Summary
After a car accident in a remote area, the life of ninety-one-year-old Ira Levinson, an elderly widower, becomes connected with Sophia Danko, a college student, and Luke Collins, a cowboy she loves. The story is told from the viewpoints of these three characters as they live their lives separately and together.
Ira, who is in poor health, struggles to stay awake. He remains alert only because he sees images of his late wife, Ruth, who helps him remember their shared life, including how they met, the art they collected, and their experiences during World War II.
At the same time, Sophia, a student at Wake Forest College, meets Luke, a daring bull rider. Luke is unlike anyone she has ever known, and together they experience both the happiness of love and the challenges of his dangerous job.
Two couples with very different lives will find their paths crossing in a meaningful and unexpected way.
Black Mountain College
The book was inspired by Black Mountain College (1933–1957), a school that taught a variety of subjects. The college’s teachers included many well-known artists from the modern art movement. Art styles mentioned in the book include Abstract Expressionism, Futurism, Bauhaus, Cubism, and Lyrical Abstractionism.
The story of characters Ira and Ruth Levinson begins with their visit to Black Mountain College during their honeymoon. They met students and artists at an exhibition held at the school. Ira purchased six paintings for Ruth, which marked the start of collecting over a thousand paintings focused on 20th-century American modern art. Artists featured in the book include Ken Noland, Ray Johnson, Robert Rauschenberg, Elaine de Kooning, Willem de Kooning, Susan Weil, Pat Passlof, Jackson Pollock, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, and Pablo Picasso.
Film
A movie based on a story was released by 20th Century Fox on April 10, 2015. George Tillman Jr. directed the film, and Craig Bolotin adapted the screenplay. Britt Robertson plays Sophia Danko. Oona Chaplin portrays Ruth. Scott Eastwood plays Luke Collins. Jack Huston is Young Ira. Barry Ratcliffe is the Auctioneer. Alan Alda plays Older Ira. Filming began on June 16, 2014, in Wilmington, Jacksonville, and Winston-Salem, North Carolina.