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A review by jennifer_mangieri
The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe
4.0
I'm not sure I can do any better than the little blurb on the front cover of my edition, from Entertainment Weekly, which reads, "A graceful, affecting testament to a mother and a life well lived." It is truly that. I would have enjoyed knowing Will Schwalbe's amazing mother, Mary Anne, & I bet I would enjoy knowing Mr. Schwalbe as well, because how can a guy who writes with such intelligence and love for his mom, be anything less than sweet?
Don't get me wrong, this is not a schmaltzy, sickeningly sweet book. I believe it succeeds in showing us something about Mr. Schwalbe, lots about his mom & their relationship, and things about what it means to be human and be a member of a family, through the lens of a "book club". During the time when Mary Anne was being treated for cancer, she & her son Will spent lots of time in waiting rooms & chemo treatment rooms, & to pass the time they talked about the books they were reading. Sometimes they read the same book & other times not. I found plenty of books I'd like to add to my own reading list.
The book struck me with the realization that all the passages I marked, but one, had to do with prayer. I imagine this means it's time to look at the role of prayer in my own life & what I might be able to learn in terms of peace, acceptance & understanding by allowing a little more spirituality in. Since I marked passages having to do with new age prayer, Unitarianism, Christian prayer and Buddhist prayer, I imagine it is an indication that it's OK to just be a seeker! I was drawn to the book just out of curiosity & the fact that any book about books is intriguing to me - but I am happy to have learned something deeper from it.
Don't get me wrong, this is not a schmaltzy, sickeningly sweet book. I believe it succeeds in showing us something about Mr. Schwalbe, lots about his mom & their relationship, and things about what it means to be human and be a member of a family, through the lens of a "book club". During the time when Mary Anne was being treated for cancer, she & her son Will spent lots of time in waiting rooms & chemo treatment rooms, & to pass the time they talked about the books they were reading. Sometimes they read the same book & other times not. I found plenty of books I'd like to add to my own reading list.
The book struck me with the realization that all the passages I marked, but one, had to do with prayer. I imagine this means it's time to look at the role of prayer in my own life & what I might be able to learn in terms of peace, acceptance & understanding by allowing a little more spirituality in. Since I marked passages having to do with new age prayer, Unitarianism, Christian prayer and Buddhist prayer, I imagine it is an indication that it's OK to just be a seeker! I was drawn to the book just out of curiosity & the fact that any book about books is intriguing to me - but I am happy to have learned something deeper from it.