This is an auction for THE SMALLEST COLOUR by Bill Roorbach.

“Coop Henry is a champion skier, a complacent husband settling into middle age, and a son burdened by a terrible secret: 30 years ago, at the height of the Vietnam War, Coop's older brother Hodge disappeared after bombing an airplane factory. Coop has told everyone that his brother is dead, but his parents suspect that Hodge is alive and are demanding to see him before their 50th wedding anniversary celebration. Only Coop and his wife, Madeline, know what really happened, and they have sworn never to reveal the truth. The burden of the secret threatens Coop's marriage, costs him a plum job as U.S. Ski Team coach, strains his relationship with his parents, and complicates a budding romance with a younger woman. Author of an award-winning short-story collection, Big Bend, and two works of nonfiction, Roorbach deftly weaves together Coop's past and present lives in alternating chapters as he remembers the summer of 1969, his own teenage rebellion against his parents, and his lingering feelings of guilt over his role in the events that led to his brother's vanishing. This first novel brilliantly and compassionately recalls the turbulence of the Sixties as well as the violent yet idealistic fringes of the anti-War movement. Highly recommended.”

• Library Journal (US)

Very favourable reviews on Amazon.com.

Paperback 2003.

325 pages.

Very good condition.

The cost of shipping is $6.95.

There is of course no charge for shipping if you collect this book from my shop in Palmerston North following the auction.

Payment within seven days, please.