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gleefulreader 's review for:
This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance!
by Jonathan Evison
An unusual book. The cover art (which I personally find quite delightful and one of the sharpest covers of the year) suggests that this might be a light, quirky read. Quirky for sure, but don't be fooled - this is not a light read by any stretch of the imagination. A fast read, for sure, but filled with sadness and uncomfortable truths.
Harriet Chance is 78 years old and has just discovered her recently deceased husband, Bernard, had bid on, and won, an Alaskan cruise. She decides to go on the cruise anyhow, with many revelations, betrayals and souls searching on the way.
The structure of this book may be off putting to some. It is told as a series of short chapters ricocheting back and forth to various points in Harriet's life, in the style of that old show "This is your life..." The narrator often speaks directly to the reader, in a joking or jovial manner, hinting at events to be told later in the story. This is the sole reason the book was four stars instead of five.
The book is the story of a marriage, the relationship we have with our children, the secrets we keep and how we relate to our past. It is also the stories we tell ourselves about our lives, how events can set our lives on a different course and how our reality does not always match the vision we had for our lives. It is a book with a great deal of sadness, but gave me a lot to think about. Highly recommended.
Harriet Chance is 78 years old and has just discovered her recently deceased husband, Bernard, had bid on, and won, an Alaskan cruise. She decides to go on the cruise anyhow, with many revelations, betrayals and souls searching on the way.
The structure of this book may be off putting to some. It is told as a series of short chapters ricocheting back and forth to various points in Harriet's life, in the style of that old show "This is your life..." The narrator often speaks directly to the reader, in a joking or jovial manner, hinting at events to be told later in the story. This is the sole reason the book was four stars instead of five.
The book is the story of a marriage, the relationship we have with our children, the secrets we keep and how we relate to our past. It is also the stories we tell ourselves about our lives, how events can set our lives on a different course and how our reality does not always match the vision we had for our lives. It is a book with a great deal of sadness, but gave me a lot to think about. Highly recommended.