The irresistible part of Josh Henkin’s The World Without You is the drama that unfolds out of the sheer ordinary. No one person in the Frankel family does anything extraordinary or over-the-top or unbelievable – all the experiences related are touchable, available and easy to be empathic with. Which is what makes this book so wonderful.

Henkins has taken the Frankels to the family’s summer house for the Fourth of July holiday for the memorial service to celebrate the first anniversary of the death of Leo, the much loved “baby” of the family who was killed reporting on the war in Iraq. Leo’s death has captured each family member at a time of change – ordinary change – and has magnified the significance of that change through the grief and forced proximity of family during the time just prior to the memorial service. The actual memorial service acts like a cork popping from a champagne bottle and somehow releases the family to finally move through their respective changes and move forward.

Each character in the story is so well developed and believable that at times the story virtually walks off the page and onto a stage. The very ordinary nature of the drama brings a depth to the story that is refreshing. Once the memorial service ends, it’s a relief to know that each Frankel family member will have the orbits of their respective worlds restored.

The World Without You has a little bit of all the parts of life – sibling rivalry from the very young through to the mature adult, in-law friction and complexities, love, hurt, birth, death, sex, marriage, divorce, faith and doubt. It’s all packed into three intense days. My only disappointment with this read is that once the final page was turned, I had to say