But as he and Lila dig deeper into the circumstances of the crime, the stakes grow higher. Thread by thread, he begins to unravel the tapestry of Carl's conviction. Carl is a dying Vietnam veteranand a convicted murderer. Aided by his skeptical neighbor, Lila, Joe throws himself into uncovering the truth. There he meets Carl Iverson, and soon nothing in Joes life is ever the same. With only a few months to live, he has been medically paroled to a nursing home after spending thirty years in prison for the crimes of rape and murder.Īs Joe writes about Carl's life, especially Carl's valor in Vietnam, he cannot reconcile the heroism of the soldier with the despicable acts of the convict. There he meets Carl Iverson, and soon nothing in Joe's life is ever the same.Ĭarl is a dying Vietnam veteran-and a convicted murderer. Indiebound Amazon Barnes & Noble Books-a-Million Apple Books Audible. Carl Iverson is a dying Vietnam veteran - and a convicted murderer. With deadlines looming, he heads to a nearby nursing home. But in the end, it is the bond between Joe and his brother Jeremy that gives this novel its big (albeit tormented) heart. A USA Today and Publishers Weekly BestsellerA Library Journal Editor's PickAn Edgar Award Finalist for Best First NovelCollege student Joe Talbert has an assignment to interview a stranger and write a brief biography.

Writing about him, Joe cant reconcile the heroism of the soldier with the despicable. The Life We Bury is full of tension, twists and turns, and has a powerful, climactic ending sure to gratify. With deadlines looming, Joe heads to a nearby nursing home to find a willing subject. Carl Iverson is a dying Vietnam veteran - and a convicted murderer. His task is to interview a stranger and write a brief biography of the person. Not so much as the book itself but in the character Carl Iverson.

An ordinary writing assignment for a college English class brings Joe face-to-face with a dying Vietnam veteran, who is also a convicted murderer.Ĭollege student Joe Talbert has the modest goal of completing a writing assignment for an English class. This is extremely predominant in the The Life We Bury. A college assignment mires student Joe Talbert in the cold case of Carl Iverson, a man who spent 30 years in prison for rape and murder.

Carl iverson the life we bury