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A review by theoverbookedbibliophile
How to Read a Book by Monica Wood
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
“I am a reader. I am intelligent. I have something worthy to contribute.”
Twenty-two-year-old Violet Powell is released from prison after serving twenty-two months for a car crash that resulted in the death of the other driver. Violet, who was driving under the influence at the time, is consumed by guilt and finds it difficult to adjust to her new life in Portland - having lost her mother while serving her sentence and abandoned by her boyfriend, her remaining relatives distance themselves from her including her sister who sets her up in an apartment in Portland (away from her hometown of Abbott Falls, Maine) and tells her to stay away. While in prison, Violet was part of a book club hosted by retired English teacher Harriet Larson.
“I miss how Harriet was forever showing us how to read. How to look for shapes and layers. How to see that stories have a “meanwhile”—an important thing that’s happening while the rest of the story moves along.”
While searching for a book that she hadn’t been able to finish in prison, Violet is surprised to come across Harriet in a Portland bookstore. Harriet is sixty-four and a widow, whose children have settled abroad and her niece, who lives with her. soon to move to Berkley. Harriet has her share of regrets and often feels that she is underestimated by those around her. Harriet is a kind, compassionate soul who enjoys her time volunteering at the prison, giving the inmates a voice and a safe space to share their thoughts while discussing books.
“People set their husbands afire, they nurse their dying mothers, they rob demented old men, they sing songs that bring listeners to tears, they kill a woman while drunk on love and 86-proof. The line between this and that, you and her, us and them, the line is thin.”
Coincidentally, on the same day Violet meets Harriet she also encounters Frank Daigle, a sixty-eight-year-old retired machinist working as a handyman in the same bookstore who was also the husband of the woman who lost her life in the car crash. With his daughter married and settled, Frank lives alone in the home he shared with his late wife. Though he was aware of Violet’s early release from prison, he wasn’t prepared to see her in person or for the onslaught of emotions that would follow.
What follows is a transformative journey of catharsis, redemption and new beginnings.
Whenever I see a book with the image of a stack of books/ a bookstore/ a library on the cover, I’m immediately drawn to it, but rarely have I picked up a book without perusing the blurb/ description or reading a review, more so if I’ve never read anything by the author in question. Strangely enough, How to Read a Book by Monica Wood was an exception and I went into this one blind.
Let me begin by saying that this book was not what I expected. But yes, it proved to be one of the best selections I’ve made recently because it was so much more than I had hoped it would be. This is the kind of story that stays with you long after you have turned the last page. The author writes beautifully, with insight and heart, and the way she addresses complex human emotions is both realistic and relatable. The narrative is presented from the perspectives of the three characters, the different threads of the story deftly woven into a compelling narrative that was hard to put down. Though I didn’t agree with all of her choices, I felt for Violet and was invested in her journey. Frank is an endearing character and I absolutely adored Harriet, but I must say that Ollie captured my heart! The segments about the parrots were informative and entertaining in equal measure and I appreciated the Author’s Note on the nature of the research referenced in this novel. The book club segments truly enriched the novel, emphasizing the importance of empathy, kindness and how sharing perspectives on the books we read contribute to our understanding of the human condition. I enjoyed the literary references and found the discussions deeply thought-provoking.
“The writer writes the words. The given reader reads the words. And the book, the unique and unrepeatable book, doesn’t exist until the given reader meets the writer on the page.”
A heartwarming and evocative story about friendship and found family, kindness, self-acceptance, forgiveness and starting over and how books can motivate and inspire positive change, this story left me with a smile on my face and a lump in my throat! I couldn’t recommend it enough!
“Because life is the same as books, Misha. There’s a story and a meanwhile, and we get to say which is which.”
This was my first time reading this author, but it surely won’t be my last.
Many thanks to Mariner Books for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This novel was published on May 7, 2024.
Twenty-two-year-old Violet Powell is released from prison after serving twenty-two months for a car crash that resulted in the death of the other driver. Violet, who was driving under the influence at the time, is consumed by guilt and finds it difficult to adjust to her new life in Portland - having lost her mother while serving her sentence and abandoned by her boyfriend, her remaining relatives distance themselves from her including her sister who sets her up in an apartment in Portland (away from her hometown of Abbott Falls, Maine) and tells her to stay away. While in prison, Violet was part of a book club hosted by retired English teacher Harriet Larson.
“I miss how Harriet was forever showing us how to read. How to look for shapes and layers. How to see that stories have a “meanwhile”—an important thing that’s happening while the rest of the story moves along.”
While searching for a book that she hadn’t been able to finish in prison, Violet is surprised to come across Harriet in a Portland bookstore. Harriet is sixty-four and a widow, whose children have settled abroad and her niece, who lives with her. soon to move to Berkley. Harriet has her share of regrets and often feels that she is underestimated by those around her. Harriet is a kind, compassionate soul who enjoys her time volunteering at the prison, giving the inmates a voice and a safe space to share their thoughts while discussing books.
“People set their husbands afire, they nurse their dying mothers, they rob demented old men, they sing songs that bring listeners to tears, they kill a woman while drunk on love and 86-proof. The line between this and that, you and her, us and them, the line is thin.”
Coincidentally, on the same day Violet meets Harriet she also encounters Frank Daigle, a sixty-eight-year-old retired machinist working as a handyman in the same bookstore who was also the husband of the woman who lost her life in the car crash. With his daughter married and settled, Frank lives alone in the home he shared with his late wife. Though he was aware of Violet’s early release from prison, he wasn’t prepared to see her in person or for the onslaught of emotions that would follow.
What follows is a transformative journey of catharsis, redemption and new beginnings.
Whenever I see a book with the image of a stack of books/ a bookstore/ a library on the cover, I’m immediately drawn to it, but rarely have I picked up a book without perusing the blurb/ description or reading a review, more so if I’ve never read anything by the author in question. Strangely enough, How to Read a Book by Monica Wood was an exception and I went into this one blind.
Let me begin by saying that this book was not what I expected. But yes, it proved to be one of the best selections I’ve made recently because it was so much more than I had hoped it would be. This is the kind of story that stays with you long after you have turned the last page. The author writes beautifully, with insight and heart, and the way she addresses complex human emotions is both realistic and relatable. The narrative is presented from the perspectives of the three characters, the different threads of the story deftly woven into a compelling narrative that was hard to put down. Though I didn’t agree with all of her choices, I felt for Violet and was invested in her journey. Frank is an endearing character and I absolutely adored Harriet, but I must say that Ollie captured my heart! The segments about the parrots were informative and entertaining in equal measure and I appreciated the Author’s Note on the nature of the research referenced in this novel. The book club segments truly enriched the novel, emphasizing the importance of empathy, kindness and how sharing perspectives on the books we read contribute to our understanding of the human condition. I enjoyed the literary references and found the discussions deeply thought-provoking.
“The writer writes the words. The given reader reads the words. And the book, the unique and unrepeatable book, doesn’t exist until the given reader meets the writer on the page.”
A heartwarming and evocative story about friendship and found family, kindness, self-acceptance, forgiveness and starting over and how books can motivate and inspire positive change, this story left me with a smile on my face and a lump in my throat! I couldn’t recommend it enough!
“Because life is the same as books, Misha. There’s a story and a meanwhile, and we get to say which is which.”
This was my first time reading this author, but it surely won’t be my last.
Many thanks to Mariner Books for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This novel was published on May 7, 2024.