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mbenzz's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book so much. It was a last minute choice for me. It popped up in my daily BookBub recommendations email, and even though there are over 200 books ahead of it that I need to read, it was free on Kindle Unlimited, so I gave it a go.
Walter Zawislak is dead. He wakes up wandering the halls of a hospital and is helped by a very sweet, yet very straight-forward man (angel?) named Peter (no, not THAT Peter).
Walter must relive one day of his life before he can move on, but Walter is an extremely stubborn, sad and broken man. He refuses to pick a day, so Peter gives him glimpses of past days that he may have forgotten about in order to try and speed up the process and get Walter passed on.
What follows are beautiful snapshots of a mans whole life...the wonder of being a child, the excitement of winning the big game and getting the girl, the heartache and trauma of war, the feeling of finding your true love and soul mate, the love and frustration that comes with being the father of a teenage girl, and the loss of the one you hold most dear.
Walter may be a grumpy old man, but you can't help but feel for him. I loved every minute of this book. It had me taking a good look at my own life and wondering which days I would want to relive, which days were my happiest and my hardest, and being sad about all the wonderful days in between that I've since completely forgotten about.
I love life-after-death fiction, and this book is one of my favorites that I've read in that genre (along with Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin). Highly recommend this!
Walter Zawislak is dead. He wakes up wandering the halls of a hospital and is helped by a very sweet, yet very straight-forward man (angel?) named Peter (no, not THAT Peter).
Walter must relive one day of his life before he can move on, but Walter is an extremely stubborn, sad and broken man. He refuses to pick a day, so Peter gives him glimpses of past days that he may have forgotten about in order to try and speed up the process and get Walter passed on.
What follows are beautiful snapshots of a mans whole life...the wonder of being a child, the excitement of winning the big game and getting the girl, the heartache and trauma of war, the feeling of finding your true love and soul mate, the love and frustration that comes with being the father of a teenage girl, and the loss of the one you hold most dear.
Walter may be a grumpy old man, but you can't help but feel for him. I loved every minute of this book. It had me taking a good look at my own life and wondering which days I would want to relive, which days were my happiest and my hardest, and being sad about all the wonderful days in between that I've since completely forgotten about.
I love life-after-death fiction, and this book is one of my favorites that I've read in that genre (along with Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin). Highly recommend this!
kacelaface's review against another edition
5.0
What an unexpected book! Really enjoyed this - all the feels.
timitra's review against another edition
4.0
A Day In The Death of Walter Zawislak: A Love Story is about healing, learning to forgive, changing your perceptions and accepting the things you can’t change. I enjoyed Walter’s journey of self discovery and recommend to those looking for a different experience.
Copy provided by author
Copy provided by author
beckymmoe's review against another edition
5.0
Reviewed on my blog, Becky on Books, on 1/5/19.
Loved!
I still can't believe that this book was as short as it was, because OMG there was so much emotion packed into those pages! Walter and Peter (his guide? handler? manager?) take readers on one heck of a ride here as Peter tries to prod Walter into picking his one day. The problem? Walter's convinced he doesn't deserve a day. In fact, he's sure that all of the "suggested" days that Peter has in Walt's file are busts--they're not what they appear to be on the surface. And to an extent, he's right.
Take an easy example: according to Peter, a lot of decorated war heroes choose the day they earned their honors as their day to relive. But for Walter that was a day of agony and confusion with absolutely nothing he wanted to experience again (and we do relive a bit of it with him--it's just about as horrible as you think). Every day that Peter tries to nudge Walter toward seems to have bad connotations for Walter.
Or do they?
With Peter's help, Walter's able to see aspects of his days, his relationships, and his life that he wasn't aware of before. Soon he's seeing things with new eyes.
But is it enough to change Walter's perception of himself and of his life? What day will be pick, and what will that experience mean for him going forward?
What "forward" is there for Walter?
To find out, you're going to have to read Walter's (and, eventually--Rosie's!) story for yourself. Just make sure you have A LOT of tissues handy, because you're going to need them. :)
Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
Loved!
I still can't believe that this book was as short as it was, because OMG there was so much emotion packed into those pages! Walter and Peter (his guide? handler? manager?) take readers on one heck of a ride here as Peter tries to prod Walter into picking his one day. The problem? Walter's convinced he doesn't deserve a day. In fact, he's sure that all of the "suggested" days that Peter has in Walt's file are busts--they're not what they appear to be on the surface. And to an extent, he's right.
Take an easy example: according to Peter, a lot of decorated war heroes choose the day they earned their honors as their day to relive. But for Walter that was a day of agony and confusion with absolutely nothing he wanted to experience again (and we do relive a bit of it with him--it's just about as horrible as you think). Every day that Peter tries to nudge Walter toward seems to have bad connotations for Walter.
Or do they?
With Peter's help, Walter's able to see aspects of his days, his relationships, and his life that he wasn't aware of before. Soon he's seeing things with new eyes.
But is it enough to change Walter's perception of himself and of his life? What day will be pick, and what will that experience mean for him going forward?
What "forward" is there for Walter?
To find out, you're going to have to read Walter's (and, eventually--Rosie's!) story for yourself. Just make sure you have A LOT of tissues handy, because you're going to need them. :)
Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
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