The Days I Loved You Most

Neff debuts with a moving story of love and mortality centered on an octogenarian couple’s decision to end their lives. Evelyn and Joseph have spent decades running a bed-and-breakfast in the Connecticut beach town where they fell in love back in the 1940s. Now it’s summer 2001, and they’ve invited their three children home to share upsetting news: Evelyn has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, and the couple plan to die by suicide together one year from now, before the disease overtakes her. The children object, preferring to have more time with their parents, and emotions run high during the visit. Old wounds open for Jane, the oldest, who ran away as a teen in the ’70s after a misunderstanding with her mother (the complex and twisty subplot involves a love triangle with a college-age employee at the bed-and-breakfast). Thomas, the middle child, has been facing fertility issues with his wife, and worries his parents will never have a chance to see his family grow; while Violet, who’s remained close to her parents and lives nearby, immediately begins to mourn them. Poignant revelations and dramatic turns ensue as the narrative alternates between the couple’s attempt to celebrate their lives over their last year and the story of their love’s origins during WWII, when Joseph served with Evelyn’s brother, who died in combat. Fans of The Notebook will gobble this up. (Aug.)