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chlslnbd10's review
4.0
Really liked this book. A fascinating tale of a terrible year of a woman's life and moving on from tragedies. Really wanted to get to know Josie more, but I think Isabel knew just about as much about her best friend as we did.
dianametzger's review
2.0
I think Fox is a good writer. She has moments in this book where I thought her observations were smart, detailed, insightful but on the whole this was THE BIGGEST so what story ever. The structuring felt so unnecessary until the very end and even that payoff--from glorifying a dead friend to seeing their flaws still felt pretty meh and I felt like the main character never really changed and felt really flat. I felt like I was constantly being told about these characters rather than getting to know them through dialogue or action. The book was a slough and just felt like a really small story.
kategci's review
4.0
Isabel Moore has become unmoored. Her best friend has died, her marriage has unraveled and her 11 year old daughter is 11. Lauren Fox has written a sorry of grief and change, capturing the numbness and disinterest in life that occurs when you lose what is dear to you. Izzy is able to keep going through her job as a teacher, while the rest of her life becomes a new normal. Fox, to her credit, does not end the story completely resolved, so Izzy will stay with me for a while, wondering what's next?
bianca89279's review
5.0
I've received this novel via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the opportunity to read and review.
Some novels strike too close to home, and this was definitely one of those. Isabel is a 40 something-year-old teacher, who's grieving the loss of her best friend, Josie. Isabel finds it difficult to move on. Josie had been an important part of her life for the past 15 years. Meanwhile, her 15 year marriage to Chris is falling apart. Her pre-teen daughter, Hannah, suddenly can't stand the sight of her mum. Everything is disintegrating around Isabel.
This was an incredibly well-written, compelling, touching and extremely realistic novel. Lauren Fox's writing style is absolutely exquisite. The story is told in a non-linear way, with flashbacks that are seamlessly integrated.
The characters in this novel are very credible and fully formed. Isabel is a likeable and very relatable character.
I can't come up with a review to do justice to this little jewel. I dare say that women of a certain age will get Isabel. I certainly did.
Looking forward to reading more by Lauren Fox, because I just loved her writing style.
Some novels strike too close to home, and this was definitely one of those. Isabel is a 40 something-year-old teacher, who's grieving the loss of her best friend, Josie. Isabel finds it difficult to move on. Josie had been an important part of her life for the past 15 years. Meanwhile, her 15 year marriage to Chris is falling apart. Her pre-teen daughter, Hannah, suddenly can't stand the sight of her mum. Everything is disintegrating around Isabel.
This was an incredibly well-written, compelling, touching and extremely realistic novel. Lauren Fox's writing style is absolutely exquisite. The story is told in a non-linear way, with flashbacks that are seamlessly integrated.
The characters in this novel are very credible and fully formed. Isabel is a likeable and very relatable character.
I can't come up with a review to do justice to this little jewel. I dare say that women of a certain age will get Isabel. I certainly did.
Looking forward to reading more by Lauren Fox, because I just loved her writing style.
routergirl's review
5.0
I suspect Lauren Fox's writing in Days of Awe may frustrate people looking for a linear tale. This jumps around a bit, veers off the path into the past, gets distracted by shiny objects. And I completely adored it. It did not have a plot I expected, and just when I thought it was going somewhere, it turned off down an alley and took me someplace else. That may be why I loved it so much, but a large part of the pleasure in reading this came from the writing.
Isabel brings us into this tale at her best friend's funeral. Through flashes of memory, the reader is brought up to speed on her daughter (Hannah) her husband (Chris) and the other characters, all well drawn individuals, with stories of their own. Her mother, who fled Germany as a child, with her dark comments about the likelihood of someone putting them in an oven. I found them all so well written, so very real. Fox's writing engaged me, swept me along, had me highlighting quotes and journaling at first, before I gave up and realized it was all just...glorious. The shine exists in bits like, "Watching him, I understood that our pain separates us -- that something as monumental as sorrow ought to make us porous, but it petrifies us instead. I understood that, and then, like a goldfish, I forgot it."
I don't believe Lauren Fox writes a book. She paints it, deftly and adroitly, by placing this memory here, and that description over there, and with a few touches to bring it all together, she pulls the strings that carry us all through the tale.
Isabel brings us into this tale at her best friend's funeral. Through flashes of memory, the reader is brought up to speed on her daughter (Hannah) her husband (Chris) and the other characters, all well drawn individuals, with stories of their own. Her mother, who fled Germany as a child, with her dark comments about the likelihood of someone putting them in an oven. I found them all so well written, so very real. Fox's writing engaged me, swept me along, had me highlighting quotes and journaling at first, before I gave up and realized it was all just...glorious. The shine exists in bits like, "Watching him, I understood that our pain separates us -- that something as monumental as sorrow ought to make us porous, but it petrifies us instead. I understood that, and then, like a goldfish, I forgot it."
I don't believe Lauren Fox writes a book. She paints it, deftly and adroitly, by placing this memory here, and that description over there, and with a few touches to bring it all together, she pulls the strings that carry us all through the tale.
allibroad's review
2.0
I have not yet reached the stage of life that will allow me to fully appreciate this book.
nixieknox's review
4.0
A solid novel with a definite arc from loss & heartbreak to something like redemption. Written with a lovely unexpected turn of phrase, my favorite being "joyless board game." Isabel has way more outward anger and blame in regards to death than I have ever experienced (as of yet anyway) but it wasn't overwhelming.
Definitely will check out her first novel.
Definitely will check out her first novel.
siren_books's review
3.0
I liked it. I was left wanting more about Josie and less about divorce going on, though I know the mourning of both were important to the story. 3.5 stars
amberpetersen28's review
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.5
This was a DNF for me for months and I just now got the whim to try and read it again. I made it through but it was slow and it went no where by the end. There were enjoyable parts but it just felt like the story went no where and was so slow.
orygunn's review
4.0
Maybe more of 3.5 stars than 4. A very readable book although I prefer one with more plot than "the steps of grief of a Midwest teacher".