Scan barcode
A review by hollygo12345
The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes by Ruth Hogan
4.0
The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes is a story of transformation as well as atonement. Masha lost her young son 12 years ago and has never fully recovered. Grief has paralyzed her and she holds on to it as a way to assuage the guilt she feels for Gabriel losing his life. While Masha is alive and fully functional, she is merely going through the motions of living. She takes her dog Hazium for walks in the cemetery where she converses with the dead. Masha aspires to be a cemetery guide and she makes up stories about the individuals buried there. There’s a trio of women she calls her “worry dolls” and she tells them all her troubles. In fact, throughout the story, Masha introduces us to individual characters she affectionately calls her “family on the other side.”
If it isn’t clear yet, Masha is obsessed with death — she tries to feel what drowning is like when she goes swimming, she has a collection of books about death and dying, she contemplates sudden death, etc. Yet I did not find this book to be maudlin or morose and I attribute that to the writing skills of Ruth Hogan. Furthermore, I found Masha to be a likable character and the reader cannot help but feel sorry for her. She knows she has to change but it isn’t until she meets Sally Red Shoes in the cemetery, who gives her valuable advice and dances with her, that she feels she can. Her new friend Kitty also plays a significant role in her transformation when she tells Masha about her own past tragedy and how she coped with it and successfully moved on with her life.
The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes is a touching story that will break your heart and then heal it. I had trouble getting into it and becoming engaged with the story but patience paid off and I am glad I stuck with it.
Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.
If it isn’t clear yet, Masha is obsessed with death — she tries to feel what drowning is like when she goes swimming, she has a collection of books about death and dying, she contemplates sudden death, etc. Yet I did not find this book to be maudlin or morose and I attribute that to the writing skills of Ruth Hogan. Furthermore, I found Masha to be a likable character and the reader cannot help but feel sorry for her. She knows she has to change but it isn’t until she meets Sally Red Shoes in the cemetery, who gives her valuable advice and dances with her, that she feels she can. Her new friend Kitty also plays a significant role in her transformation when she tells Masha about her own past tragedy and how she coped with it and successfully moved on with her life.
The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes is a touching story that will break your heart and then heal it. I had trouble getting into it and becoming engaged with the story but patience paid off and I am glad I stuck with it.
Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.