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A review by mmarlborough
Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I wish I liked this one more, but even though it was short, it was mostly a slog for me.
Hannah is an elderly woman looking back on her life in the small town of Port William. She recounts her first two husbands and the love she had for them, being a mother, and the day to day moments of living in her community.
I really love literary fiction, especially small town books with dozens of characters (ex, Elizabeth Strout.) Berry’s prose though is very simplistic and unemotional. I didn’t feel for Hannah the whole book, until a tiny bit at the end. I felt like I was held at arm’s length for the entirety of the novel. I wonder if I would have cared more about the characters if I had read other books in his Port William series? I see tons of raves for this, so maybe it’s just me that this didn’t resonate with.
✨Trigger Warnings: Death, War, Terminal Illness
Hannah is an elderly woman looking back on her life in the small town of Port William. She recounts her first two husbands and the love she had for them, being a mother, and the day to day moments of living in her community.
I really love literary fiction, especially small town books with dozens of characters (ex, Elizabeth Strout.) Berry’s prose though is very simplistic and unemotional. I didn’t feel for Hannah the whole book, until a tiny bit at the end. I felt like I was held at arm’s length for the entirety of the novel. I wonder if I would have cared more about the characters if I had read other books in his Port William series? I see tons of raves for this, so maybe it’s just me that this didn’t resonate with.
✨Trigger Warnings: Death, War, Terminal Illness