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bhnmt61's review
4.0
Beautifully written, elegiac— all the wonderful things you can say about the memoir of a beloved spouse, please say them here. Her sorrow is tangible, and it's often a heartbreaking read.
But it was all so idealized. It was difficult for me to connect with her experience because she describes Ficre as a paragon, and their marriage as a long series of perfect dinners and blissful moments of total rapport. Didn't they ever argue about what temperature the bedroom should be? or whose turn it was to empty the dishwasher? Some affectionate, wry amusement about his various foibles would have made this seem much more real to me.
Still, it's a lovely book, and I was often moved while reading it. I've changed my rating back and forth from three to four stars several times now, three because I had a hard time sticking with it once I figured out it was an extended eulogy rather than a real memoir, four because the writing is occasionally just jaw-droppingly lovely. I'm sticking with four because there's no doubt it's a cri de coeur, a cry--even a wail--straight from the heart.
But it was all so idealized. It was difficult for me to connect with her experience because she describes Ficre as a paragon, and their marriage as a long series of perfect dinners and blissful moments of total rapport. Didn't they ever argue about what temperature the bedroom should be? or whose turn it was to empty the dishwasher? Some affectionate, wry amusement about his various foibles would have made this seem much more real to me.
Still, it's a lovely book, and I was often moved while reading it. I've changed my rating back and forth from three to four stars several times now, three because I had a hard time sticking with it once I figured out it was an extended eulogy rather than a real memoir, four because the writing is occasionally just jaw-droppingly lovely. I'm sticking with four because there's no doubt it's a cri de coeur, a cry--even a wail--straight from the heart.
dinasamimi's review against another edition
4.0
It is unimaginable to lose the love of your life. Alexander not only bears the unimaginable but delivers the most perfect, poetic remembrance. This is such a beautiful meditation on love, life, marriage, parenthood, community, grief and self-discovery -- worth your time.
ozm's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
5.0
The only bad thing about this book is that it ends.