What a truly unusual and creative book! It is the fictional memoir of 96 year old Isaac Dahl, who decides to write his life’s story by focusing in events in his life at eight year intervals. which provide twelve discrete chapters. Isaacs begins his story at age eight when he and his twin sister , Aggie , survive an avalanche in an upside down bathtub. We then get a bird’s eye view of, Aggie and best friend Bo , throughout their lives. And they lived through plenty, as do most people.

The book takes us through the days of the Dust Bowl, a battleship in WWII, the testing of atomic weapons in the desert, the fight for Civil Rights in the USA, the scourge of AIDS in the 1980s, growing up gay in a country where being gay wasn’t accepted and so much more. Each of the twelve discrete chapters highlights an important issue of the time, and how Isaac’s life was impacted.

Beautifully written with passion, humor, and a deep understanding of the human condition , The Very Long Life of Isaac Dahl was a treat from beginning to end. I will be watching for upcoming books written by Bart Yates. Four dancing stars for a book that was published this week on July 23, 2024. Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books/ John Scognamiglio for an advance readers copy in exchange for my review.

A life told in twelve chapters, each lengthy, going into rich, (mostly) descriptive (that’s not even really fair to say, as the chapters were as detailed as the author saw fit to write even if I wanted more at some chapters. With awful acts of nature and man in each, by the time I was reading chapter three, I wondered if perhaps I’d made an awful this-is-going-to-possibly-be-not-good-for-my-mental-health-comfort-level-regarding-consumerable-media mistake. The kind that makes me wonder if I should just stop reading, because although this story is gorgeously written and I really want to know what happens to Isaac and all the other characters, it’s still wrecking me.

This is one of those books - I can already tell that I’ll appreciate this book even more in the future. This wasn’t an easy read for me, not at all, but it was a beautiful one. As a reader of history and historical fiction, I greatly appreciated and respected the research Mr Yates put in (as I’m sure you’ve quite possibly experienced yourself, not every author does and it bothers me each time). The result of this combined with the author’s terrific storytelling talent was an engrossing tale that I didn’t want to stop reading.

Content warnings abound and tissues will be necessary and you will likely continue to think about it, but this story was gorgeous, and if your own mental wellbeing is in a good place, I recommend this.



Thank you to A John Scognamiglio Book and NetGalley for the DRC

Isaac Dahl’s story begins at 8, sitting beside his sister following their bath. Their mother shushes them, listening for the giant outside their snowy mountainside home is Utah.
 
And though it begins like a child’s fable, it is nothing short of a deeply affecting book of love, loss, and the passage of time. Both intimate and sweeping, it’s a swirling of fact and fiction into the most interesting saga of 12 days in the life of a man.

Each chapter is spaced 8 years apart, focusing on a different event in Isaac’s life, from childhood through old age. When we last hear from Isaac, he is 96.
 
The author’s note for this one is interesting and I urge you not to miss it when you finish (and wipe the tears from your eyes). He speaks of how he had a sketch, an idea of how it would go: a story of a boy, told in increments, who becomes a journalist and thus travels the world, experiencing everything. But then side characters who were meant to give color to the narrative demand more attention, and so we also dive deeply into the lives of Aggie, his twin sister, and Bo, their neighbor and best friend.

We join Isaac as he survives living in the dustbowl, marching with Black students attending white schools in Mississippi, the AIDs crisis, time on a battleship, finding love in Italy, and so much more.
 
I think what I loved best is that it didn’t feel special until I realized that it was so incredibly special. When I couldn’t put it down because now Isaac was 32, now 40, now 48 - and what comes next?

He’s such a lovely man - not a curmudgeon, not a cad - a man who loves and teases, laughs and argues, fights and falls. He is every man but he is also unlike anyone else. And I was deeply invested in his life.

I don’t know what else to say without spoilers, so I would encourage you to take an afternoon and read this ever so lovely book. At less than 300 pages, you won’t believe the emotional punch it packs.

Thanks to @netgalley and @kensingtonbooks for the early audiobook to read and review. This one comes out July 23, 2024.

What a beautiful book!! The author takes us in a journey exploring Isaac's life, a son of Swidish immigrants in the United States. Throughout the book you'll fall in love with him and the other characters. We get to know Isaac in very specific events of his life, some very personal and some others describing real historical events, which are I must say, not very often talked about in books.
The Very Long, Very Strange Life of Isaac Dahl, is a book beautifully written and it's a story you would definitely enjoy.

This is an unconventional autobiography of Isaac Dahl, where he chooses one day every eight years to write about. Some days are about natural disasters, like the avalanche that killed his parents and baby sister; some are to do with major historical events, like school desegregation in Mississippi; and some are just him being with friends and family.

Despite only getting to truly see twelve days of Isaac's life, I do feel like we truly got to know him as a person. The side characters were also all well-developed.

CW: death of parents, death of a child, avalanche, tornado, earthquake, death of a pet horse, war, dementia, off-page cancer deaths, violence against children, racism, KKK, hate crimes, AIDS, one use of the N-word. Some chapters were definitely more tame than others.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

Bart Yates' The Very Long, Very Strange Life of Isaac Dahl is an extraordinary exploration of identity and the human experience. With a perfect blend of humor and heart, Yates crafts a compelling narrative that draws readers into Isaac's wonderfully eccentric world.

Isaac is a beautifully developed character, navigating life’s challenges with a unique perspective that makes him both relatable and memorable. Yates’ prose is sharp and witty, infusing the story with depth while tackling themes of belonging and self-discovery.

The plot is rich with unexpected twists, keeping readers engaged from start to finish. While some moments may feel a bit meandering, they often add to the overall charm and complexity of the narrative.

Overall, this novel is a delightful and thought-provoking read that lingers long after the final page. Yates has crafted a captivating story that is sure to resonate with anyone looking for a mix of whimsy and profound insight.

"Don't fret if an occasional memory isn't historical earthshaking; ordinary moments often resonate thr most."

Told in twelve chapters are twelve days of the life of 96 year old Isaac Dahl. Spanning from 1926 to 2014 this a quiet, unassuming, yet absolutely captivating and profound novel of perseverance, friendship, and love.

This boom begins with the story of how Isaac and his twin sister, Agnes (Aggie), barely survive an avalanche in Utah that leaves them orphans. ,

Individual stories from singular days on a military ship during war in the Java Sea to civil rights era Mississippi to a vineyard in Napa, California are told with great clarity and offer an insightful look at history.

There are so many beautiful stories and characters here. Isaac's lifelong friend Bo and his son. Isaac's niece and nephew. Isaac's unbreakable bond with his sister. Snipits of life with various colleagues and lovers. There is not a single chapter of this book that will not steal your soul.

I sincerely thank the author and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. It was truly breathtaking and I cannot sing it's praises loud enough.

The story of Isaac's life is told in chapters that key on events that happened to him and the world every eight years-beginning when he was 8-until this present when he's 96 and thinking about his past. His twin sister Aggie and best friend Bo are with him for much of it. I liked how Yates was able to incorporate the personal with the global and how we saw Isaac grow in personality and confidence. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Strange? No. Fascinating life? Undeniably😍

What a wonderful novel, weaving real natural disasters and historic events over almost a century into the lives of a devoted, close family. The way Isaac Dahl and his twin sister Agnes's family survived ( for the most part), loved and thrived over his 96 years really provided the emotional backbone for a fascinating story. Isaac loses many friends and family members along the course of his long life, but I could feel the emotional bond that never left long after they were only memories.

Besides The Great Dust Bowl of the 1930's, earthquake, tornado and avalanche, Isaac endures a harrowing naval and air attack during WWII, a reportage stint in Vietnam, a bloody civil rights confrontation in Mississippi, and the horror of the rising AIDS epidemic touching a loved one. There's just such a great plot and memorable characters. Even Isaac's twin sister, the most acerbic character of the bunch, is endearing in her grumpy inability to keep her critical thoughts to herself, even when going on a family outing to the movies. The verbal sparring between Isaac and Agnes lasts throughout their lives, but there was never any doubt in my mind that every word was a testament to their devotion.

I loved it and the style in which the narrative unfolds.

Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

I loved this book and Isaac Dahl so much. The format Bart Yates used was wonderful. He wove real-life historical moments with Isaac’s fictional ones seamlessly. We get twelve chapters of important events in Isaac’s life, in eight-year increments, starting when Isaac was just eight years old in the 1920s.

The book’s historical sections are impeccably researched and what I loved the most about the book is the fact that even things that aren’t monumental to everyone made it into Isaac’s important chapters. Yes, there was war, unbelievable natural disasters and other phenomena but we also get the mundane, like when Isaac’s great-nephew goes through puberty one winter weekend at the beach.

The chapters are long and I usually don’t prefer that but it was needed in the case to clearly understand why that part of Isaac’s life was so important for him to share. Yates’ writing style was so absorbing that the twenty-page chapters just flew by. The book itself is fairly short at 240 pages and I was so into it I read it in a couple of sittings. The pages are filled with love, history, loss, adventure and adversity. This book was everything. All. The Stars.

adventurous challenging dark funny informative reflective tense fast-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0

This book is a quirky literary historical fiction with a gay MC leading the way.
The story touches on historical events each about 8 years apart starting with the avalanche in Utah in 1926.
The book is a compelling read I couldn’t put it down.
History of the time period cover is heavy , it covers Aids pandemic and Mississippi & the klan. The author takes real moments in history of USA and places our mc at the heart of them.
I personally feel the writing shines the most in the historical moments like stonewall riots or the aids pandemic where our gay mc is the most impacted. The chapter civil rights feels awkward to have it told from a white perspective. I also wish the book showed our MC more impacted by the death of the African American children. However the MC is largely unaffected by most of the deaths in the book even his own mothers. The MC has a coldness which is covered with humour.
The book is a good archive of queerness in a historical context. The book contains no homophobia from the Mc inner circle his sister and Bo. They simply say his sister was fine with it “once she got over the shock of a naked” man on mattress.

MC has many moments of love throughout the novel, even an a gap romance at one stage.
The love between Mc and his twin sister is beautiful they both live this long life together with challenges and beauty. I cried towards the end of the novel because of how beautiful the love is between them.
The death of his sister Aggie and the things she writes in the notebook to him feels so authentic it’s not soppy it’s banter. I love this quote”Up until the last few days —when she had enough morphine in her system to sedate an ox —her prose remained distinctive, cogent, opinionated, funny and infuriating “
The book looks at the year that make up a long life and all the historical events that happen along the way.
The ‘strange’ is not unusual but rather how werid life can be and how you end up in so many unexpected places through so much chance.
I do think a lot of criticisms about the book is due to the lack of appropriate content warnings on the arc. This book is funny in a dark sense of humour way.
Graphic: Violence, War, and Racism
Moderate: Terminal illness

I didn't find very much of Isaac's life to be "very strange," aside from his propensity to involve himself in natural disasters, but this is an interesting, beautifully written, almost experimental novel about a man and the relationships that define him. Yates writes each elegiac chapter catching us up on what's happened since the last while exploring the small moments that make our lives memorable and special. It's not always exciting, but it's relatable and very human.

This book is the reason why there should be a secret 6 stars option on Goodreads.

Isaac Dahl is a famous reporter and writer, but you only learn that about him later in the story. This book tells the story of 12 very important days in his life, sometimes sad sometimes happy, starting from when he got trapped under a bathtub with his twin sisters in the middle of an avalanche.

This is a story about love and the people we love share our lives with.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC of this book.

This is a wonderful trip through the many changes in queer life in the 20th century, told through the story of one man. Bart Yates gives us a fine portrait of a gay man in the midwest, who is trying to be himself the best way he can.

the very long, very strange life of isaac dahl follows the life of our main character through snippets eight years apart. the format really did its job well as i was craving more of the characters in between each eight years and also felt like i knew them by heart and could see their lives in between. i loved the relationship between isaac and his entire family, but particularly his twin sister.

this story was the perfect mixture of heart, soul, and history and i loved it dearly.

many thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

This is the fictional memoir of a fictional renowned journalist told as a series of vignettes each 8 years apart starting with surviving an avalanche in 1926 at the age of 8. The titular Isaac, his sister, and their friend form a close trio that navigates the decades together, and their story is drawn from Isaacs's experiences with things such as surviving the dust bowl, being a reporter in WWII and barely escaping death, witnessing and then helping with school de-segregation in the south (note that this chapter is particularly hard to read as the hatred and violence come through very clearly), but also through less newsworthy days with family. The chapters/days combine to show a life of love, adventure, fear, family, and heartache. Part of the story is how Isaac navigates being gay in a world that slowly begins to accept this. But mostly it is a story of the closeness of his family which is the central thread of his life. The days he relates are engaging, the characters are well written and I flew through this book. I wish I had people like these or relationships like these in my life. I leave this book a little sad, a little jealous, and a lot like I want to go enjoy my life to the fullest.

A gentle book. Similar vibes as "Less" (https://www.amazon.com/dp/031631613X?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_4Z8P32NKBCE8FGZ84GVA&skipTwisterOG=2).

A weird writing style that I now love, the story of a man told in snippets, like sips of wine. A day, an event, we see our hero once every eight years. The day in his childhood when everything changes, a day when his adoptive family gets his heart broken, World War II, Civil Rights movement, everything moves on in between. Some days are dramatic, once-in-a-lifetime tragedies that we've all experienced, some are regular days that are so meaningful they help explain a life well lived.

I'm reminded of the lyrics to "Time Marches On" (https://genius.com/Tracy-lawrence-time-marches-on-lyrics), we see a photograph in the movie on life, and can guess how we got from Point A to B. The style allows a lot of flexibility that I didn't know I would appreciate so much.

I appreciate how things happen "off screen" but influence everything about our characters. Things from years ago still matter, sometimes. Sometimes we never get over that loss, that hurt, that triumph, and dwelling on the past can hurt so good sometimes. Sometimes those days are what defines us, and Yates does a good job finding those days for his characters. The events are a bit dramatic (several natural disasters), but the characters, they make the story. The love, the family they find and make and chose, make the story as wonderful and gentle as this.

A story read for the characters, the writing style breaks down any "plot" into something weird and squishy. But I'm a fan, and of course I'm not wondering what days define my life.

*4.5

I knew I would love this book the moment I read the plot. It’s great and funny but also sad in a way. It’s a fake memoir, when an eighty yo tells his life. He choose to tell us one day every eight years, the same day every eight years, and this is so interesting and moving. It’s funny how life chances, how everything chance in only eight years.
This book will remain with me forever. It’s poignant. You all should read it!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

Despite its title saying "Very Long", this book was just 195 pages, and an interesting quick read.

Isaac narrates his own story, and sometimes seem a bit of an unreliable narrator. Although, I suppose an old man gets a pass.

1934, Oklahoma. Isaac says, "I no longer believe in giants but I believe in Hell." That's extremely believable, actually. Dust Bowl Oklahoma is decidedly grim.

Isaac serves in the military and lives through more natural disasters than most people would ever dream. Again, I heard my grandfather's stories, so I'm not sure I entirely believe Isaac either.

I do, however, believe in Isaac's love for Aggie and Bo. "Few things on earth are more frightening than the possibility of love."

I think my favorite line, though, belongs to Bo: "Leave him be, Aggie. Believe it or not, not everything wrong with the world is Isaac's fault."

A quick read, a jaunt through history, through the eyes of an aged man, with a mix of quirky humor and deep sadness, family relationships and nostalgia. And 100% better than Forrest Gump.

I'd recommend reading this one with a book club! So many interesting conversations might be had!

"No teenager on earth can rival a cranky octagenarian for pigheadedness."

When a man waits until he is 96 years old to write his memoir, it could be very very long OR he could use one day in his life every eight years.

Isaac begins with a day when he was 8 years old and an avalanche upends his life. Isaac and his twin sister Agnes survive the avalanche in an upturned cast iron bath tub. That's when the adventure begins. One event after another - wars, jobs, family, best friends, love of his life. It was a fascinating tale.

At first I was confused by the every eight years part, but it made total sense. I was totally invested in Isaac, as well as Aggie and Bo. I would love to sit and have dinner with them. The humor is acerbic at times, but it works. I want Isaac to live on and have more adventures that I can read about.

I really recommend reading this book - you will get a bit of history, but a lot of character.

I was given this book by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.