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A review by ceeemvee
Grace's Table by Sally Piper
5.0
This is a well-crafted story which takes places on one day, but reminisces about a lifetime. At first, I read a bit of the book, but it seemed mundane and tedious, and I didn't get very far. I came across it again, started reading, and am very glad I did. This isn't a book of thriller endings and plot twists, but an ordinary woman's life examined.
It's Grace's 70th birthday, and as she prepares dinner for her family and close friends, she weaves a tale of her life: childhood, love, marriage, children, friendship. She uses the everyday and special items in her home to spark her memory and tell her story. However, it's a story that can be seen from a different perspective by other family members: “Families were like sand dunes, Grace decided. They shifted shape and position with even the gentlest of forces. Even a tiny puff – a shrug – could bring about change, move a handful of thoughts to a new understanding, a new authority. A gale, like today’s, and whole dunes – lives and futures – were relocated, reimagined.”
Thoroughly enjoyable read.
It's Grace's 70th birthday, and as she prepares dinner for her family and close friends, she weaves a tale of her life: childhood, love, marriage, children, friendship. She uses the everyday and special items in her home to spark her memory and tell her story. However, it's a story that can be seen from a different perspective by other family members: “Families were like sand dunes, Grace decided. They shifted shape and position with even the gentlest of forces. Even a tiny puff – a shrug – could bring about change, move a handful of thoughts to a new understanding, a new authority. A gale, like today’s, and whole dunes – lives and futures – were relocated, reimagined.”
Thoroughly enjoyable read.