A beautifully written novel about memory, courage, and redemption told through the life of a man who has lived through the best and worst of the twentieth century.  In Carry Me Across the Water, Ethan Canin crafts a luminous and deeply human portrait of one man’s journey through war, love, and aging.
 
August Kleinman, an aging World War II veteran and successful businessman, reflects on the pivotal moments that shaped his life — from his youth in prewar Brooklyn to his time as a soldier in the Pacific and his later years as a husband and father. Through letters, memories, and the shifting tides of time, he comes to terms with his past and the legacy he leaves behind.
 
Told in Canin’s elegant, understated prose, August Kleinman’s story unfolds as a meditation on courage, morality, and forgiveness. His wartime experiences and postwar ambitions collide with the choices he made as a husband and father — and the regrets that linger. As his life nears its close, he revisits his memories, seeking meaning and peace amid the contradictions of a complex century.
 
Evocative and tender, this is literary fiction at its most graceful — a novel that explores how memory, family, and redemption define the human heart.
 
💖 Why You’ll Love It
Rich, introspective storytelling by a master of literary fiction.
Explores love, war, and the passage of time with emotional precision.
Perfectly blends historical and personal reflection.
Thoughtful, poetic prose ideal for reflective readers.
Deeply moving story of legacy and reconciliation.
 
🌟 Perfect For
Fans of All the Light We Cannot See and Atonement.
Readers who enjoy literary and historical fiction.
Book clubs exploring aging, family, and memory.
Those who appreciate quiet, profound storytelling about the human spirit.
 
❤️ Fans Also Liked
If you enjoyed Carry Me Across the Water, you might also like:
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro — quiet reflection and duty across a lifetime.
Atonement by Ian McEwan — memory, guilt, and redemption after war.
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles — elegance and ambition in 20th-century America.