The Song of Daniel Hardback - 1989

Philip Lee Williams makes the tale of a cemetery groundskeeper come alive with his lyrical storytelling.
In the tradition of his award-winning novel The Heart of a Distant Forest, Philip Lee Williams give us another lyrical and compassionate tale, and his most fascinating protagonist to date.
The Song of Daniel is a story of innocence, of a young man who has pushed away his darkest memories to live a simple life as a groundskeeper in a cemetary. Daniel exults in his world and in a few close friends at the trailer park, where he lives with his beloved dog Toggle. Daniel's world is changed when he meets Rebecca Gentry, an English professor at a university near the cemetary. Rebecca, recently divorced, self-absorbed and cynical, is struggling to write the life of a poet she cannot fully understand.
Rebecca and Daniel are both transformed when they meet, each bringing gifts of joy and sorrow to their days. But a shattering experience from years' past comes back into Daniel's life, threatening both his new love and his happiness. Finally, in a complex clash of innocence and experience, Daniel's childlike life becomes clear and Rebecca discovers a long hidden part of herself-and the key to the poet who so fascinated and eluded her.
This is a story about homeplace, about love and loss of family, about an innocent man's journey towards experience. Williams, a masterful storyteller, has once again written a beautiful and deeply moving novel.