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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.
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 against another edition
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