is a meditation on life. The narrative is filled with wisdom, simply stated.
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  • N. N. Light
    5.0 out of 5 stars Written by a gifted author...
    Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2020
    When is a road book not a road book? When is a story a journey but also the journey is the story? Is the road being traveled the key or is just traveling on a road the key?

    This book leaves the reader with many interpretive questions. Undoubtedly this book shines as a stunning modern Kerouac. Written by a gifted author this book simply flows like a river running its natural course.

    This is a book about Chase and his journey. This is also a book about Martin and his journey, Emily and her journey, Madison and her journey and in some ways Huck and his journey. It is impossible to assign value to which journey is more important. All of them intersect.

    The reader is left with the indelible concept that life is the journey. If you face questions about life, read this book. This can't help but take your mind off your issues and even show that the important part is simply carrying on.

    A book for every fan of Kerouac and every person who ever needed to just take a ride.

    Disclaimer: I received a copy from the author in the hopes I'd review it.

    My Rating: 5 stars
    One person found this helpful
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  • Pat
    5.0 out of 5 stars Meaningful and memorable story of a man and his adopted son.
    Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2020
    Format: Paperback
    I loved this story, and I loved the characters. Chase is a seventeen-year-old boy with the customary baggage of many boys that age, but more so because he has been raised by Martin. Martin is not Chase's father, but had been a close friend of his mother, who died shortly after Chase was born, asking Martin to adopt and raise her son. Martin is a good guy, and has done so to the best of his ability, sacrificing some of his personal ambitions. He has told Chase the circumstances of his birth, but Chase, and the reader, suspect there is more to know.

    In the summer prior to Chase's final year in high school, Chase and Martin embark on an open-ended road trip, with no particular destination in mind. The stated purpose was for Martin and his adopted son to repair the bonds that have come between them. Chase agrees to go with Martin, but he has an agenda that has nothing to do with the roads traveled, and, it turns out, so does Martin.

    As the two drive through much of Western United States, Berner lets you into the point of view not only of Chase and Martin but also of other minor characters. The book is so good because the reader cares deeply about both characters, and because we understand their goodness as well as their faults, and love them for both. We can easily put ourselves into the place of either character and root for him. Minor characters are treated with the same sensitivity.

    Read Things Behind the Sun. You won't be sorry.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Christopher Smargie
    5.0 out of 5 stars It's not the miles that count, but the destination
    Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2020
    David W. Berner doesn’t employ any of the cheap tricks of sensationalist writers—no murders, no evil villains, no vampires, no rogue spaceships, no cheap blood-and-gore—and yet he writes a compelling story, about people who are just like you and me, your family, your neighbors, your village, and he makes it a page-turner, because he enables the reader like me to care, to embrace the people in his story. Chase and Martin, Emily and Madison, Jordan and Henry, and a surprise in every chapter. The reader can take this road-trip right along with these ordinary folks and discover that he or she can’t help but be pulling for them and wondering what will happen next, to them and for them. But the story keeps on taking twists and turns you never saw coming. I defy you to guess ahead of time where it’s all headed. And when you do get to the end, you’ll know the road-trip was worth it. That’s master-craftsman level story-telling, and I admire David W. Berner for that. He has turned me into a fan, and I intend to go straight out and acquire the rest of his books, starting with more fiction and more memorable memoirs.
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Manumit
    5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful and emotionally charged.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 8, 2020
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    'Things Behind the Sun', is an emotionally charged story, set amongst stunning American scenery. It follows the struggle between an angst-ridden teenager's bid for the freedom to find himself and a honourable man coming to terms with letting his son go after fulfilling a promise to a dying friend. This lyrical and moving story is a most welcome sequel and a must read for anyone who has read Berner's, 'A Well Respected Man'. However, that said, this wonderful and engaging story stands alone. Highly recommended
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  • Lizzy
    4.0 out of 5 stars A story of self-discovery
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 17, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Martin adopted his son Chase seventeen years ago when the woman he loved died. Although he tried his best, the relationship between father and son is strained. Martin believes a road trip could solve their problems, but Chase is indecisive about his future. Will he run? Or will the two finally reconnect?

    This book is an emotional coming of age story that emphasizes the struggle of growing up and understanding who you are. Chase doesn't have the full picture of who his birth parents were and, as a result, feels incomplete. This foundation of the book makes a great setting for the story. It sets up the journey of self-discovery Chase goes on with Martin.
    The moments of awkwardness and uncertainty between the two bring the characters to life and makes it easier to relate to the story. The dynamic between father and son is realistic and, the natural progression the two make with each other through the chapters sets a great pace for the book.

    There is quite a significant plot twist later in the book that I loved. I thought it inspired a lot more emotional investment and, it makes you feel for the characters. The ability the author has to convey the emotions of the characters is intense. It does, however, help emphasize the self-discovery aspect of the book and helps you connect to the story.

    The ending of the book is satisfying, and the story gets wrapped up nicely. The remaining questions are answered, and you're left with the idea that the characters have grown and matured on their journey. I definitely recommend reading Things Behind The Sun because it's a brilliant coming of age story.
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