Overview:
With her husband Bernard two years in the grave, seventy-nine-year-old Harriet Chance sets sail on an ill-conceived Alaskan cruise only to discover that she's been living the past sixty years of her life under entirely false pretenses. There, amid the buffets and lounge singers, between the imagined appearance of her late husband and the very real arrival of her estranged daughter, Harriet is forced to take a long look back, confronting the truth about pivotal events that changed the course of her life.
Jonathan Evison has crafted a bighearted novel with an endearing heroine at its center. Through Harriet, he paints a bittersweet portrait of a postmodern everywoman with great warmth, humanity, and humor. Part dysfunctional love story, part poignant exploration of the mother/daughter relationship, nothing is what it seems in this tale of acceptance, reexamination, forgiveness, and, ultimately, healing. It is sure to appeal to admirers of Evison's previous work, as well as fans of such writers as Meg Wolitzer, Junot Diaz, and Karen Joy Fowler.
Jonathan Evison has crafted a bighearted novel with an endearing heroine at its center. Through Harriet, he paints a bittersweet portrait of a postmodern everywoman with great warmth, humanity, and humor. Part dysfunctional love story, part poignant exploration of the mother/daughter relationship, nothing is what it seems in this tale of acceptance, reexamination, forgiveness, and, ultimately, healing. It is sure to appeal to admirers of Evison's previous work, as well as fans of such writers as Meg Wolitzer, Junot Diaz, and Karen Joy Fowler.
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Review:
Jonathan Evison has created a real, and all too human, portrait of a life in This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance. As I hopped around through Harriet's life, I could relate to all the hopes, dreams, heartache and disappointments. Harriet was lovable, aggravating, funny, and mean. I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her, but I suppose that's what life is... all the ups and downs along the way. Nothing is perfect, yet that's what makes life interesting.
It wasn't until the last paragraphs that I realize how philosophical this book was, or that the story was drawing to a close. I would have liked to spend a bit more time with Harriet.
I would highly recommend this book.
It wasn't until the last paragraphs that I realize how philosophical this book was, or that the story was drawing to a close. I would have liked to spend a bit more time with Harriet.
I would highly recommend this book.
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