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leithross's review against another edition
5.0
Beautiful book - you never quite know what’s really happening and what isn’t and the thing is that it doesn’t really matter. Everything is real if you think it is, including the subject matter of this book.
Beautiful love stories and interesting characters and overall just sweet and tender.
My favourite thing by far was James the talking coyote - I suspect that I have one too and maybe when I get old and lose my own mind, we’ll finally get to have a real conversation.
Beautiful love stories and interesting characters and overall just sweet and tender.
My favourite thing by far was James the talking coyote - I suspect that I have one too and maybe when I get old and lose my own mind, we’ll finally get to have a real conversation.
papertraildiary's review against another edition
4.0
My review: http://papertraildiary.com/book-review-etta-otto-russell-james/
pomochi's review against another edition
4.0
3.75 stars
One morning, Otto discovers that Etta, his 83 year old wife, has left their house to walk east to see the water. Etta has left a note addressed to Otto explaining her intention along with recipes for him while she is away. Russell is Otto's best childhood friend and is also friends with Etta, and James is a talking coyote that Etta befriends on her walk to the water.
Etta and Otto and Russell and James alternates between the past and the present to narrate the story and also build background. Although I did enjoy reading the alternating time periods, I found it difficult to adjust to the different times. I was able to recognize the time periods fairly easily, but for some reason I had difficulty adjusting to the transitions and I spent a lot of time trying to remember what had previously happened in that time period. Also, during the present tense, the character that it followed changed almost every time, which threw me off even more.
Although I did have trouble with the time periods, I LOVED the writing. It is a very quirky way of writing, in which chapter lengths can vary from a couple sentences to a couple pages and there is no punctuation for dialogue. I thought that the lack of punctuation for dialogue would confuse me, but I actually enjoyed it, and I had no trouble distinguishing the dialogue from the rest of the story. Emma Hooper was wonderful at showing the relationships within the characters, rather than just telling the reader. I really loved how the relationships between Etta, Otto, and Russell seemed quite straightforward in the beginning of the novel, but slowly, more information was given to the reader and their relationships became more complicated and 3 dimensional.
Overall, I did like the premise of this novel and the writing was wonderful. However, this book wasn't really for me as I had trouble staying on track with time periods. Despite that difficulty, I definitely will be picking up more of Emma Hooper's novels in the future!
One morning, Otto discovers that Etta, his 83 year old wife, has left their house to walk east to see the water. Etta has left a note addressed to Otto explaining her intention along with recipes for him while she is away. Russell is Otto's best childhood friend and is also friends with Etta, and James is a talking coyote that Etta befriends on her walk to the water.
Etta and Otto and Russell and James alternates between the past and the present to narrate the story and also build background. Although I did enjoy reading the alternating time periods, I found it difficult to adjust to the different times. I was able to recognize the time periods fairly easily, but for some reason I had difficulty adjusting to the transitions and I spent a lot of time trying to remember what had previously happened in that time period. Also, during the present tense, the character that it followed changed almost every time, which threw me off even more.
Although I did have trouble with the time periods, I LOVED the writing. It is a very quirky way of writing, in which chapter lengths can vary from a couple sentences to a couple pages and there is no punctuation for dialogue. I thought that the lack of punctuation for dialogue would confuse me, but I actually enjoyed it, and I had no trouble distinguishing the dialogue from the rest of the story. Emma Hooper was wonderful at showing the relationships within the characters, rather than just telling the reader. I really loved how the relationships between Etta, Otto, and Russell seemed quite straightforward in the beginning of the novel, but slowly, more information was given to the reader and their relationships became more complicated and 3 dimensional.
Overall, I did like the premise of this novel and the writing was wonderful. However, this book wasn't really for me as I had trouble staying on track with time periods. Despite that difficulty, I definitely will be picking up more of Emma Hooper's novels in the future!
mcearl12's review against another edition
5.0
What a beautiful book...I have no other words...but I suggest you jump in--it was just so very lovely.
debs4jc's review
2.0
This turned out to be a tedious read for me, as I lost interest in the odd journey of Etta--who sets off on a trek across Canada for seemingly no good reason--and the reaction of Otto and Russell. Otto is her husband and he calmly stays at home where her learns to cook and bake from Etta's recipe box and then begins to make paper sculptures. Russell is Otto's best friend and adopted brother, and from flashbacks it seems like he may have once had a serious crush on Etta. Indeed, he goes off looking for her, but then rather than bringing her to safely he goes off on a journey of his own, to the frozen north. As for James--well he is a talking coyote who accompanies Etta. I could not relate to the way
eletricjb's review against another edition
4.0
Thank goodness for book podcasts, because I never would have found this one on my own. I quite liked it.
andymanion2's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
katiemichellereads's review against another edition
5.0
I received a free review copy of this book through Netgalley.
My reviews can also be found on my blog, Kittens and Books.
4.5 stars
This is the story of three people, each around eighty, who have spent the majority of their lives together. When Otto and Russell were in school, their old teacher was replaced with Etta, who was around the same age as themselves. From there, the lives of these three are mixed together, blended, it seems, almost into one.
The book itself intertwines the past and the present. In the past there are war memories, the story of Etta and Russell's brief romance, and school and dancing and songs. In the present there is Etta, walking to the ocean, Otto, making papier-mâché animals, Russell, in search of Etta, and James, a talking coyote who follows Etta around.
At first, the story felt pretty cohesive, but further in things get more scrambled. I found myself reading parts over again, to be sure I read them right. We are mostly following Etta's journey in this book, and she is not completely in touch with reality - sometimes, her memories are clear. Other times, she is confused. She keeps a note in her pocket to remind her of herself, and that lists her family members.
While the book lacked clarity, this did seem intentional, and I actually really liked the writing style. I liked getting further into the story and feeling just a little bit more lost on every page. This resembled the characters and the situation very well. It added to the book, rather than took away from it.
The characters themselves were great as well. I loved reading their pasts, although sometimes I did want to just jump ahead to what was happening currently. I did expect to see more of Russell in the present, as I really enjoyed his character - if he had a story of his own, I would read it. If there was one more thing I could ask for in this book, it would be more Russell. His present scenes were so short, and so far apart. Still, I loved reading about Etta and Otto. I enjoyed the parts with James as well, especially early on in the book.
I do have to say that this book won't be for everybody. The style is different, and some readers won't appreciate that. If you like a straightforward story, I would recommend reading something else. However, this is a sweet story of love and friendship and adventure, and it's perfect for readers who don't mind being a bit confused, It all felt very real, very heartfelt and touching, and - given the right reader - so, so much can be taken from this story.
My reviews can also be found on my blog, Kittens and Books.
4.5 stars
This is the story of three people, each around eighty, who have spent the majority of their lives together. When Otto and Russell were in school, their old teacher was replaced with Etta, who was around the same age as themselves. From there, the lives of these three are mixed together, blended, it seems, almost into one.
The book itself intertwines the past and the present. In the past there are war memories, the story of Etta and Russell's brief romance, and school and dancing and songs. In the present there is Etta, walking to the ocean, Otto, making papier-mâché animals, Russell, in search of Etta, and James, a talking coyote who follows Etta around.
At first, the story felt pretty cohesive, but further in things get more scrambled. I found myself reading parts over again, to be sure I read them right. We are mostly following Etta's journey in this book, and she is not completely in touch with reality - sometimes, her memories are clear. Other times, she is confused. She keeps a note in her pocket to remind her of herself, and that lists her family members.
While the book lacked clarity, this did seem intentional, and I actually really liked the writing style. I liked getting further into the story and feeling just a little bit more lost on every page. This resembled the characters and the situation very well. It added to the book, rather than took away from it.
The characters themselves were great as well. I loved reading their pasts, although sometimes I did want to just jump ahead to what was happening currently. I did expect to see more of Russell in the present, as I really enjoyed his character - if he had a story of his own, I would read it. If there was one more thing I could ask for in this book, it would be more Russell. His present scenes were so short, and so far apart. Still, I loved reading about Etta and Otto. I enjoyed the parts with James as well, especially early on in the book.
I do have to say that this book won't be for everybody. The style is different, and some readers won't appreciate that. If you like a straightforward story, I would recommend reading something else. However, this is a sweet story of love and friendship and adventure, and it's perfect for readers who don't mind being a bit confused, It all felt very real, very heartfelt and touching, and - given the right reader - so, so much can be taken from this story.