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jesslolsen's review
5.0
Whoa this book was amazing! I want to read it again, and I want to tell everyone I know about it!
It really was very clever in the way it was put together. It painted such a clear picture of the main character, Mary Murphy, without making it really seem all about her as the main focus.
All of the elegies were written so well, but my favourite was the last chapter and how it tied everything together so well.
It really was very clever in the way it was put together. It painted such a clear picture of the main character, Mary Murphy, without making it really seem all about her as the main focus.
All of the elegies were written so well, but my favourite was the last chapter and how it tied everything together so well.
emilyinherhead's review
3.5
What matters, I said, is people. What matters is home, that we look at each other, really look at each other, and say to each other, You are what matters to me, you are home. (193)
What an attention-grabbing concept: a novel in elegies. Through chapters focused on five different people she loved and lost at various points in her life, Mary Murphy tells her own story. We learn about her unpredictable and sometimes violent childhood; turbulent relationships with her sister and mother; coming-of-age in high school, college, and beyond; and first experiences in the work force. She’s always narrating to an off-screen “you,” the subject of each elegy.
This is a sad book, about a life filled with upheaval, unpredictability, hurt, illness, and loss. Mary doesn’t have it easy. And yet, there is still hope in the end, the final chapter closing on a note of redemption and reconciliation, Mary’s future still unwritten.
ari__s's review against another edition
5.0
What was spectacular about this was how you learn about the narrator. Instead of personal reflection, etc., to guide you, Mary is shaped by the people she's honoring in the elegies. She almost has no personality, until you listen closer and realize that her character is as vibrant as the five people she's remembering. Time jumps back and forth a little, but not in a confusing way, and the beginning and latest point in Mary's life does bookend the stories she's telling, making it a cohesive progression. I loved this for its simplicity and power.
randybo5's review
3.0
The five portraits of the "people she'd never forget" effectively tell the story of May Murphy's life. This novel is ultimately a story of triumph and finding yourself in spite of seemingly unsurmountable obstacles.
martydah's review
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.0
iamnader's review
4.0
Beautifully written; a smart blend of depressing stories and strength and perseverance
shelfimprovement's review
4.0
An entirely unique concept – Hodgen tells the story of Mary Murphy’s life through elegies to five people who have shaped that life. The elegies are arranged in roughly chronological order, and are written from Mary’s point of view. There is the obvious inclusion of her mother, her uncle, and Mary’s college roommate, but also a high school classmate whose influence was perhaps indirect at best and a would-be composer living in a hotel in Maine where Mary also resides in the time between college and graduate school. The elegies each have a unique voice to them without losing their sense of cohesion. Hodgen has constructed a lovely examination of the impact people have on each other’s lives with or without intent.
jamiedarlin's review
5.0
This is one of the most memorable reads I've had in quite some time. Dark and bittersweet, Hodgen had me deeply engrossed and engaged in the simple and beautifully-written story. It incited much of my own reflection and reminiscing of those influences who have been lost to me. I recommend it with every fiber of my being.
renee_pompeii's review
4.0
Fabulous linked stories surrounding a woman, her mother, and sister and their struggles.