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goneabroad71's review against another edition
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
eggjen's review against another edition
3.0
I thought that the premise of this book was interesting and the POV was cleverly done but it was a bit slow and the jumping back and forth was occasionally tedious. liked but didn't love.
knunderb's review
challenging
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I really enjoyed Evison's writing. But to bill this as a lighthearted book is a total lie. Harriet lives her whole life in service to her husband at the expense of her own self-hood. When she finally is able to redeem herself from that, she dies, or at least seems to. this is a heavy book written in a lighthearted way. But that, in my opinion, didn't make it any less heavy. I also felt like Bernard's role was a little strange with him coming back as some sort of apparition. And the whole thing with the CTO in a purgatory-like location was confusing to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia and Rape
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, and Fatphobia
Minor: Emotional abuse
katykelly's review against another edition
4.0
Moving look at ageing, death, marriage and family.
Harriet is a fairly recent widow, and discovers her husband had tickets for an Alaskan cruise. She decides to use the tickets, and on board, finds not only a path back through her own life, but regular sightings of Bernard, who seems to have something he wants to tell her...
The story travels between Harriet's present, as an old lady, health beginning to fail, and the young Harriet - hopeful, career ahead of her, and the married Harriet with children for whom life is not all she had dreamed.
We see ambitions fade, children grow, lives taking directions nobody planned for. In other words - a real life lived before our eyes in a book. Harriet is an Everywoman, one for whom life has been passing by without her noticing, who has stopped and looked around and realised that things could have been different.
I could see some secrets unwinding, others were a surprise. I really enjoyed the inclusion of Bernard, especially his chapters from 'beyond the grave'.
It isn't confusing at all, I thought, to jump from past to present, the chapters are headed and the Harriets are very different people.
Seeing her past brought a lot more sympathy to the present, not always for Harriet, it filled out the picture of her whole family.
My favourite aspect of the book was the narration, the omniscient narrator of the past almost the voiceover for 'This is Your Life', talking to Harriet as if looking with her at old photos, an unusual technique. I thought it worked well. It made me feel as though we were looking in on scenes from her earlier life, then back to the present and the third person again. Cleverly done.
It's quite a sad story, one woman's life, loves and longings. It could be any of us. There is hope there, there is truth among the bittersweet recollections and heartache.
I really enjoyed this, it seemed heartfelt and the sort of book we could all do with reading and considering.
With thanks to Goodreads for the 'First Reads' Giveaway copy.
Harriet is a fairly recent widow, and discovers her husband had tickets for an Alaskan cruise. She decides to use the tickets, and on board, finds not only a path back through her own life, but regular sightings of Bernard, who seems to have something he wants to tell her...
The story travels between Harriet's present, as an old lady, health beginning to fail, and the young Harriet - hopeful, career ahead of her, and the married Harriet with children for whom life is not all she had dreamed.
We see ambitions fade, children grow, lives taking directions nobody planned for. In other words - a real life lived before our eyes in a book. Harriet is an Everywoman, one for whom life has been passing by without her noticing, who has stopped and looked around and realised that things could have been different.
I could see some secrets unwinding, others were a surprise. I really enjoyed the inclusion of Bernard, especially his chapters from 'beyond the grave'.
It isn't confusing at all, I thought, to jump from past to present, the chapters are headed and the Harriets are very different people.
Seeing her past brought a lot more sympathy to the present, not always for Harriet, it filled out the picture of her whole family.
My favourite aspect of the book was the narration, the omniscient narrator of the past almost the voiceover for 'This is Your Life', talking to Harriet as if looking with her at old photos, an unusual technique. I thought it worked well. It made me feel as though we were looking in on scenes from her earlier life, then back to the present and the third person again. Cleverly done.
It's quite a sad story, one woman's life, loves and longings. It could be any of us. There is hope there, there is truth among the bittersweet recollections and heartache.
I really enjoyed this, it seemed heartfelt and the sort of book we could all do with reading and considering.
With thanks to Goodreads for the 'First Reads' Giveaway copy.
laurenexploresbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Child abuse
holly_keimig's review
3.0
I really liked the format of this book. It is told in snippets from Harriet's life and skips back and forth in time with small clues peppered in that give you a better insight to what is going on currently in her life. She is taking an Alaskan cruise that her recently-deceased husband set up/won and slowly losing her mind as her past comes to haunt her present. There were moments of true sweetness and joy and she is able to repair some deep fissures in her and her daughter's relationship as the book moves forward, but the dark moments overshadowed some of this joy for me. The other people in her life are and were pretty terrible to her and although her dead husband is "appearing" to her, even he isn't seeming to seek redemption or forgiveness although he should. I kept waiting for the present-day Harriet to feel more of a sense of peace and I am not sure I ever sensed that she found that which was slightly hard for me. Overall, an interesting format and worth a read, but watch out for dark portions if you are sensitive to those.
booksconnectus's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed the voice and style of this quirky,lovable book. Lots of humor amidst this story of a family struggling with many of the things a lot of us with aging parents are dealing with. Also a commentary on mother-daughter relationships generationally and how words said and unsaid can shape an entire life.
janewhitehurst's review against another edition
4.0
Jonathan Evison's writing is so effective, he made a story about an 89 year old widow intriguing, interesting, and fun to read. Harriet, our main character's, husband Bernard has died and now she is left with the question of how to spend her remaining years. She is a very practical woman and has become set in her routine when, out of nowhere, she is made aware of an Alaskan cruise package that her late husband had won in a raffle. She isn't a traveler, but decides to take the trip. The book is told like the TV show "This is Your Life", with the chapters skipping around to various points in Harriet's life. It contains funny moments, poignant moments, and everything in between. A great overall read.
libwinnie's review against another edition
5.0
This story moves back and forth through the life of Harriet Chance, revealing important events in her life at strategic moments and thus building the plot. The characters and their motivations are explored in-depth and though they are all somewhat damaged, they are captivating and irresistible. The author's voice is warm, humorous and genuine.