I’ve never understood the idea of a beach read. When we finally have the time and attention span for a more fulfilling book, why are we then supposed to read something idiotic? Padgett Powell’s Edisto, which takes place within sight of a beach, isn’t a difficult read—it’s propulsive and written with a light hand—but it’s also rife with all those harder topics that make a book worthwhile.

The story of a boy and his surrogate father, the novelist Walker Percy once said that Edisto was a better than Catcher in the Rye. I waffle on this contention because comparing books with each other is a difficult thing. Most of the time, however, I agree.

The book was re-released this year by FSG Classics.

Meakin Armstrong

Meakin Armstrong is Senior Fiction Editor at Guernica. He is a ghostwriter, essayist, fiction writer, and journalist — and has been published in a wide variety of journals. You can follow him on Twitter at @meakinarmstrong.

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