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book_concierge's review against another edition
1.0
1.5 *
From the book jacket: Harry Whitney is dying. And in the process, he’s losing his mind. Afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease, he knows his “good” time is dwindling. Wishing to be remembered as more than an ailing old man, Harry realizes the greatest gift he can pass on is the wisdom of his years… And so he compiles a book of his poems for his favorite granddaughter, Emily, in the hope that his words might somehow heal the tenuous relationships in a family that is falling apart.
My reactions
I thought it was emotionally manipulative and predictable. The characters were out of central casting, and some of the events made little sense to me. Why write only to Emily (he has two other grandchildren), but provide three copies of the book?
But then, why leave such a complicated puzzle for a seven-year-old child to figure out? It seemed that he was intent on controlling his children and grandchildren, on “pulling the strings,” even from the grave. The cleverness of the clues / riddles left in the poems also is inconsistent with Alzheimer’s … unless he had penned all this years in advance.
Of course, Harry. Anyway, this just irritated me further.
I will say that some of the advice Harry leaves is poignant and resonated with me. I’d have less problem with the book if the letters were straightforwardly given, rather than requiring all these riddles to be completed to access them.
If it had not been a book-club read I would have abandoned it early on. Oh, well. At least it was a fast read; I finished it in within 24 hours.
From the book jacket: Harry Whitney is dying. And in the process, he’s losing his mind. Afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease, he knows his “good” time is dwindling. Wishing to be remembered as more than an ailing old man, Harry realizes the greatest gift he can pass on is the wisdom of his years… And so he compiles a book of his poems for his favorite granddaughter, Emily, in the hope that his words might somehow heal the tenuous relationships in a family that is falling apart.
My reactions
I thought it was emotionally manipulative and predictable. The characters were out of central casting, and some of the events made little sense to me. Why write only to Emily (he has two other grandchildren), but provide three copies of the book?
But then, why leave such a complicated puzzle for a seven-year-old child to figure out? It seemed that he was intent on controlling his children and grandchildren, on “pulling the strings,” even from the grave. The cleverness of the clues / riddles left in the poems also is inconsistent with Alzheimer’s … unless he had penned all this years in advance.
Of course, Harry
Spoiler
is NOT suffering from Alzheimer’s, as his daughter-in-law Laura finds out, but rather from the side-effects of suddenly stopping the anti-depressant medication he has taken for years. Why not just give him that diagnosis and go from there? Why bother with the Alzheimer’s misdiagnosis? Is it because Alzheimer’s books sell, while “depression” books do not?I will say that some of the advice Harry leaves is poignant and resonated with me. I’d have less problem with the book if the letters were straightforwardly given, rather than requiring all these riddles to be completed to access them.
If it had not been a book-club read I would have abandoned it early on. Oh, well. At least it was a fast read; I finished it in within 24 hours.
mary00's review against another edition
3.0
This book club selection was very sweet and uplifiting - and quick! Just what I needed.
villianess's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, how touching is a story that puts elderly illness into such a perspective. Writing to his Granddaughter and being able to reach his children reminds me of the Lord saying "The little children will teach them". You could fill the love that was written in the letters.
Putting the "gold" into the book was clever and yet such a lesson on what is really important in life. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone, especially those that have elderly parents.
Putting the "gold" into the book was clever and yet such a lesson on what is really important in life. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone, especially those that have elderly parents.
deborahbabin's review against another edition
5.0
What a fantastic, emotional, positive book! I read this in about 2.5 hours in one day! Very easy read. Loved it!
r_reads2winnie's review
4.25
Letters for Emily is Camron Wright’s debut novel, but it is the third book I have read by the author.
Grandpa Harry is a cranky old man and very difficult to deal with. He doesn’t have a good relationship with his two adult children. Unbeknownst to his family, Grandpa Harry is struggling with mental illness. Maybe an early set of Alzheimer’s as well. He knows his days are numbered. So, he compiles poems and letters for his favorite grandchild, Emily. The letters are addressed to Emily but are also meant for his kids. They contain many clues and riddles, so the family must work together to solve them. In the letters, he shares his personal stories to help his kids heal and mend his relationship with them. Also, the letters are filled with many life lessons and wisdom. When Grandpa Harry is gone, Emily may not remember much about him, but he hopes she will remember his heart.
It is a sweet, heartwarming book. Readers would expect nothing but a happy ending for a story like this. In that sense, the ending is predictable, but I enjoyed it. His writing always evokes strong feelings. He is one of those authors who grabs my attention from the beginning and never lets go until the end.
Grandpa Harry is a cranky old man and very difficult to deal with. He doesn’t have a good relationship with his two adult children. Unbeknownst to his family, Grandpa Harry is struggling with mental illness. Maybe an early set of Alzheimer’s as well. He knows his days are numbered. So, he compiles poems and letters for his favorite grandchild, Emily. The letters are addressed to Emily but are also meant for his kids. They contain many clues and riddles, so the family must work together to solve them. In the letters, he shares his personal stories to help his kids heal and mend his relationship with them. Also, the letters are filled with many life lessons and wisdom. When Grandpa Harry is gone, Emily may not remember much about him, but he hopes she will remember his heart.
It is a sweet, heartwarming book. Readers would expect nothing but a happy ending for a story like this. In that sense, the ending is predictable, but I enjoyed it. His writing always evokes strong feelings. He is one of those authors who grabs my attention from the beginning and never lets go until the end.
dyerra's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed reading this book, and thought it was a touching story of an elderly man's efforts to connect with his family posthumously. The major downside for me was that the medical information contained within did not seem well-researched. This book was published in 2001, so it is entirely possible that the book was current with the knowledge of the time and I am judging it for not knowing what we know in 2017, but the conversations with medical professionals seemed unrealistically thrown together and not well-researched. Because this book discusses Alzheimer's, dementia, and depression fairly extensively, this was a distracting problem.
I did, however, enjoy the grandfather's letters to Emily, and the impact that he had on his family even after he was gone.
I did, however, enjoy the grandfather's letters to Emily, and the impact that he had on his family even after he was gone.
bethgiven's review against another edition
4.0
I'm a sucker for books about letters (or even better -- written in letters), so I picked this up. And to my surprise, this turned out to be much better than I anticipated. Judging from the cover (I know, the cliche says I'm not supposed to, but I totally do), I thought this would be a little hokey and poorly written. What I found instead was a readable, clever story. I found myself rooting for Laura and Bob's rocky relationship and appreciating Harry for his efforts in communicating with his family after his death. And the puzzles (hidden passwords in poems to access Harry's letters to his granddaughter, Emily) were fun.
Now, don't get me wrong -- this is certainly not great literature or anything. There's not a lot of character depth and all of the problems are a little too neatly solved to be terribly realistic. But reading Letters for Emily turned out to be good, clean entertainment, and sometimes that's exactly the kind of "good read" I need.
Now, don't get me wrong -- this is certainly not great literature or anything. There's not a lot of character depth and all of the problems are a little too neatly solved to be terribly realistic. But reading Letters for Emily turned out to be good, clean entertainment, and sometimes that's exactly the kind of "good read" I need.
88keys's review against another edition
2.0
Though...at the end he added some poems that his grandfather wrote and one of them brought me to tears.