| All That Matters tells the alternating and entwined stories of fifty-three years in the life of Irene Zablocki and one week in the life of her grandson, David Socha. In the tumult following World War II, Irene marries John F. McCabe Jr. and dedicates herself to creating the perfect family, a goal she continues to pursue even after John's death. In the summer of 2001, David, aged 29, reluctantly returns home to visit what remains of that family, reflecting on the tragedies that drove them apart: the violence between him and his father, the death of his grandmother, and the incarceration of his brother. Both protagonists make discoveries about the nature of being an individual within a family, and each reverses course: Irene dies feeling more alone than she ever thought she could, and David realizes that he has never been as alone as he thought he was. |
