Reviews

The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes by Ruth Hogan

stlpapercrafts's review against another edition

3.0

I finished The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes this week. It is about learning to live again after a loss.

Masha went through a tragedy and it’s now 12 years later and she is still sleepwalking through her life. It all starts to change when she meets a woman she thinks of as Sally Red Shoes, a bag lady who is kind and always says what’s on her mind. She helps Masha open up and join the world again.

This book was pretty sad - there’s a lot time spent in cemeteries. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but it was ultimately uplifting. This book will be released on June 11th, 2019.

#thewisdomofsallyredshoes #ruthhogan #bookreview #currentlyreading #bookshark #netgalley

ruthie_the_librarian's review against another edition

3.0

I think this is a 3.5 stars for me - Although there were lots of times this edged towards being really great, there were just a few things that nudged it back down again for me. There's a lot of sadness to read through the book, so you have to be in the right frame of mind for it. But it is very well written, sensitive & thoughtful, and moments of humour lighten the darkness throughout.

I struggled with the jumps between Masha & Alice for the first quarter of the book. I'm not sure what it was, and if the two voices weren't defined enough, but for some time I wasn't quite sure what was going on, or who I was supposed to be paying attention to. I much preferred Masha, and her dog, and I found myself feeling frustrated with Alice's character in the end, rather than sympathetic. This may have been because I had guessed what was coming, and so then it was merely a process of waiting for it to play out.

I was much more interested in Masha, and in her slow recovery from the most devastating grief. She intrigued me, and I was really hoping for her to recover and find happiness. The ending, for me, was unnecessary, and in my head that isn't the conclusion I wanted for her. I felt her dawning realisation that she could no longer use her grief to hide away from everything in life was far more interesting, and believable, than what ultimately happens.

Sally wasn't quite well defined enough for me, and as I read I was more interested in Kitty. I thought lots of the secondary characters were well-drawn, and interesting in their own right, such as Kitty and Flo, and Masha's parents.

This was a good, compelling read. It didn't capture me in quite the same way as her first novel, but I still enjoyed reading it a great deal.
With thanks to Netgalley for the copy.

nanaboo's review against another edition

3.0

There was a last chapter and then an epilogue and in between, the best part of the story waiting to be told!!

thewoollygeek's review against another edition

4.0

A wonderful story about grief, loss and friendship. I really enjoyed this. Ruth Hogan is a wonderful author. It keeps you interested and turning pages. There are tears both of sadness and joy, really recommended a great read.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

lynburn's review against another edition

4.0

4.5 Stars. The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes by Ruth Hogan is an endearing story of loss and grief, but also of rediscovering hope and joy. This book is filled with wonderfully quirky, broken characters and Ms. Hogan exposes their layers throughout the telling of this story. Masha is a woman who has lost her son, Gabriel. No longer a mother, and not a wife, she worries that she’ll end up alone at the end of her life. Alice is a mom to teenaged, Mattie. But Alice harbors a secret that tie the two women together. This book is like a painting: there’s the objects we the reader see, Alice and Masha. Then there’s the environment they are in (Masha spends a lot of time in the cemetery and in the local pool; Alice remains isolated in her house outside the village). There’s the supporting characters: Marsha’s friends Edward, Epiphany, her dog Haizum, local undertaker Elvis, Kitty Muriel, and Sally with her red shoes; Alice only has Mattie. The painting referenced in the story is Ophelia by John Everett Millais, but unlike that Ophelia who lays singing before drowning in a river, Masha, the Ophelia in this story experiences a rebirth of sorts. The cemetery teaches her to embrace life, to be thankful for the days given to us, and as she befriends Sally, who feeds the crows in the cemetery, she also learns to not judge others for everyone has a story. Because of the relationships she has with those around her, Masha reopens herself to love, hope and joy.

I really enjoyed this story and look forward to the next story by Ruth Hogan. I was given an advanced e-book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! #netgalley #thewisdomofsallyredshoes

anjreading's review against another edition

4.0

A beautiful story of a woman coming back to life twelve years after her young son drowned. Masha has been going through the motions of life for over a decade, but is still consumed with grief over the death of her child Gabriel. As she befriends an eccentric bag lady who haunts the cemetery where Masha likes to spend her time, Masha slowly discovers the beauty and joy in life again. I won’t give any spoilers, but there’s something else going on that is I guess supposed to be a mystery even though it is pretty obvious.

pinkduchess's review against another edition

4.0

Just lovely
Slow starter but I am glad I stuck with it
I feel richer for having read this x

angief65's review against another edition

3.0

I was really enjoying this book with its quirky characters but what was that ending about? Too quick and too easy for me to believe. I guess I wanted more.

madamelacy's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I didn’t feel that the eponymous Sally was the only one who helped Masha. There were chunks of the book where she didn’t appear. Overall I really enjoyed the story and found it very moving. 

anovellaidea's review against another edition

hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0