Imagine Me Gone
When Margaret's fiancée, John, is hospitalized for depression in 1960s London, she must decide whether to continue with their plans or step away from the suffering she now knows. She chooses to marry him, and the novel traces the consequences of that choice for their family over decades. At the story's center is their eldest son, Michael, a brilliant, anxious music fanatic who makes sense of the world through parody.
Michael's younger siblings—Celia, who is savvy and responsible, and Alec, who is ambitious and tightly controlled—struggle alongside their mother to care for Michael's increasingly troubled and precarious existence. The narrative is told in alternating points of view by all five family members.
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Book details
- Publisher
- Little, Brown and Company
- Publication date
- May 3, 2016
- Print length
- 369 pages
- Language
- English
- ISBN
- 9780316261364
Gay Fiction + Genre Fiction + LGBTQ+ Fiction
What to Know Before Reading Imagine Me Gone
Margaret's choice to marry John after his hospitalization places mental illness and caregiving at the center of family life. The book follows five narrators across decades, so the focus stays on personal relationships, sibling obligations, and a parent's devotion. Michael's anxiety and musical obsessions shape many family decisions, while Celia and Alec take on different caregiving roles. Emotional pressure and long-term strain on everyday life drive the unfolding conflicts.
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About the author
Adam Haslett
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