The End of the Alphabet

 The End of the Alphabet (2007) by C. S. Richardson is a gorgeous gem of a book with a fairly straightforward story. When Ambrose Zephyr is about fifty, he is diagnosed with an unspecified, terminal disease.  His doctor gives him a month (or thereabouts) to live.  Ambrose has always had a fascination with alphabets and travel.  When he was growing up, he would write to embassies and consulates requesting brochures about various countries and cities that interested him.  After receiving the shocking news from his doctor, he and his wife, Zipper (Zappora Ashkenazi), decide to travel in the time remaining to him. They will travel to a different place for every letter of the alphabet. Ambrose has it all planned--has already made his list from A to Z. Life, of course, is never as straightforward as we'd like and the plan has to be adjusted and then abandoned all together when Zipper sees that Ambrose is failing. So they head back home.

This is a touching and heart-breaking tale of love and loss and the nature of life and death.  It beautifully illustrates how two people can make the most of their time and it reminds us that we should live life to the fullest every day.  It shouldn't matter if we know how many days we have left.  If we lived as if today might be the last would it change how much we enjoy even the smallest of pleasures?  Would we seek out friends and loved ones more avidly--to share more of life with them?  It all too easy to get caught up in the struggle to make a living and to make ends meet and miss out on all the opportunities for pleasure and happiness. ★★★★★

First line: This story is unlikely.

Those who knew him described Ambrose Zephyr as a better man than most. Wanting a few minor adjustments, they would admit, but didn't we all. His wife described him as the only man she had loved. Without adjustment. (p. 9)

[about paintings/art]
Ambrose went back to looking. What he saw didn't need his mother going on about symbols and meanings and madness and genius, he thought. She knew a lot, but she didn't know when to stop complicating things. (p. 26)

She opened her journal and thought of writing. E is for Eiffel's tower, standing in Paris. L is for London and home. Z is for Zipper. T is for terrified. H is for hopeless. (p. 51)

Last line: This story is unlikely.