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gloriaannwilson's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Fiction, based on the author's own experiences living in Mayerthorpe, Alberta.
Julia and her partner move to Medville for his first posting with the RCMP. Police works exacts a toll on officers and their families. This is a dark, episodic novel that offers some insight into what those that protect us, go through.
Living in Mayerthorpe, I recognized characters and places described in this book. And because I'm aware of events that came after the time period explored in The Observer, it was an eerie read.
I am glad I read this novel. I'm sure it's one that will haunt me.
Julia and her partner move to Medville for his first posting with the RCMP. Police works exacts a toll on officers and their families. This is a dark, episodic novel that offers some insight into what those that protect us, go through.
Living in Mayerthorpe, I recognized characters and places described in this book. And because I'm aware of events that came after the time period explored in The Observer, it was an eerie read.
I am glad I read this novel. I'm sure it's one that will haunt me.
the_original_shelf_monkey's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
4.25
rapunkzle's review
2.0
This novel is written in the style of a memoir, which for some may be enjoyable but for me made it extremely difficult to read. While I do enjoy a nice memoir now and then, this book to me mainly feels like one in the way the book's events are told. It feels like someone just filling you in on things that happened to them in chronological order, rather than a story with a purpose. I found the writing extremely dull and I couldn't bring myself to care about a single character (and there were so many introduced in such quick succession that I couldn't keep track of who's who). I DNFd at 49%, as this book felt entirely like a chore to read.
daniellejp16's review against another edition
3.5
This book was not at all what I was expecting. Told in a memoir format but fiction it’s told from the point of view of the partner of an RCMP officer in a small town in Alberta.
Julia, the observer and narrator, describes her life being the partner of an RCMP officer in a small rural town in Alberta. It took me a bit to get into as she describes day to day life that isn’t very exciting and I kept waiting for something big to happen. Instead the story begins to focus more about the difficult and toll her partner, Hardy, faces being an officer and his struggles with depression caused by his job.
Although I don’t typically love slower books this one was well done.
Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada and Knopf Canada for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness and Suicide
readwith_adele's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Told with memoir-style writing, this book is fiction. At first I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, if I’m being honest. It’s quite mundane, and almost too Canadian (if that makes sense). Even more than that, it’s specific to Alberta in a lot of ways and not just because it is part of the setting.
I ended up thoroughly enjoying it the further along I got. I loved the mundane things that happened once I learned about the characters more, and this, along with the more “action” side of things. With the MC and her common-law partner being a newspaper editor and RCMP officer respectively, it’s a slow but steady and powerful read.
Told in the first person, it follows Julia and Hardy, a couple that moves to a small town where Hardy is a RCMP officer and Julia works for a newspaper, aptly called The Observer.
I fully remember the Mayerthorpe shooting in 2005 and there is a part of the book that was reminiscent of that.
“”Some people are not cut out for this line of work,” He said, “too sensitive.”” It’s interesting to see how professionals looked upon mental health and how it was treated, in the not so distant past and probably some that still have this way of thinking.
“When Hardy and I first got together my dad had told me that the early days of love, that delight in each other, would be something to rest on later when times got hard.”
Thank you @netgalley for The Observer ARC and @penguinrandomca
I ended up thoroughly enjoying it the further along I got. I loved the mundane things that happened once I learned about the characters more, and this, along with the more “action” side of things. With the MC and her common-law partner being a newspaper editor and RCMP officer respectively, it’s a slow but steady and powerful read.
Told in the first person, it follows Julia and Hardy, a couple that moves to a small town where Hardy is a RCMP officer and Julia works for a newspaper, aptly called The Observer.
I fully remember the Mayerthorpe shooting in 2005 and there is a part of the book that was reminiscent of that.
“”Some people are not cut out for this line of work,” He said, “too sensitive.”” It’s interesting to see how professionals looked upon mental health and how it was treated, in the not so distant past and probably some that still have this way of thinking.
“When Hardy and I first got together my dad had told me that the early days of love, that delight in each other, would be something to rest on later when times got hard.”
Thank you @netgalley for The Observer ARC and @penguinrandomca
yangelareads's review
3.5
I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Copy provided by Penguin Random House Canada.
When Julia arrives in Medway, accompanying her beloved Hardy on his first posting as an RCMP constable, she tries to explain her new life to old friends from the city, but can find no shared vocabulary to convey this rural reality, let alone police life. As Hardy disappears into long days at work, Julia takes a job as editor of the local newspaper, the Observer . Interviewing people to compose a view of the town each week, she gathers knowledge of the community’s surface joys and sorrows; meanwhile, Hardy is immersed in violence and loss, and Julia can only witness his increasing exhaustion. At first this new life together is an adventure, but as in all the best stories, time darkens and deepens it.
The Observer is an essential story from one of our most beloved storytellers. Endicott writes with the sure pacing and insight of a master novelist, piecing haunting details into a quietly devastating revelation of the fragility of life and law in a tightknit community. Endicott really captures the essence of small town life. I love a book based on personal experience and the author really delivered on explaining that. Living in a small town, and being a police wife. This is such a true and tragic life. Only thing for me it was a little bit slow at time, but I still definitely recommend reading this one.
When Julia arrives in Medway, accompanying her beloved Hardy on his first posting as an RCMP constable, she tries to explain her new life to old friends from the city, but can find no shared vocabulary to convey this rural reality, let alone police life. As Hardy disappears into long days at work, Julia takes a job as editor of the local newspaper, the Observer . Interviewing people to compose a view of the town each week, she gathers knowledge of the community’s surface joys and sorrows; meanwhile, Hardy is immersed in violence and loss, and Julia can only witness his increasing exhaustion. At first this new life together is an adventure, but as in all the best stories, time darkens and deepens it.
The Observer is an essential story from one of our most beloved storytellers. Endicott writes with the sure pacing and insight of a master novelist, piecing haunting details into a quietly devastating revelation of the fragility of life and law in a tightknit community. Endicott really captures the essence of small town life. I love a book based on personal experience and the author really delivered on explaining that. Living in a small town, and being a police wife. This is such a true and tragic life. Only thing for me it was a little bit slow at time, but I still definitely recommend reading this one.
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