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oliviaoverthinkseverything 's review for:
The Book That Matters Most
by Ann Hood
The Book That Matters Most follows recent divorcee Ava Tucker as she adjusts to her new normal. After twenty-five years, she finds out that her marriage is not as happy and fulfilled as she thought when her husband Jim lives her for yarn grafittist Delia Lindstrom. To fill the time, she joins her librarian friend's exclusive book club just in time to learn their topic for the following year: the book that matters most. Each member must choose the book that matters most to him or her and facilitate a discussion at one of their monthly meetings. Most of the members choose classics, like Pride and Prejudice or To Kill A Mockingbird, but Ava selects a book no one else has heard of. In fact, the deeper she and her group mates search for the book, the more perplexed they are. It doesn't seem to be anywhere. In Paris, Ava's daughter Maggie loses herself in a destructive relationship with an older man. Denying to herself and to others that she has a drug problem, she puts herself in danger again and again while sending chipper updates to her mother and brother--but not her father, whom she hasn't spoken to since he moved out. Ava and Maggie's stories are told in alternating persons as they move through the calendar year.
I'm always skeptical when approaching a book that is, like this one, clearly written for book-lovers. Will it be pandering? Cheesy? Superficial? Pair this with a genre like women's fiction, and I'm doubly nervous. Don't get me wrong, I love women's fiction--it's one of my favorite genres to read, and I write it myself, but sometimes books carrying the label take a wrong turn. As intrigued as I was by the thoughtful, emotional story description, I was worried this would become more of a shopping-and-shoes tale. There's nothing wrong with a good shopping-and-shoes book, but this premise seemed to promise something deeper. I could only hope it would deliver.
And deliver it did. Ann Hood's writing is phenomenal, and her storytelling even better. Initially I assumed each book the group selected to read was chosen by Hood at random, but I was delighted to see how well each selection worked with Ava and Maggie's stories month to month. I guessed one of the plot twists early on, but the rest were total surprises. I haven't been so surprised by a book in quite a while. The characters were well-developed, even those on the margins, and I was happy that it didn't turn into a full-blown romance when it easily could have. I enjoy romance, and there are elements of it here, but this story was so much bigger than that, and I'm glad Ms. Hood didn't succumb to what I'm sure was a temptation.
I've already recommended this book to a few friends and will continue to do so. This would be a perfect book to read over Christmas break, or any time you have the opportunity to curl up in front of a roaring fire with a mug of hot tea. I can't wait to read more of what Ann Hood has to offer.
I received a complimentary copy from W. W. Norton & Company via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
I'm always skeptical when approaching a book that is, like this one, clearly written for book-lovers. Will it be pandering? Cheesy? Superficial? Pair this with a genre like women's fiction, and I'm doubly nervous. Don't get me wrong, I love women's fiction--it's one of my favorite genres to read, and I write it myself, but sometimes books carrying the label take a wrong turn. As intrigued as I was by the thoughtful, emotional story description, I was worried this would become more of a shopping-and-shoes tale. There's nothing wrong with a good shopping-and-shoes book, but this premise seemed to promise something deeper. I could only hope it would deliver.
And deliver it did. Ann Hood's writing is phenomenal, and her storytelling even better. Initially I assumed each book the group selected to read was chosen by Hood at random, but I was delighted to see how well each selection worked with Ava and Maggie's stories month to month. I guessed one of the plot twists early on, but the rest were total surprises. I haven't been so surprised by a book in quite a while. The characters were well-developed, even those on the margins, and I was happy that it didn't turn into a full-blown romance when it easily could have. I enjoy romance, and there are elements of it here, but this story was so much bigger than that, and I'm glad Ms. Hood didn't succumb to what I'm sure was a temptation.
I've already recommended this book to a few friends and will continue to do so. This would be a perfect book to read over Christmas break, or any time you have the opportunity to curl up in front of a roaring fire with a mug of hot tea. I can't wait to read more of what Ann Hood has to offer.
I received a complimentary copy from W. W. Norton & Company via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.