Sonny Brewer

The Poet of Tolstoy Park Sonny Brewer

Set in the 1920s, Sonny Brewer's novel tells of a latter day Henry Thoreau, who settled in Fairhope, Alabama.
Brewer chronicles the real-life journey of Henry Stuart, who, in 1925 at the age of 67, is diagnosed with "consumption" and told he only has a year to live. Henry decides to leave his home in Idaho and bid his two grown sons and best friend goodbye before his decline begins. Henry chooses a small plot of land in Fairhope, Alabama, as his final residence, and he corresponds with a man named Peter Stedman in order to get the supplies to build a house. On the train to Alabama, Henry gives his shoes away to a porter and determines to live out the rest of his days in solitude. But life might have other plans for him: on the final leg of his journey he meets a friendly school-teacher named Kate, and Peter also seeks to develop a rapport with Henry. Henry tries to shut them all out until one life-altering night gives him a new perspective.