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aliciasirois's review
5.0
I picked this book up because I don't believe I have ever read a book from the point of view of a 75 year old woman, nor have I ever been given insight into the lives of the elderly. I figured this would be interesting....
And...I was very SURPRISED with this book. Getting personal, it made me think about what my life could be like when I am older (like 75), and I always figured I would be BORED!! But, maybe there is a lot more to life than age, and maybe we can always learn something new about ourselves even when we think we are set in our lives, like when we are 75. So, I learned a lot from this book, and I HIGHLY recommend this to EVERYONE!
And...I was very SURPRISED with this book. Getting personal, it made me think about what my life could be like when I am older (like 75), and I always figured I would be BORED!! But, maybe there is a lot more to life than age, and maybe we can always learn something new about ourselves even when we think we are set in our lives, like when we are 75. So, I learned a lot from this book, and I HIGHLY recommend this to EVERYONE!
aliciasirois's review against another edition
5.0
I picked this book up because I don't believe I have ever read a book from the point of view of a 75 year old woman, nor have I ever been given insight into the lives of the elderly. I figured this would be interesting....
And...I was very SURPRISED with this book. Getting personal, it made me think about what my life could be like when I am older (like 75), and I always figured I would be BORED!! But, maybe there is a lot more to life than age, and maybe we can always learn something new about ourselves even when we think we are set in our lives, like when we are 75. So, I learned a lot from this book, and I HIGHLY recommend this to EVERYONE!
And...I was very SURPRISED with this book. Getting personal, it made me think about what my life could be like when I am older (like 75), and I always figured I would be BORED!! But, maybe there is a lot more to life than age, and maybe we can always learn something new about ourselves even when we think we are set in our lives, like when we are 75. So, I learned a lot from this book, and I HIGHLY recommend this to EVERYONE!
carolpk's review
Fiction debut, not perfect, but with potential
The Hook 2016 Reading Plan – bookWomen, Vol.16, No.2, Dec.2011-Jan.2012 Pg.4, Recommendation of Josephine Schiff.
The appeal was the promise of woman in her seventies finding a new life after the death of her husband.
The Line ”Her memories were beads jumbled loose in a box, unstrung.” pg.6
The Sinker – Every Last Cuckoo won the American Library Association Reading List Award for Best Adult Genre (Women’s) Fiction.
Seventy-five year old Sarah Lucas, finds her life at odds after the death of her husband, Charles. As you’d expect, Sarah misses Charles, finding her home quiet and empty, even with her two beloved dogs to keep her company. As times moves slowly by, Sarah finds new interests, one of which involves taking photos on her daily walk. She begins to face her fears, mend fences with her children and forge a new life. How she chooses to do this is the crust of the story.
As an older woman in a long marriage, I like that Kate Maloy attempted to give voice to the intimacy of a senior marriage. What’s is important here is not so much the words used as the idea that sex and love are not just reserved for the young.
Maloy keeps her character quite busy throughout and some events seem a bit overdone but to keep this in balance, there was also some lovely writing and passages.
I am sorry to see that Kate Maloy has not written any fiction beyond this debut.
Alguonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2009, Paperback Edition, includes reading guide, 283p.
The Hook 2016 Reading Plan – bookWomen, Vol.16, No.2, Dec.2011-Jan.2012 Pg.4, Recommendation of Josephine Schiff.
The appeal was the promise of woman in her seventies finding a new life after the death of her husband.
The Line ”Her memories were beads jumbled loose in a box, unstrung.” pg.6
The Sinker – Every Last Cuckoo won the American Library Association Reading List Award for Best Adult Genre (Women’s) Fiction.
Seventy-five year old Sarah Lucas, finds her life at odds after the death of her husband, Charles. As you’d expect, Sarah misses Charles, finding her home quiet and empty, even with her two beloved dogs to keep her company. As times moves slowly by, Sarah finds new interests, one of which involves taking photos on her daily walk. She begins to face her fears, mend fences with her children and forge a new life. How she chooses to do this is the crust of the story.
As an older woman in a long marriage, I like that Kate Maloy attempted to give voice to the intimacy of a senior marriage. What’s is important here is not so much the words used as the idea that sex and love are not just reserved for the young.
Maloy keeps her character quite busy throughout and some events seem a bit overdone but to keep this in balance, there was also some lovely writing and passages.
I am sorry to see that Kate Maloy has not written any fiction beyond this debut.
Alguonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2009, Paperback Edition, includes reading guide, 283p.
judaroo's review
5.0
What a lovely, poignant but hopeful tale about grief, family, love, and re-learning how to live. With lush prose and set against a lovingly rendered Vermont, this was a delight to read.
ewg109's review
3.0
This was billed as a kind of ensemble cast work of fluff and I was rather surprised by how different it is. It is basically the story of an older woman (I believe she is in her 70's) coming to grips with her husband's death and her own mortality. It is surprising in its depth and in its ability to create a real, full-bodied older character.
Unforutnately, it is a bit repetitive and a bit too predictable. Sarah feels contrived as she accepts the march of time. I was also very disappointed in way she just accepts Charles' death. There is little in the way of anger or disbelief.
Unforutnately, it is a bit repetitive and a bit too predictable. Sarah feels contrived as she accepts the march of time. I was also very disappointed in way she just accepts Charles' death. There is little in the way of anger or disbelief.
beth_diiorio's review
4.0
This book was better than I anticipated. The main character, Sarah, is a mature mother and wife who continues to grow as her years move along, actually quite hip in her thinking. I also loved the Vermont scenery and references...brought back good memories.
gaderianne's review
4.0
Sarah Lucas had a steady, predictable life in Vermont. She enjoyed order, cleanliness, her grown children and grandchildren, her friends, and a husband she loved very much. At 75 she was a peace with her life even if she had a few regrets. When her husband unexpectedly died (as unexpected as death can be when age creeps up on you), she's at a loss and her world falls out from under her. She ends up taking in a houseful of "refugees" - kids kicked out of their homes (including her own granddaughter), townspeople in bad situations (a burned down house, an abusive husband), and even a writer from Isreal looking for the perfect environment to write. She learns from her "borders" as they learn from her and she becomes a different woman, yet a woman still the same. She becomes very reflective, learns more about love, loss and grief. Her grief taught her "that love always brings loss. Nevertheless, love was where she would put her energies, because taht was where her powers lay. There wasn't a thing she could do about loss." (pg. 277)
I didn't love this book, but I liked it...I really, really liked it much more than I thought I would. Especially after some thought and reflection. In fact, the more I think about this book, the more I like it. This book was very real and very honest to me. I believed every part of it...especially the description of marriage. It wasn't unrealistic or a fairy tale love but real and the book described the ups and the downs and the absolute rock bottoms. It was happy and sad and in parts profoundly real.
I didn't love this book, but I liked it...I really, really liked it much more than I thought I would. Especially after some thought and reflection. In fact, the more I think about this book, the more I like it. This book was very real and very honest to me. I believed every part of it...especially the description of marriage. It wasn't unrealistic or a fairy tale love but real and the book described the ups and the downs and the absolute rock bottoms. It was happy and sad and in parts profoundly real.
joeydragonfly's review
5.0
I absolutely loved this book. It's a book about love and loss and survival. It's the kind of book you don't want to end and when it does you have to hug to your chest. It's the kind of book I wish I'd written myself.
winglady's review
5.0
A slow-flowing stream of gorgeous prose and heartwarming characters, which occasionally turns turbulent only to calm again. This is very much a character -driven story about surprising relationships and about love in its many forms.