So Long, See You TomorrowSo Long, See You Tomorrow
Score Classic
What it's about
An old man remembers a winter in 1920s Illinois, soon after his mother died, when he was lonely and became friends with a farm boy named Cletus. Then a scandal ended it: Cletus's father murdered a neighbor and killed himself. Years later, the narrator passed Cletus in a high school hallway in Chicago and didn't say a word, and he has never forgiven himself.
Why it's worth reading
It won the National Book Award and was a Pulitzer finalist. It's short, perfect and heartbreaking, about grief and regret.
You'll love it if you liked
A Death in the Family
Gilead
A Month in the CountryGood to know
It's only about 130 pages. Part of it imagines the story from a dog's point of view.
By the numbers
- Readers15 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics87 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller10 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #91 of the 116 historical novels we rank
- #471 of the 762 classics we rank
- #1640 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Gripping, Moving
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Quick answers
Is So Long, See You Tomorrow worth reading?
Yes. It won the National Book Award and was a Pulitzer finalist. It ranks #1,640 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 67.1 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is So Long, See You Tomorrow about?
An old man remembers a winter in 1920s Illinois, soon after his mother died, when he was lonely and became friends with a farm boy named Cletus. Then a scandal ended it: Cletus's father murdered a neighbor and killed himself. Years later, the narrator passed Cletus in a high school hallway in Chicago and didn't say a word, and he has never forgiven himself.
How long does it take to read So Long, See You Tomorrow?
About 4 hours (152 pages), or about 8 days at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has So Long, See You Tomorrow won?
National Book Award (Fiction) winner (1982).
What should I read after So Long, See You Tomorrow?
If you liked it, try A Death in the Family by James Agee, Gilead by Marilynne Robinson or A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr.