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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
vanquishingvolumes's review against another edition
3.0
3 Stars - I Liked It
Although I predicated the “twist” fairly early on, this was still an enjoyable read that may be a better fit for wintertime by the fireplace than spring on a sunny day. Warm, heartfelt, and poignant this novel tackles themes of loss and motherhood, as well as the act of living and how we all should get on with it instead of just surviving day to day. The beauty of this book was in the truths it unveiled not only for these characters, but for you as the reader.
Although I predicated the “twist” fairly early on, this was still an enjoyable read that may be a better fit for wintertime by the fireplace than spring on a sunny day. Warm, heartfelt, and poignant this novel tackles themes of loss and motherhood, as well as the act of living and how we all should get on with it instead of just surviving day to day. The beauty of this book was in the truths it unveiled not only for these characters, but for you as the reader.
book_case7's review against another edition
5.0
As with her first novel, I LOVED Ruth Hogan’s writing! The depth of her characters, and the raw & honest emotion she portrays, really makes you empathize with them so intensely. I felt like I was completely inside her little world. I freakin loooooved Kitty Muriel and Sally and Edward and, obviously, Haizum! And thoroughly respected all the other characters :)
God I wish I lived in a small English community like this one so badly, sounds heavenly!!
I was so worried about the twist, I knew it was coming from early on but I desperately hoped it wouldn’t! But I think she did it very tastefully, and realistically. I quite liked the epilogue - short and sweet and left us to our own conclusions.
Overall, fantastic novel once again. Can’t wait to read more from her :)
God I wish I lived in a small English community like this one so badly, sounds heavenly!!
I was so worried about the twist, I knew it was coming from early on but I desperately hoped it wouldn’t! But I think she did it very tastefully, and realistically. I quite liked the epilogue - short and sweet and left us to our own conclusions.
Overall, fantastic novel once again. Can’t wait to read more from her :)
greenreadsbooks's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars
This is the 3rd of Ruth Hogan's books that I have read and I have loved them all. I really adore her style of writing and ability to hook you in quickly even when dealing with the mundane issues of every day life.
I found this one slightly harder to get into than the others and was initially confused about the relevance of the Alice chapters but I was soon curious about the link and intrigued. Although I got the gist of the plot quite early on I felt that it developed at the right pace and held enough back to keep the questions coming.
I loved the descriptions of swimming and the drowning practice. Swimming is often used as a therapeutic tool and I have come across it in a few novels recently.
The characters were wonderful and I really enjoyed their development and the description of burgeoning friendships. The idea that you never know what is going on in people's lives and how we can make friends with the most unlikely people. The idea of names, nicknames and pseudonym was an interesting concept in the book too.
I loved the links to Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel and The idea of ghosts and talking to ghosts, which is a recurrent theme in Hogan's books. The main themes in the book were difficult - death, bereavement, illness, grief and loss, but I feel that Ruth handled them really well, especially the theme of recovery.
The ending was handled perfectly - it left me wanting more but ultimately satisfied.
This was a book that had me thinking about the story when I wasn't reading it and it's one I will definitely re-read.
This is the 3rd of Ruth Hogan's books that I have read and I have loved them all. I really adore her style of writing and ability to hook you in quickly even when dealing with the mundane issues of every day life.
I found this one slightly harder to get into than the others and was initially confused about the relevance of the Alice chapters but I was soon curious about the link and intrigued. Although I got the gist of the plot quite early on I felt that it developed at the right pace and held enough back to keep the questions coming.
I loved the descriptions of swimming and the drowning practice. Swimming is often used as a therapeutic tool and I have come across it in a few novels recently.
The characters were wonderful and I really enjoyed their development and the description of burgeoning friendships. The idea that you never know what is going on in people's lives and how we can make friends with the most unlikely people. The idea of names, nicknames and pseudonym was an interesting concept in the book too.
I loved the links to Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel and The idea of ghosts and talking to ghosts, which is a recurrent theme in Hogan's books. The main themes in the book were difficult - death, bereavement, illness, grief and loss, but I feel that Ruth handled them really well, especially the theme of recovery.
The ending was handled perfectly - it left me wanting more but ultimately satisfied.
This was a book that had me thinking about the story when I wasn't reading it and it's one I will definitely re-read.
lee's review against another edition
4.0
The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes is a thoughtful book that both surprised me and humbled me in ways that I wasn’t expecting. Going into this book, I knew that the story revolved around difficult subject matter such as death, loss, and grief, and so I thought that this would be a heavy read, since most authors tend to approach these themes in a manner that focuses more on the dark and tragic. It turns out I was wrong, as Ruth Hogan has a unique style all her own where she is able to take such difficult subject matter and approach it in a manner that is lighthearted, yet absolutely respectful. Hogan herself was battling cancer as she wrote this book and as she describes in her “Author’s Note,” she chose to stand up and fight, facing her situation head on and not letting it get her down. It is this personal experience that inspires the story, which revolves around the character of Masha, who is still dealing with the grief and guilt over losing her son Gabriel 12 years ago. Masha is surrounded by friends and family who love her and want nothing more than to help her, but she can’t bear for the past tragedy to even be mentioned. She finds solace in visiting the local cemetery, the only place where she is able to either keep silent company with the souls of the deceased or share her story with them as she feels comfortable. She also takes refuge at the local town lido, where she finds safety in her “practice drowning” sessions underwater. Slowly though, things start to change for her when she unexpectedly meets two women who open up a new world for her — a mysterious bag lady named Sally Red Shoes who loves to sing while feeding the crows that constantly surround her, and a seventy-something disco queen named Kitty Muriel whose vivacious joy and love for life belies a tragic past of her own. Through these two extraordinary women and the various encounters she has with them, Masha’s outlook slowly changes and she sees the chance to start living again.
This was a lovely, heartwarming story with quirky, eccentric characters that I absolutely adored. Hogan writes in a descriptive prose that paints a detailed picture of each scene and in so doing, also brings each of the characters to life, though at times this also required a little bit of patience to read because the descriptions would sometimes go on for pages, making it easy to get so caught up in the details that I would forget what point I was at with the story — with that said though, the effort was definitely worth it. I also loved the humor that was interspersed throughout the story, which I felt was perfectly balanced — no small feat given the sensitive subject matter, but done amazingly well in Hogan’s capable hands.
Ultimately, this was a story that went beyond simply a meditation on grief and death — rather, this was a story about hope and resilience and finding the will to keep living in the face of tragedy and pain. This was an uplifting and inspiring read, one that made me excited to read Hogan’s other works (both of which are already on my TBR). Definitely recommended!
Received ARC from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley.
This was a lovely, heartwarming story with quirky, eccentric characters that I absolutely adored. Hogan writes in a descriptive prose that paints a detailed picture of each scene and in so doing, also brings each of the characters to life, though at times this also required a little bit of patience to read because the descriptions would sometimes go on for pages, making it easy to get so caught up in the details that I would forget what point I was at with the story — with that said though, the effort was definitely worth it. I also loved the humor that was interspersed throughout the story, which I felt was perfectly balanced — no small feat given the sensitive subject matter, but done amazingly well in Hogan’s capable hands.
Ultimately, this was a story that went beyond simply a meditation on grief and death — rather, this was a story about hope and resilience and finding the will to keep living in the face of tragedy and pain. This was an uplifting and inspiring read, one that made me excited to read Hogan’s other works (both of which are already on my TBR). Definitely recommended!
Received ARC from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley.
mardal's review against another edition
3.0
premise:
A story of trying to continue from experiencing deep lost. This is not a quick heal and others generally don't accept how you've chosen to continue, but, you just gotta do what you gotta do to continue.
spoilers/personal reaction:
It's a nice change to just read for the feeling and not to deduce. While there was an attempt to have a bit of dramatic ending, I enjoyed it the same with or without it. It swapped between two perspectives, Masha and Alice, with Masha being the main focus. It was pretty obvious I found that Alice had something to do with Masha's lost child, but the oblivion for adding the character didn't affect the quality of writing. Masha lost her child while he was still basically a baby and a decade later she still hasn't really recovered. Her process is to go to the graveyard and swim (because her son drowned). Again, it's her process. Not everybody is going to get it but along the way she meets people and these people help to start again. In the end, she healed through these new friends she made. The shock ending is that Alice similarly lost her child. She knew he died. While she was laying down by the water a baby appear on the shore. She knew it wasn't her child but she took him and raised it as her own. She lives a recluse of a life so she was never found and they assumed Masha's baby had died. Now Alice is sick and is going to die soon so he is released. Masha finally has found a significant level of healing and in a bittersweet twist, she is getting her baby that she lost back.
A story of trying to continue from experiencing deep lost. This is not a quick heal and others generally don't accept how you've chosen to continue, but, you just gotta do what you gotta do to continue.
Spoiler
spoilers/personal reaction:
It's a nice change to just read for the feeling and not to deduce. While there was an attempt to have a bit of dramatic ending, I enjoyed it the same with or without it. It swapped between two perspectives, Masha and Alice, with Masha being the main focus. It was pretty obvious I found that Alice had something to do with Masha's lost child, but the oblivion for adding the character didn't affect the quality of writing. Masha lost her child while he was still basically a baby and a decade later she still hasn't really recovered. Her process is to go to the graveyard and swim (because her son drowned). Again, it's her process. Not everybody is going to get it but along the way she meets people and these people help to start again. In the end, she healed through these new friends she made. The shock ending is that Alice similarly lost her child. She knew he died. While she was laying down by the water a baby appear on the shore. She knew it wasn't her child but she took him and raised it as her own. She lives a recluse of a life so she was never found and they assumed Masha's baby had died. Now Alice is sick and is going to die soon so he is released. Masha finally has found a significant level of healing and in a bittersweet twist, she is getting her baby that she lost back.
rhodaj's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
kenny8ba's review against another edition
3.0
Hhmmmm overly descriptive simple story about the main character Masha, the first half is very confusing, I had no idea which character I was reading about as it switches so often. The lives of many people are in detail that is not necessary. Sally an eccentric character who (confusingly) turns out to be called Phoebe has a minute part to play considering she seems like a main influence in Mashas life. Not the best book I have read..... Predictable and abrupt ending.
cookewitch's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
Good read, didn't enjoy it as much as The Keeper of Lost Things. Still funny and heartwarming but with a hint of depression.
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