You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
There has never been such a stark contrast between what I expected from a book and what I recieved than in This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance! I blame the cheery, whimsical cover. But rather than the comfy Alaskan adventure I thought I was settling into, I got a rather depressing tale of a woman who squandered her life . Which might not even be that much of a problem if the way it was written was stronger, but it's written like the fluffy poolside romp I wanted. None of the characters never transcend past cliches, the plot itself is super muddled - outside of the flashbacks very little happens, and if your intent is to write a character-driven work, your characters need to be so much more!! And yeah, poor Harriet's story is such a bleak one, & honestly, my main issue is that.... I kept waiting for a moment of healing, a grand 'It's A Wonderful Life' moment of realization that all lives matter and that all her suffering was worth it..... but nope. Nope. Never happens.
Spoiler
(& was sexually harassed, molested, & cheated on to boot)
Listened to this all in one day while cleaning my house (I need a longer book next time) and it kept my attention and wondering what would happen next. Enjoyed it immensely. Trigger warning for sex abuse, it is not overly explicit but still there. The narrator, Susan Boyce, was excellent and I will keep an eye out for her again.
A perfect little read: invitingly light and profound at the same time. Many contemporary novelists write nonlinear narrative, but Evison has married form to meaning in this outstanding novel. This is a masterpiece of storytelling.
Wow! Talk about your series of unfortunate events! Such an interesting perspective for a story. I was both sympathetic and annoyed with Harriet as the details of her life unfolded. There were times when I identified with Harriet 100% and then other times when I thought, "Phew, there's no way I am anything like her!" I was very relieved when the truth finally comes out, because that is when I felt like Harriet and her daughter Caroline really grew and could forgive themselves for their transgressions.
The author jumps around in time which confused me at the beginning (I'm easily confused, though) but then I realized the genius of this and could then really get into the story and the characters.
The author jumps around in time which confused me at the beginning (I'm easily confused, though) but then I realized the genius of this and could then really get into the story and the characters.
This is the story of a life, Harriet's life. Her life is filled with all the things lives are filled with: choices, consequences, mistakes, miracles, good days, bad days, old friends, new friends, husbands, children. We visit Harriet's past through "this is your life" style chapters and are with her in the present as she decides to go on a cruise that her now-deceased husband bid on a couple of years before. Evison has a way of creating such vividly real characters. Harriet is far from perfect and I loved her more for her imperfections. Great read for anyone that wants a little humor with a side of sad (and sometimes happy) reality.
Not really sure I liked the ending, but overall this was a good read. It helps to know the format of the old tv show to get into the rhythm of the history chapters.
A decent coming-of-old-age book. Harriet Chance, through a series of flashbacks and spectral visits shows us how her life came to be. There were times that I really didn't like her and was pretty tired of her "yes, dear"-ing every other conversation line. The sentiment was apt, though.
This was a quick read, which is exactly what I was looking for between more heavy book club picks. I liked the story even though I didn't love the characters. It made me reflect and think about aging and family dynamics, as well as brought to mind a theme we recently discussed in my book club about "perfect families", and how, more often than not, there isn't a lot of perfect beneath the public face of that family.
Ah, what a great read. So cleverly written, such a great story. I will be talking up this one for sure.