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A review by srsanderson
Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper
4.0
I usually don't read books where older people are the center of the story. Probably because I cannot relate to them, but I never gave it much psycho-analytic thought.
The book revolves around three main characters. Etta, an 80-something year old woman who is starting to suffer early Alzheimers (at least that was how I interpreted her condition, it is never laid out for the reader in black and white words). Otto, who is Etta's husband, a war veteran whose memories haunt both him and his wife, and a self taught paper mâché prodigy. And finally Russell, who is a long time friend of both Etta and Otto, who throughout his life has harbored more than just friendly feelings for Etta.
The book starts out with Etta leaving a note for Otto, saying she is traveling to see the water. Her journey is poignant in that she NEEDS to do this presumably before she dies, or before her memory fails her enough to realize that never seeing the ocean was important to her.
I really liked this story. It was moving, and sweet, and poetic in all the right ways. There was a touch of magic, but not enough to throw this into a "fantasy" genre. Honestly, when Etta picks up her traveling companion James, the coyote, I did not find it absurdly odd that they had full fledged conversations. I talk to my dog all the time... and he talks back.
Etta and Otto's story is told with a blend of past and present. Everything just flowed so well, whether it was telling through letters, or flashbacks, or present time. I only found this confusing in one instance, and even then I thought it may be intentional by the author.
Bottom line, I enjoyed this read. Honestly I like it even more now that it has sat on my shelf finished for almost a month. The story just kind of settled into me.
The book revolves around three main characters. Etta, an 80-something year old woman who is starting to suffer early Alzheimers (at least that was how I interpreted her condition, it is never laid out for the reader in black and white words). Otto, who is Etta's husband, a war veteran whose memories haunt both him and his wife, and a self taught paper mâché prodigy. And finally Russell, who is a long time friend of both Etta and Otto, who throughout his life has harbored more than just friendly feelings for Etta.
The book starts out with Etta leaving a note for Otto, saying she is traveling to see the water. Her journey is poignant in that she NEEDS to do this presumably before she dies, or before her memory fails her enough to realize that never seeing the ocean was important to her.
I really liked this story. It was moving, and sweet, and poetic in all the right ways. There was a touch of magic, but not enough to throw this into a "fantasy" genre. Honestly, when Etta picks up her traveling companion James, the coyote, I did not find it absurdly odd that they had full fledged conversations. I talk to my dog all the time... and he talks back.
Etta and Otto's story is told with a blend of past and present. Everything just flowed so well, whether it was telling through letters, or flashbacks, or present time. I only found this confusing in one instance, and even then I thought it may be intentional by the author.
Spoiler
There is a moment in Etta's journey where Etta thinks she is Otto. Not only that, but she thinks she is Otto when he is back in the war. The blend of characters and time was confusing, but then I thought that the mind of an early Alzheimers patient is probably pretty confusing....and then I liked the story more.Bottom line, I enjoyed this read. Honestly I like it even more now that it has sat on my shelf finished for almost a month. The story just kind of settled into me.