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abbywebb's review against another edition
3.0
Have I ever mentioned my love of and interest in older people? Well this book hit the spot as it followed three older people (and a talking coyote...). It was a great read, one of the most interesting tales I've read in quite some time. The author has an artsy way of writing that is not pretentious but rather lends itself to the story. I also loved reading about different Canadian locations on Etta's journey East.
Thanks to Goodreads First Reads for sharing this delightful book with me.
Thanks to Goodreads First Reads for sharing this delightful book with me.
melodys_library's review against another edition
4.0
A simple story told with great care. The characters loved each other so much - you could feel it in the writing, like a warm hug. They wait and they wait and they wait for one another with unwavering loyalty and quiet patience.
One thing I didn’t understand was why Russell would search for and find Etta - his dearest friend suffering from dementia, wandering alone in the wilderness - only to abandon her for his own quest? This really bothered me, and didn’t quite fit the tone of the novel or the depth of that character.
One thing I didn’t understand was why Russell would search for and find Etta - his dearest friend suffering from dementia, wandering alone in the wilderness - only to abandon her for his own quest? This really bothered me, and didn’t quite fit the tone of the novel or the depth of that character.
katykelly's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars.
It starts a little like Harold Fry, with a sudden urge to walk… This premise encouraged me to try this debut writer, and it has a lot to recommend it. Etta is 82, lives in the farmland country of Saskatchewan, and has never seen the sea. One morning, she ups and leaves, taking very little with her, leaving her husband Otto behind not knowing when she’ll be back.
Her story is intertwined with Otto’s own, as he struggles to cope without his wife, and that of Russell, their long-time friend and neighbour. As well as the present, we see the story of how they met more than sixty years before, in the time of the Second World War.
There are surreal elements to the tale – Etta is accompanied by a talking coyote she calls James, the newspapers pick up her story and whole towns await her with trinkets and celebrations as she walks through. You aren’t quite sure how much is real and how much imagined. Which I quite liked.
I also enjoyed Otto’s life back at home, his early attempts to bake, and what else he does to keep himself occupied as he waits for Etta. some of it is quite funny as we see him coping with the loneliness and with his memories.
The story spends as much time in the past as in the present, with Otto and Russell, raised almost as brothers, meeting Etta when she takes on the role of teacher at their tiny village school. Life in a farming village feels well described, the heat of the summers and urge of the young people to sign up for war, real. The males are quite well characterised, Etta felt a little more dry to me, she seems so strong that she almost doesn’t have flaws, more an icon than a real person. Her walk seems charmed in her knack of finding food, finding company. I wasn’t sure this was meant to be good fortune or dreamlike.
I did get confused through the book however. The author has chosen (so I believe from other reviews - it's not a printing error) to blend one paragraph and narration directly into another, without a break. We go from Etta in the present to Otto as a soldier sixty years before without a breath, and as you read you find yourself needing to go back half a page as you realise who is speaking. Annoying and unnecessary I thought. While their stories run into each sometimes, I like to be able to distinguish between narrators and stories. To have to backtrack because you think you’re still following a particular character isn’t something I enjoy doing.
It’s a strange book, one you can enjoy – the stories of long ago and present both fascinating – what will Etta do once she reaches the sea? How did Otto and Etta become a couple? What about the faithful Russell, in love with his best friend’s girl? But I also found that the build-up didn’t answer every question I had – I wanted to know more about the gap between Etta and Otto coming together and the present day, I wanted to know about their lives together, how Russell fit in. And the ending, the very last page, actually had me tutting and shaking my head. Some may find it inspiring, lyrical, moving. I found it a cop-out. Just that one last page. I wish the author had ended her book differently. It’s not what I wanted, it’s not even clear what is happening.
So for me, it’s a nice story about a couple, their past, their old age and lives together, but it also left me disappointed and missing what wasn't told. An interesting style and approach, and an author to watch out for.
Review of a NetGalley advance copy.
It starts a little like Harold Fry, with a sudden urge to walk… This premise encouraged me to try this debut writer, and it has a lot to recommend it. Etta is 82, lives in the farmland country of Saskatchewan, and has never seen the sea. One morning, she ups and leaves, taking very little with her, leaving her husband Otto behind not knowing when she’ll be back.
Her story is intertwined with Otto’s own, as he struggles to cope without his wife, and that of Russell, their long-time friend and neighbour. As well as the present, we see the story of how they met more than sixty years before, in the time of the Second World War.
There are surreal elements to the tale – Etta is accompanied by a talking coyote she calls James, the newspapers pick up her story and whole towns await her with trinkets and celebrations as she walks through. You aren’t quite sure how much is real and how much imagined. Which I quite liked.
I also enjoyed Otto’s life back at home, his early attempts to bake, and what else he does to keep himself occupied as he waits for Etta. some of it is quite funny as we see him coping with the loneliness and with his memories.
The story spends as much time in the past as in the present, with Otto and Russell, raised almost as brothers, meeting Etta when she takes on the role of teacher at their tiny village school. Life in a farming village feels well described, the heat of the summers and urge of the young people to sign up for war, real. The males are quite well characterised, Etta felt a little more dry to me, she seems so strong that she almost doesn’t have flaws, more an icon than a real person. Her walk seems charmed in her knack of finding food, finding company. I wasn’t sure this was meant to be good fortune or dreamlike.
I did get confused through the book however. The author has chosen (so I believe from other reviews - it's not a printing error) to blend one paragraph and narration directly into another, without a break. We go from Etta in the present to Otto as a soldier sixty years before without a breath, and as you read you find yourself needing to go back half a page as you realise who is speaking. Annoying and unnecessary I thought. While their stories run into each sometimes, I like to be able to distinguish between narrators and stories. To have to backtrack because you think you’re still following a particular character isn’t something I enjoy doing.
It’s a strange book, one you can enjoy – the stories of long ago and present both fascinating – what will Etta do once she reaches the sea? How did Otto and Etta become a couple? What about the faithful Russell, in love with his best friend’s girl? But I also found that the build-up didn’t answer every question I had – I wanted to know more about the gap between Etta and Otto coming together and the present day, I wanted to know about their lives together, how Russell fit in. And the ending, the very last page, actually had me tutting and shaking my head. Some may find it inspiring, lyrical, moving. I found it a cop-out. Just that one last page. I wish the author had ended her book differently. It’s not what I wanted, it’s not even clear what is happening.
So for me, it’s a nice story about a couple, their past, their old age and lives together, but it also left me disappointed and missing what wasn't told. An interesting style and approach, and an author to watch out for.
Review of a NetGalley advance copy.
diana_tatarenko's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
book_concierge's review
3.0
Eighty-two-year-old Etta has never seen the sea, so she decides one day to leave her Saskatchewan farm and head out on foot. She leaves behind her husband, Otto, and their neighbor, Russell. Along the way she encounters James, and a host of other characters.
The novel is told in a series of letters, messages, and vignettes that move back and forth in time, eventually revealing Etta’s and Otto’s and Russell’s stories, from their childhoods through the war years and into adulthood. It reminded me of Rachel Joyce’s The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, but it was not quite as engaging.
I think part of the reason is Hooper’s use of magical realism. In general, I like magical realism, but I didn’t quite warm to Hooper’s use in this case. James is a talking coyote, for example. The ending also has a nebulous, ethereal quality to it which left me feeling that I had missed something.
However, I was really engaged for much of it, and was interested in how these three main characters’ lives were interwoven. I found Russell to be the most interesting of the three, and yet his story seems secondary.
This is Hooper’s debut novel and I see promise here. I definitely would be willing to read another of her works.
The novel is told in a series of letters, messages, and vignettes that move back and forth in time, eventually revealing Etta’s and Otto’s and Russell’s stories, from their childhoods through the war years and into adulthood. It reminded me of Rachel Joyce’s The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, but it was not quite as engaging.
I think part of the reason is Hooper’s use of magical realism. In general, I like magical realism, but I didn’t quite warm to Hooper’s use in this case. James is a talking coyote, for example. The ending also has a nebulous, ethereal quality to it which left me feeling that I had missed something.
However, I was really engaged for much of it, and was interested in how these three main characters’ lives were interwoven. I found Russell to be the most interesting of the three, and yet his story seems secondary.
This is Hooper’s debut novel and I see promise here. I definitely would be willing to read another of her works.
paulinedoan's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
i really enjoyed the beginning of this book! it felt very endearing and heartfelt, similar to a man called ove. however, the story quickly fell flat for me starting around the 25% mark.
the story takes place between a then-and-now timeline, but the present and the past are often woven together in the same passage, so it makes for an overall clunky reading experience. the characters didn't feel fleshed out enough to have an emotional connection with, and the line between reality and magical realism was, personally, too blurred to provide a cohesive narrative. the plot felt quite absurdist, to the point where i often thought, "why? what's the reason for all of this?" there was also a general lack of direction, and the ending felt so bizarre.
i think emma hooper tried to accomplish too much with this book—she tried to hit as many bases as possible—which ultimately led its detriment.
the story takes place between a then-and-now timeline, but the present and the past are often woven together in the same passage, so it makes for an overall clunky reading experience. the characters didn't feel fleshed out enough to have an emotional connection with, and the line between reality and magical realism was, personally, too blurred to provide a cohesive narrative. the plot felt quite absurdist, to the point where i often thought, "why? what's the reason for all of this?" there was also a general lack of direction, and the ending felt so bizarre.
i think emma hooper tried to accomplish too much with this book—she tried to hit as many bases as possible—which ultimately led its detriment.
tmathews0330's review against another edition
4.0
This book speaks with the perspective that comes with a life time passed. It is beginning and end without the middle. The detached third person characters fit this motif. They both drew me in so I wished I knew the middle and so I could envision the middle simply by knowing their beginning and end. A work of art.
goblingirlreads's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
While I can say that I did enjoy myself from beginning to end, I can't say that this book is particularly memorable or a stand out for me. The story is very simply told. The characters and their motivations exist but are not super fleshed out in a way that gives you a big insight to who these folks are. It feels almost like a drawn out folktale and I definitely see many people connecting very deeply with the themes of coming or age and aging, and the journey of life. I enjoyed myself but ultimately I don't think this book is for me.
bookthia's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This is a difficult book to review because it surely isn’t something everyone will like. But I adored it. Etta is 83 years old and has never seen the ocean. So she leaves her husband Otto a letter telling where she’s gone and and she begins her walk to the Atlantic. Told through letters and flashbacks, Etta and Otto’s story is interwoven with Russell (Ottos childhood best friend) and James (is James real? He is real to Etta). Beautiful deep flawed and believable characters, told with love and compassion and an understanding of trauma, Etta and Otto and Russell and James will stay with me.
bethanyybradshaw's review against another edition
2.0
etta is leaving her husband, otto, and her friend, russel, to go walk so she can see the water. along the way, she meets james the coyote who accompanies her on the journey. throughout, we learn of the intertwined past lives of each of the characters and how they have come to live in the present. a story of love, grief, memory, and perseverance.
i didn’t get it at all. at first, i saw a ton of potential and was really hoping for all of the perspectives to come together in a big way but they just didn’t. i honestly can’t tell whose story was true and who was losing their mind. there seemed to be little to no character or plot development going on. i don’t exactly know what the point of the story was to be honest. wouldn’t recommend and wouldn’t read again.
i didn’t get it at all. at first, i saw a ton of potential and was really hoping for all of the perspectives to come together in a big way but they just didn’t. i honestly can’t tell whose story was true and who was losing their mind. there seemed to be little to no character or plot development going on. i don’t exactly know what the point of the story was to be honest. wouldn’t recommend and wouldn’t read again.