Stewart O'Nan is a master of the small, deep book. He writes about ordinary people, people no one would ever care about, but gives them such richness and depth. I really enjoy his small, quiet books, and often recommend his books to someone who wants a satisfying read. Outwardly, nothing much happens, but everything happens below the surface.

The author returns to the Maxwell family in this story about the husband/father Henry. It is his perspective on the 20th century where he is both bewildered and has many regrets. It is an interesting contemplation of an ordinary everyman.

We have this book at the library and the patrons really seem to like it. I thought it was a charming book with wonderful characters. This book is a little slow but is a complete treasure.

Henry, Himself is typical of many Stewart O'Nan novels. That is to say nothing very much seems to happen but everything happens because in O'Nan's work everything is about what happens to the characters. You can't help but realize that in these so-called ordinary lives there are moments of the extraordinary and that people can surprise any expectations you might have or think you have.

Henry, Himself is a work to be savored. It's brilliant, it's thoughtful, and it's an outstanding novel. Very highly recommended.

I didn’t get it at first, the charm of this quiet novel about an aging man. It started to sink in about a quarter of the way that this ordinary man, Henry Maxwell was an American hero. Of course, not the kind that receives a “Ticker Tape Parade” up Broadway in New York City. (Yes, they’re still done, using confetti. Last one was in 2015.)
Henry represents the sort of man that was often called the backbone of this country. He fought in WWII, came home, got married and earned his degree on the GI Bill, while raising two kids with his wife, Emily. He went to work for one company until he retired. He went to work every day, supported his family, took care of his home, helped his neighbors and went to church every Sunday. He did what he thought was right and what was expected of him. Surely, if his parents were still alive, they would be proud of the man he had become, now approaching his 75th birthday.
However, as Henry looks around he wondered what his life has really meant, and if it has really mattered. He’s just an ordinary guy, no one special, there are tons of guys like him all over this country. He hadn’t accomplished anything significant, had he?
This is where I disagree with Henry. First, we need all the Henry’s we can get in our world today. Second, I adored immersing myself in Henry’s so-called, hum-drum, daily life. He and Emily are dependable, hard-working people. I am fortunate to have the real-deal in my own family. My older sister and her husband are well into their late seventies, married over fifty-seven years, with adult children and grandchildren. He served in the Navy, they both worked every day of their lives until recently, and they’re never idle. My sister cooks dinner every night often with their kids dropping over a few times a week. They go to church every Sunday and every holiday is celebrated at their house. They are my idols, my mentors.
Henry Maxwell and his family, in a novel, have real-life comparisons all over this country, and we are so lucky to have them. They’re aging now and all of us, our children, and their children will need to take over for them. I hope we’re up to it and can do a good a job as they did. Henry is concerned that everything is changing, from his neighborhood to his once toned, healthy body and mind. But he looks forward to each day with Emily and his family, holding on to hope for the future. Really, it’s all we all have.
I highly recommend this book to everyone. Make the best of every day we are given!


Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Group Viking, and Stewart O’Nan

Although I found this book a little slow in the beginning I soon felt my heart grow with the characters. I will definitely be reading Stewart O'Nan's other books and recommending this to my library director for purchase

Henry, Himself is the perfect read for anyone who enjoyed A Man Called Ove, The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, or The Story of Arthur Truluv. Stewart O'Nan's books are popular at my Pittsburgh based library, so I expect this book will be popular here too!

When I started HENRY HIMSELF, Henry himself seemed familiar and then I realized that I had already met Henry and his family, the Maxwells in Stewart O'Nan's other 2 books about them. O'Nan makes the family memorable and compelling although nothing especially spectacular happens in their Pittsburgh home or Lake Chautauqua summer cottage.