Reviews

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney

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colleengeedrumm's review against another edition

5.0

They can run all they want. They'll be rejected and exhausted.

But upon reflection I am inclined to file them in the drawer labeled good problems.

Now I must do my best impression of a track star.

Oh, if you want the last word that much, you can have it.

If I am in a place with that many pigeons, then it is probably urban enough for me to want to live there and be satisfied with the quantity of urbanity.

Steam from the subway grates: shiny ghosts

In order not to bother or be bothered by ghosts, you just act like you're one of them.

When life seems gray
And short of fizz
It seems that way
Because it is.

babybirdnoco's review against another edition

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4.0

I'm obsessed with listening to stories older generations have to share. As times change and culture changes it great to hear stories of an old person who has adopted to the current times but experienced something much different than I. Reading this book felt like I was sitting on a park bench with someones grandma listening to her life story. It's a story of the kind of old woman I want to be so still has her full independence and worked a career she loved!

danileighta's review against another edition

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5.0

Read this book. Better yet, listen to this book being read by Xe Sands. The writing is so smart that the story doesn't even really matter, but the story is excellent, as well. Without giving too much away, Lillian does, in fact, take a walk, on New Year's Eve of 1985. She is born in 1899, however, and the history of who she is is told in smart flashbacks. The narrator is in her 80's and lets us know early on in the book that her memory is not what it once was and, sure enough, we will hear some repetition throughout the book. It is done artfully, though, and does not insist upon itself; you might even miss it if you aren't paying attention. This book might be especially interesting to those who are dealing with aging and divorce, but it is written in a way that 30-somethings will find relatable. In fact, the author is 30-something. At the end of the audiobook, you can listen to an interview with the author.

I work in several libraries and everyone who has read or listened to this book has fallen in love. So give it a shot!