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beastreader's review against another edition
5.0
It has been three months since Sarah McConnell’s husband, David was last seen alive. He went camping and kayaking. He never returned and his body was never found. Since than Sarah has been seeing David almost everywhere. First it was at the super mart, then on her front porch and finally at the cabin where David had been staying, while he was camping.
Sarah evens finds herself having conversations with David as if he were alive. That can’t be possible through as David is dead or is it? David’s body has never been recovered thus far.
If you found the book cover for this book as hauntingly beautiful as I did then you are going to love The Widow’s Season. Laura Brodie did a wonderful job with this novel. I had no expectations, what so ever on what I would think about this book. After reading it, I find myself still in a memorizing daze. This is a good thing. The Widow’s Season is a tragic love story that will have you glued to your seat, taking it all in till the very last page.
What really drew me in and clinched it for me was the storyline. I could tell if David was really alive or dead. Every time I would start to think I had it figured out, then something would happen and I would be left wondering again. I was glad how this story ended. I am anxious to see what Mrs. Brodie comes up with for her next fiction novel.
Sarah evens finds herself having conversations with David as if he were alive. That can’t be possible through as David is dead or is it? David’s body has never been recovered thus far.
If you found the book cover for this book as hauntingly beautiful as I did then you are going to love The Widow’s Season. Laura Brodie did a wonderful job with this novel. I had no expectations, what so ever on what I would think about this book. After reading it, I find myself still in a memorizing daze. This is a good thing. The Widow’s Season is a tragic love story that will have you glued to your seat, taking it all in till the very last page.
What really drew me in and clinched it for me was the storyline. I could tell if David was really alive or dead. Every time I would start to think I had it figured out, then something would happen and I would be left wondering again. I was glad how this story ended. I am anxious to see what Mrs. Brodie comes up with for her next fiction novel.
carolpk's review against another edition
5.0
Recently I read a review of The Widow’s Season by Laura Brodie. Some words like debut, grief, psychological fiction interested me. I looked Brodie up on the net. After reading the story behind the story I was hooked, so much so that I contacted Laura and she agreed to do a guest author blog post for Saxton Reads & Reviews which you'll find at
http://www.engagedpatrons.org/Blogs.cfm?SiteID=9336&BlogID=183
Her opening paragraph states:
“Back in the 1990’s, when I was a graduate student at the University of Virginia, I got interested in a strange subject: husbands who fake their deaths in order to spy on their wives. I had encountered several of these men while researching a dissertation on widows in English literature, and the husbands weren’t real people—they were characters in plays, mostly from the 17th century.”
If that doesn't grab you, I'm not certain what will. Just the thought of husbands spying on their wives gave me the creeps but also intrigued me. Brodie's novel starts with the widow, Sarah McConnell spotting of her dead husband David at the local grocery store. Brodie's debut is a haunting tale, a beautifully told, lyrical journey in love and loss.
http://www.engagedpatrons.org/Blogs.cfm?SiteID=9336&BlogID=183
Her opening paragraph states:
“Back in the 1990’s, when I was a graduate student at the University of Virginia, I got interested in a strange subject: husbands who fake their deaths in order to spy on their wives. I had encountered several of these men while researching a dissertation on widows in English literature, and the husbands weren’t real people—they were characters in plays, mostly from the 17th century.”
If that doesn't grab you, I'm not certain what will. Just the thought of husbands spying on their wives gave me the creeps but also intrigued me. Brodie's novel starts with the widow, Sarah McConnell spotting of her dead husband David at the local grocery store. Brodie's debut is a haunting tale, a beautifully told, lyrical journey in love and loss.
mrsfligs's review against another edition
4.0
The Basic Story: The opening line of the novel sets the scene perfectly: “Sarah McConnell’s husband had been dead three months when she saw him in the grocery story.” Right away, we are thrust into Sarah’s confusing world—where her grief and mourning play tricks on her mind. When she confesses her “vision” at a widow’s group, she finds support and empathy. After all, it is normal to “see” your loved ones when the loss is fresh and new. (I remember “seeing” my dad everywhere after he died. I’d glimpse a man with his build across the room and it would take my breath away. Of course, they always turned around and the illusion would be broken.) Complicating Sarah’s loss is that her husband David’s body was never recovered after his kayak was swept away in a flash flood. As Sarah attempts to create a life without David, she is forced to confront the realities of their marriage and some of her long-buried feelings. And as she continues to sense and feel David’s presence, she begins to wonder if the fact that David’s body was never found means something different after all.
My Thoughts: Oooohhh…this was so good! It had everything a good ghost story should—unease, dread, longing, hope, uncertainty and (finally) closure. Brodie does such a brilliant job of keeping you guessing about what is actually happening that you’ll be captivated until the very last page. I thought Sarah’s journey felt authentic and fully lived in. Sarah realizes that her marriage to David was flawed and possibly doomed. Their inability to have a child had created a wedge between them, and Sarah is forced to confront the reality that she wasn’t the best wife. Complicating things further is the presence of Nate—David’s younger and very handsome brother. Although Sarah doesn’t want to admit it, she’s always felt attracted to Nate and now she has the opportunity to pursue that feeling. Yet guilt and David’s presence make things tricky. I got very involved in Sarah’s story—and found myself conflicted about where I was hoping it would go. In the end, I think Brodie handled things fabulously and made all the right choices. If you’re looking for an emotionally involving novel that deals intelligently with the issues of grief, mourning, marriage and love, this would be an excellent choice. Highly recommended!
My Thoughts: Oooohhh…this was so good! It had everything a good ghost story should—unease, dread, longing, hope, uncertainty and (finally) closure. Brodie does such a brilliant job of keeping you guessing about what is actually happening that you’ll be captivated until the very last page. I thought Sarah’s journey felt authentic and fully lived in. Sarah realizes that her marriage to David was flawed and possibly doomed. Their inability to have a child had created a wedge between them, and Sarah is forced to confront the reality that she wasn’t the best wife. Complicating things further is the presence of Nate—David’s younger and very handsome brother. Although Sarah doesn’t want to admit it, she’s always felt attracted to Nate and now she has the opportunity to pursue that feeling. Yet guilt and David’s presence make things tricky. I got very involved in Sarah’s story—and found myself conflicted about where I was hoping it would go. In the end, I think Brodie handled things fabulously and made all the right choices. If you’re looking for an emotionally involving novel that deals intelligently with the issues of grief, mourning, marriage and love, this would be an excellent choice. Highly recommended!
bibliophile24's review against another edition
4.0
She was annoyingly liberal. Too much talk about social conscience and things like that. But it was a good book. An interesting story about grief and mourning.
kitvaria_sarene's review against another edition
1.0
I do read a lot. And this might win the award of most stupidest story I've ever read.
It's made to look like someting of the Nicholas Sparks kind. But the author tried to put some scary "goosebump moments" in too.
One big rant spicked with spoilers:
Right inside the flat her feet meet some "warm fluids". Blood???!!
1)If I actually would be dumb enough to go to a crimescene on my own, I would sure as hell put on the lights. And just a minimum amount of light would show it's water and no blood...
2) She got there, after who she thinks murdered her lover has visited her in the woods. So when she gets there, the murder would have been hours earlier. How long do you think blood stays wet and warm? <_<
3) The water is still warm. He left the day earlier for a business trip. Just how long does that dishwater keep on washing and pumping out more warm water? And if it did just go on doing that, wouldn't the whole flat be flooded now...?
Such scenes did not produce any suspense for me (and I'm usually rather easily scared), but just made me roll my eyes at that stupid main character. Who in their right mind would flee from a murder - right into the dark woods...
And that stupid, completely unrealistic plot!!!!
Her husband dies, and she sees his "ghost"?
Three months later he comes back, telling her he hasn't been dead, but rather needed a time out.
Or is he really dead, and she is just imagening it all?
Then she starts an affair with her BROTHER IN LAW. Three MONTHS after her husbands death and she beds his brother???
But all right, to each their own..
But the bed scene... He gives her a small vial with chocolate, and then completely covers her body with it (must be a really big vial <_< ), and when he just starts to lick the chocolate from her, and things start to get "hot" she sees her -dead?- husband outside the window looking in. First she wants to push her lover away, but then she rather closes her eyes, and lets him go on - in her marital bed, and lets her -dead?- husband watch... WTF??
Oh and for the topic of miscarriage. This a really serious topic.
But her having her brother in law knocking her up, and then realising just how much she has obssessed about it all - it just feels like the author tries too hard to show what is right and what is not. I don't need a book like this to shove "wisdom" down my throat.
And that's not even half of what annoyed me about this book. It's simply awful. I'd like to give -5 stars
It's made to look like someting of the Nicholas Sparks kind. But the author tried to put some scary "goosebump moments" in too.
One big rant spicked with spoilers:
Spoiler
So, you think you bought a romantic/sad book? Then why are there parts in here, were the main charactee is standing inside her veranda doors and thinking how it would look, if bloody hands would run down them, like in a horror movie. Or later on, she thinks her lover has been killed. Does she call the police? Nooo, of course not! She rather goes there alone in the dark to make sure.Right inside the flat her feet meet some "warm fluids". Blood???!!
1)If I actually would be dumb enough to go to a crimescene on my own, I would sure as hell put on the lights. And just a minimum amount of light would show it's water and no blood...
2) She got there, after who she thinks murdered her lover has visited her in the woods. So when she gets there, the murder would have been hours earlier. How long do you think blood stays wet and warm? <_<
3) The water is still warm. He left the day earlier for a business trip. Just how long does that dishwater keep on washing and pumping out more warm water? And if it did just go on doing that, wouldn't the whole flat be flooded now...?
Such scenes did not produce any suspense for me (and I'm usually rather easily scared), but just made me roll my eyes at that stupid main character. Who in their right mind would flee from a murder - right into the dark woods...
And that stupid, completely unrealistic plot!!!!
Her husband dies, and she sees his "ghost"?
Three months later he comes back, telling her he hasn't been dead, but rather needed a time out.
Or is he really dead, and she is just imagening it all?
Then she starts an affair with her BROTHER IN LAW. Three MONTHS after her husbands death and she beds his brother???
But all right, to each their own..
But the bed scene... He gives her a small vial with chocolate, and then completely covers her body with it (must be a really big vial <_< ), and when he just starts to lick the chocolate from her, and things start to get "hot" she sees her -dead?- husband outside the window looking in. First she wants to push her lover away, but then she rather closes her eyes, and lets him go on - in her marital bed, and lets her -dead?- husband watch... WTF??
Oh and for the topic of miscarriage. This a really serious topic.
But her having her brother in law knocking her up, and then realising just how much she has obssessed about it all - it just feels like the author tries too hard to show what is right and what is not. I don't need a book like this to shove "wisdom" down my throat.
And that's not even half of what annoyed me about this book. It's simply awful. I'd like to give -5 stars
serenaac's review against another edition
4.0
Laura Brodie's debut novel, The Widow's Season, is a dirge of grief, wraiths, and resurrection of a professional woman whose been lost in of the song's cadence for far too long. Set in Jackson, Va., in a small college town, the season's change and sweep the protagonist, Sarah McConnell along.
"Sarah McConnell's husband had been dead three months when she saw him in the grocery store. He was standing at the end of the seasonal aisle, contemplating a display of plastic pumpkins, when, for one brief moment, he lifted his head and looked into her eyes." (First line, Page 3)
Not only does Sarah mourn her husband and the life they had, but she also mourns the life they dreamt about, the life that was snatched from them time and again, and the illusion of their future happiness. The Widow's Season is a character driven novel that teeters on the brink of despair as Sarah attempts to navigate her after-life alone. Nate, her brother-in-law, has lost his mother and his brother in such a short time, and he, like Sarah, does not grieve in an outward display of sobs and outbursts, but turns inward. Sarah's friend Margaret anchors her to reality and persuades her to meet for tea every Friday and join her widow's group once a month. Unlike, Sarah, Nate's support system is gone, but he has his investment work to bury himself in.
"An hour later, when she pulled up at the cabin, she had the old sensation of arriving at an empty house. No lights shone in the windows; the grass was still unmowed. When she unlocked the door, an immense stillness confronted her." (Page 151)
Told in third person, Brodie's language has a eerie, otherworldly quality that will suck readers easily into an alternate reality. Grief drips from the pages of Sarah's life and will consume readers in its wake as she lifts the fog that has surrounded her existence and uncovers her strength, poise, and determination. Fresh and frank is Brodie's writing as if she has first hand knowledge of deep desolation and how it can twist reality into alternative that is more palatable.
A great selection for the Fall and Halloween holiday, though it is not a ghost story in a traditional sense, The Widow's Season is about transformation and living with ones ghosts.
"Sarah McConnell's husband had been dead three months when she saw him in the grocery store. He was standing at the end of the seasonal aisle, contemplating a display of plastic pumpkins, when, for one brief moment, he lifted his head and looked into her eyes." (First line, Page 3)
Not only does Sarah mourn her husband and the life they had, but she also mourns the life they dreamt about, the life that was snatched from them time and again, and the illusion of their future happiness. The Widow's Season is a character driven novel that teeters on the brink of despair as Sarah attempts to navigate her after-life alone. Nate, her brother-in-law, has lost his mother and his brother in such a short time, and he, like Sarah, does not grieve in an outward display of sobs and outbursts, but turns inward. Sarah's friend Margaret anchors her to reality and persuades her to meet for tea every Friday and join her widow's group once a month. Unlike, Sarah, Nate's support system is gone, but he has his investment work to bury himself in.
"An hour later, when she pulled up at the cabin, she had the old sensation of arriving at an empty house. No lights shone in the windows; the grass was still unmowed. When she unlocked the door, an immense stillness confronted her." (Page 151)
Told in third person, Brodie's language has a eerie, otherworldly quality that will suck readers easily into an alternate reality. Grief drips from the pages of Sarah's life and will consume readers in its wake as she lifts the fog that has surrounded her existence and uncovers her strength, poise, and determination. Fresh and frank is Brodie's writing as if she has first hand knowledge of deep desolation and how it can twist reality into alternative that is more palatable.
A great selection for the Fall and Halloween holiday, though it is not a ghost story in a traditional sense, The Widow's Season is about transformation and living with ones ghosts.
brandiemetzger's review against another edition
4.0
This book was not what I expected at all - but it was really good and I enjoyed it!
hikereadbeer's review against another edition
3.0
Can't really say anything negative/positive about this book. It was just okay.
eandrews80's review against another edition
2.0
I'm having a hard time pinpointing why I didn't like this. The writing was nuanced and lyrical, and I do love a good ghost (?) story. But regardless of whether the events in this book were real or a figment of Sarah's imagination, I found the characters so unlikable that I stopped caring about their fate. Who opportunistically fakes his own death and then forces his wife to bring him supplies and guilt her into running away with him? (Answer: David.) Who sleeps with his brother's widow just months after the tragedy, yet wants nothing more from her than a casual fling? (I'm looking at you, Nate.) And speaking of the widow, who PUTS UP WITH ALL THIS NONSENSE and carries on dysfunctional relationships with both men? If all of this did indeed happen in Sarah's head, then I suppose we can blame these reprehensible actions on depression or grief. BUT STILL.
(In happier news, it turns out that I COULD pinpoint why I didn't like this. Hooray!)
(In happier news, it turns out that I COULD pinpoint why I didn't like this. Hooray!)