So Long, Chester Wheeler by Catherine Ryan Hyde is an uplifting contemporary novel about two very different people who find themselves thrown together in an unwanted relationship. The story begins in Buffalo, New York.
Lewis Madigen, 24, is suddenly laid off from his job as a software developer. As if that isn’t bad enough, his live-in boyfriend has suddenly moved out of their rental house, left the state, and absconded with their joint funds.
Chester Wheeler, Lewis’s wheelchair-bound, cantankerous neighbor, is a constant source of irritation. He hurls homophobic insults to Lewis every chance he gets. Chester has worn through a number of caretakers—no one can stand to be around him. His daughter Ellie is with him at the present time, but now she has a problem. Her out-of-state daughter is about to give birth and Ellie very much wants to be with her. Ellie approaches Lewis with a proposition that he be her father’s temporary caregiver. Lewis certainly doesn’t need the aggravation, but he does need the money. He reluctantly agrees.
Their time together is as bad as Lewis predicted it would be. Chester complains about everything. Nothing Lewis does is right. To make matters even worse, Chester insists that Lewis drive them to Arizona in Chester’s beat-up Winnebago to see his ex-wife for the first time in thirty-two years. Chester is dying of cancer. How can Lewis deny a terminally ill old man his dying wish? Chester’s daughter has offered to pay for the cost of the trip if Lewis would be willing to do it.
On the road, cooped up in the Winnebago, is miserable. The two bicker constantly. But then a glimmer of hope surfaces and what follows is testimony to the value of recognizing another’s viewpoint, and offering and accepting forgiveness.
Catherine Ryan Hyde has done it again. Her scope of understanding the human condition shines through as she tackles the complications of being gay, and the tragedy of nearing the end of life in bitterness and defeat. This story rings true on so many levels: an extremely difficult person nearing life’s end, a vulnerable gay young man, a troubled family that needs mending. So Long, Chester Wheeler, appropriate for teens and adults, is rich in wisdom and tolerance.