Virgil Wander by Leif Enger

It was snowing out and Virgil drove off a bridge.  He would have been down at the bottom in his car if a man hadn't been scavenging on the bank and saved him.  He still has some problems with words and thoughts, but he's alive.

Grove Press and Edelweiss allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It has been published and you can buy a copy now.

Virgil lives in a fairly small town where everybody knows everyone else.  When he finds a stranger in town, he introduces himself.  Rune is an older man who builds kites and who came to town to find a son he didn't know he had.  The son is dead but the wife and his grandson are still here.  He invites Rune to share his apartment.  It will be warmer than his camper.  They soon become good friends.

Between trying to keep a young man from drowning himself on a sturgeon that killed his father, to opening a theater that runs a loss, to watching the man next door so he doesn't commit suicide, Virgil is busy.  And he'd like to stir up a love interest, too, but he's cautious...

This is all small town snoopy and small town take-care-of-you.  There's a lot of love in this town as well as plenty of odd characters.  This tale will keep you amused.