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bianca89279's review against another edition
5.0
In The Quiet is a lovely, unique debut novel from Eliza Henry Jones.
It deals with grief, family, and moving on with life.
I was reticent to read it, as the synopsis stated that the narrator was a recently deceased mother of three, and I don’t “do” afterlife etc. But I’m so glad I did because this was astoundingly beautiful, heartbreaking and full of hope at the same time.
Eliza Henry Jones is incredibly insightful, despite her young age. Her background in psychology and grief counselling has given this novel a very authentic feel.
The novel is set on a horse farm in rural Victoria, Australia. The Carltons are reeling because of Cate’s sudden death. The husband, Bass, and their twin teenage boys, Rafferty and Cameron, and their sister, Jessa, are in shock and are stumbling through the everyday minutia of life. They’re helped by good friends, Laura and Steve, and Cate’s sister, Beatrice, who themselves have been affected by Cate’s untimely death.
In the Quiet is deliciously slow-burning. I cried quite a bit in the beginning, as the family’s sorrow was palpable and Cate’s need to be there and do all the many things a mum and wife does was absolutely heartbreaking.
Slowly, the pain subsides, everyone learns to deal with life, to make plans and build new relations. Living has a way of creeping in, although the pain is still there.
I liked so many things about this novel. The writing is excellent and a bit different. I thought it was interesting that there were no chapters, although there were paragraph breaks between what could have been chapters.
I was very impressed with this novel; it's real, relatable and very gentle.The title is absolutely perfect.
This was a quietly beautiful, unassuming, slowly unravelling novel, which will make you ponder about life and your own relationships.
In The Quiet is a very impressive debut novel. A very impressive novel. Period.
I’ve received this novel via NetGalley. Many thanks to HarperCollins Australia for the opportunity to read and review this beautiful novel.
Cover: 5 stars - perfectly matched to the feel and subject of the novel.
It deals with grief, family, and moving on with life.
I was reticent to read it, as the synopsis stated that the narrator was a recently deceased mother of three, and I don’t “do” afterlife etc. But I’m so glad I did because this was astoundingly beautiful, heartbreaking and full of hope at the same time.
Eliza Henry Jones is incredibly insightful, despite her young age. Her background in psychology and grief counselling has given this novel a very authentic feel.
The novel is set on a horse farm in rural Victoria, Australia. The Carltons are reeling because of Cate’s sudden death. The husband, Bass, and their twin teenage boys, Rafferty and Cameron, and their sister, Jessa, are in shock and are stumbling through the everyday minutia of life. They’re helped by good friends, Laura and Steve, and Cate’s sister, Beatrice, who themselves have been affected by Cate’s untimely death.
In the Quiet is deliciously slow-burning. I cried quite a bit in the beginning, as the family’s sorrow was palpable and Cate’s need to be there and do all the many things a mum and wife does was absolutely heartbreaking.
Slowly, the pain subsides, everyone learns to deal with life, to make plans and build new relations. Living has a way of creeping in, although the pain is still there.
I liked so many things about this novel. The writing is excellent and a bit different. I thought it was interesting that there were no chapters, although there were paragraph breaks between what could have been chapters.
I was very impressed with this novel; it's real, relatable and very gentle.The title is absolutely perfect.
This was a quietly beautiful, unassuming, slowly unravelling novel, which will make you ponder about life and your own relationships.
In The Quiet is a very impressive debut novel. A very impressive novel. Period.
I’ve received this novel via NetGalley. Many thanks to HarperCollins Australia for the opportunity to read and review this beautiful novel.
Cover: 5 stars - perfectly matched to the feel and subject of the novel.
starness's review against another edition
4.0
I haven't read many afterlife type books and probably would have skipped this one but thanks to Bianca I picked up this book on her recommendation. This book has a gentle quietness, the slow unravelling of the grief left behind, you see the family floundering and plodding along making domestic mistakes only a mum knows how to do, it's clear how grief has seeeped deeply into this family and you feel a sense of uneasy despair for them all. The emotion pulls you in and you just want to scoop this family up and take care of them, nurture them. As a mother the same age as Cate the mum in this book this feels particularly poignant and devastating. The writing in this book is tender and beautiful and if you like quiet thoughtful books that deals with the topic of grief told in a unique way this is highly recommended and this author is one to watch out for. Outstanding debut!
busyreading's review against another edition
5.0
Losing someone close to you is never easy, especially when it occurs suddenly and that's exactly what happened when Sebastian (Bass) Carlton's wife Cate died. Overcome with grief for his wife, Bass didn't know how he was going to move forward or manage without his wife. Bass was left to raise their three young children as well as run the country property.
Although Cate has passed away, she looks out over her family and she can see how they struggle from one day to the next without her. Picking up on their sadness is one thing, but not being able to help them is a whole different story.
Narrated in Cate's voice, In the Quiet was a surprisingly wonderful read for me. A well written story that was deeply moving. A compelling story about loss, love and grief. Highly recommended.
Although Cate has passed away, she looks out over her family and she can see how they struggle from one day to the next without her. Picking up on their sadness is one thing, but not being able to help them is a whole different story.
Narrated in Cate's voice, In the Quiet was a surprisingly wonderful read for me. A well written story that was deeply moving. A compelling story about loss, love and grief. Highly recommended.
iphigenie72's review against another edition
4.0
What a beautifully intricate debut. I think the title was perfectly chosen, it is a very quiet book; where there's no adventures and jeopardy happening, but a lot of profound emotions and characters reaching a maturity throughout the story. It is a different angle to start a book with the person we have the point of view from already gone and her earth shattering death, the event that affects all the other people in the narrative, an event from the past.
Every character has its own take of how to survive the death of Cate: the mother, wife, sister, best friend that they are missing and I found that very true to life; we all live through grief differently and we might have lost the same person, but we never react the same way and it is rare to have exactly the same feelings towards them, the same reaction to their leaving or the same way of coping. In that, the ones left behind in this book felt very real.
There's one thing I am ambivalent about: I saw a lot of what happened in the book coming before I read about it and normally I would call that predictable, but here I would say it felt normal because it meant the events were natural and everything made a lot of sense; it's probably why I haven't given this a perfect score though because I would have liked to have been surprised a little more, not big twists that would have made no sense at all, but ones that would have made me think: "I didn't think that would play out that way".
This author is going to be one to watch for years to come, and I, for one, is looking forward to her next books (yes, I do hope plural form is appropriate). I know I haven't said a lot about the book and what happen in it, it is a choice I have made not to elaborate too much on the plot, I will say though that is is worth it to pick up the book and discover it for yourselves, it is not something you'll regret.
Every character has its own take of how to survive the death of Cate: the mother, wife, sister, best friend that they are missing and I found that very true to life; we all live through grief differently and we might have lost the same person, but we never react the same way and it is rare to have exactly the same feelings towards them, the same reaction to their leaving or the same way of coping. In that, the ones left behind in this book felt very real.
There's one thing I am ambivalent about: I saw a lot of what happened in the book coming before I read about it and normally I would call that predictable, but here I would say it felt normal because it meant the events were natural and everything made a lot of sense; it's probably why I haven't given this a perfect score though because I would have liked to have been surprised a little more, not big twists that would have made no sense at all, but ones that would have made me think: "I didn't think that would play out that way".
This author is going to be one to watch for years to come, and I, for one, is looking forward to her next books (yes, I do hope plural form is appropriate). I know I haven't said a lot about the book and what happen in it, it is a choice I have made not to elaborate too much on the plot, I will say though that is is worth it to pick up the book and discover it for yourselves, it is not something you'll regret.
chelseaz's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this, I’m not ashamed to say this book made me cry, it was utterly heartbreaking, soft, tender and hit me with the force of a sledgehammer. I really enjoyed P is for Pearl, but this was indisputably a knock out for me. An Australian author to watch, I’ll be reading Ache and her new work when it is released. Bravo Eliza Henry Jones, you did good.
cartridgepink's review against another edition
3.0
It's a very slow book - the reflective, short paragraph style took me a while to get into since at first it was a series of vignettes, before eventually settling into a more coherent story.
Henry Jones also loves describing how things smell, and all the characters smell things a lot. A LOT. That's not good or bad, but personally I found it a bit distracting.
Henry Jones also loves describing how things smell, and all the characters smell things a lot. A LOT. That's not good or bad, but personally I found it a bit distracting.
strangelyfamiliar's review against another edition
4.0
This is such a lovely, thoughtful book about family and grief. Few writers make me feel for their characters the way Eliza Henry-Jones does. Everyone in this book, from the narrator's three children and husband to her friends and neighbours, is so easy to empathise with. Just a warning though, you'll need to read this with a tissue box nearby.
venessa's review against another edition
4.0
WOW was a great read.. very emotional.. !! Loved it.. all i can say is i had trouble keeping the side characters and the back and forth timeline clear... but a MUST read...