''One of the great American authors at work today'' New York TimesONE OF THE NEW YORKER''S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEARIt is 1951. The close-knit community of Blowing Rock, North Carolina, does not welcome those who are different.Jacob Hampton''s wealthy parents disinherited him when he married Naomi, an uneducated hotel maid. Now Jacob has been called up to fight in Korea, leaving a pregnant Naomi behind. The only person he can trust to take care of her is his lifelong friend, Blackburn Gant. Blackburn, who tends the local cemetery, is an outsider too, his appearance irrevocably altered by childhood disease.Slowly the two outcasts grow closer and as they await news of Jacob''s return, a terrible, shattering act of deception derails all their lives. But no secret can stay hidden for ever.Tender and luminous with truth, The Caretaker is a riveting story about the bonds of friendship, the contradictions of family and what it really means to love.