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285th out of 394 books
—
337 voters
Remembering the Bones
Georgina Danforth Witley has never felt she has led anything but an ordinary life. But here she is on her way to meet the Queen. Born on April 21, 1926, the exact same day as Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, Georgie is one of 99 privileged Commonwealth subjects invited to an 80th-birthday lunch at Buckingham Palace. All she has to do is drive two hours to the airport and b...more
Published
(first published December 21st 2007)
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REMEMBERING THE BONES is the story of Georgie, an eighty-year-old woman who was born on the same day as the wueen. She is on her wya to the airport for a celebration with the Queen herself, when her car slides into a ravine, and she is left nearly immobile. Georgie spends her itmei n the ravine keeping herself alive through memories of her life and family.
This book had excellent prose and description, but the story fell flat. At times, not enough was explained, leaving the reader scratching thei...more
This book had excellent prose and description, but the story fell flat. At times, not enough was explained, leaving the reader scratching thei...more
I'm so clunky and literal--I'm always going to be disappointed by an ending in which I'm not sure if the character lives or dies. (Except for the Sopranos: I am totally and completely convinced that Tony was killed at the end of the last episode, no matter what everybody else tells me. No doubts for me there.)
Georgie--and I love the childlike name for the main character--was born on the same day as England's Queen Elizabeth, and she's on her way from Canada to England for a special luncheon in...more
Georgie--and I love the childlike name for the main character--was born on the same day as England's Queen Elizabeth, and she's on her way from Canada to England for a special luncheon in...more
With the success of her earlier novel, Deafening, I wondered if her new book would be as good, but it definitely is. This novel focuses on Georgina Witley, an 80-year-old woman. Georgina was born on the same day as Queen Elizabeth II and has been invited to help celebrate the occasion at Buckingham Palace. As her husband is dead, and her mother is very old, she has decided to go on her own, including driving to the airport in Toronto. Unfortunately she drives off the road into a ravine and is th...more
I read another of Frances Itani's books, Deafeningand it was one of my favorites. This was good, too, but I wish I could have read it first because it didn't quite compare to Deafening.
The book tells the story of an 80-year-old Canadian widow who was born the same day as Queen Elizabeth II, and is one of 99 people born that same day who have been invited by the Queen to attend a birthday luncheon. While driving herself to the airport Georgie runs off the road and into a ravine and is thrown from...more
The book tells the story of an 80-year-old Canadian widow who was born the same day as Queen Elizabeth II, and is one of 99 people born that same day who have been invited by the Queen to attend a birthday luncheon. While driving herself to the airport Georgie runs off the road and into a ravine and is thrown from...more
Georgie Danforth is on her way to the airport when her car careens off the side of the road and plummets to the bottom of the ravine. She is flung from the car and the novel traces her progress as she tries to inch her way back to honk the horn and be rescued. That's the actual action of the book; the real story and heart of the book come from Georgie's thoughts as she lies there trying to maintain consciousness. A one-time student of anatomy, she reviews what she learned (thus the title), but s...more
Georgina has been invited to share the Queen's 80th birthday celebration, since they have shared their birth dates all their lives. Georgina sets off independently from her home in Canada to the airport, and immediately has an accident, which lands her injured in a wooded ravine, minutes from her house. Since her daughter and everyone she knows does not expect her to be home for 10 days, and she is not expected at the Queen's party for several days, no one thinks anything is amiss. Georgina has...more
This is the story of a woman’s mind as she lays seriously injured in a ravine after an automobile accident. The first part isn’t very engaging and there’s little plot tension. It becomes more interesting beginning with the second part (Chapter 22, the Septum, page 135) with Harry’s childhood. The story is well imagined – I felt that the author had lived it. In Part 1, her musings have no urgency. Her being stranded/injured feels more like a set-up for her to muse about her past. This is less a p...more
My book group, all 20 years younger than the main character in this book, see her plight as a cautionary tale. Georgie Danforth Whitley shares a birthday with the Queen and has been invited to London to a birthday luncheon along with others who have the same birthday. What happens on the way to the airport is all too believable to women of an age where driving is beginning to be scary! As she lies in a ditch below the road and unseen by passersby, Georgie recalls the events of her life and marri...more
I liked the writer's style and the premise of the character Georgie going to meet the Queen for tea because they shared a birthday and how the Queen's life was in some ways parallel to the main character's.
I cried when she described the crib death of her dear baby Matt. Although she had such a great relationship with her sister, grandma and daughter I was somewhat disappointed at the state of her relationship with her husband at the end of his life. Written very accurately, I'm sure, but I had...more
I cried when she described the crib death of her dear baby Matt. Although she had such a great relationship with her sister, grandma and daughter I was somewhat disappointed at the state of her relationship with her husband at the end of his life. Written very accurately, I'm sure, but I had...more
Georgina was born on the same day as Queen Elizabeth II. She has followed the life of the queen closely and was surprised and honored to be chosen as one of a select few throughout the Commonwealth to participate in a luncheon for those sharing a birthdate with the queen on her 80th birthday. Georgie is still independent and decides to drive herself to the airport so as not to inconvenience anyone, including her daughter. As she drives down the steep hill from her home, she glances down to check...more
My husband can be very astute at times. Whilst reading Frances Itani's Remembering the Bones I was raving about the book and he said, "So you like it the same way you like obituaries then?" Exactly. Nothing to do with death at all, but rather for such a celebration of life. It's The Stone Diaries without the ghost, but also something original, beautiful, gentle and lovely in its own right.
The book begins with Georgina Danforth Witley, 80 years old and on her way to meet the Queen. She has been s...more
The book begins with Georgina Danforth Witley, 80 years old and on her way to meet the Queen. She has been s...more
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I wished more than anything, as I read this book, that it had better structure. Trapping George at the bottom of a ravine was a a device to allow all this introspective reflection on life, but turns out, the, mental meanderings of a woman trapped at the bottom of a ravine are not so interesting. It really a bit too much like being inside somebody's head and I'd be happy to sacrifice some authenticity for a more deliberate narrative structure. She was thinking about her mom, then her Grand Da, th...more
Eighty year old Canadian Georgie Witley has always felt a kinship with Queen Elizabeth; they were born on the same day in the same year, married during the same year and each woman's first child was born just a few months apart. So Georgie is delighted to hear that she is one of 99 people invited to the Queen's birthday luncheon at Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately, as she is driving herself to the airport, Georgie careens off the side of the road and into a ravine just a short distance from her...more
If there's one book you read this summer, it should be this one. Why? Because it is such an unexpected gem. It's lyrical writing creeps up on you seemingly from out of nowhere and before you know it, you are engrossed in the stor(ies) of the Danforth and Witley families. In particular, you find yourself wrapped up in the mind of Georgina Danforth Witley as she lies trapped at the bottom of a ravine, barely meters from her own home waiting to be rescued (no spoilers there: you learn this in the f...more
Very good. Easy read – resonates “Canadian”. 80 year old Georgie drives into a ravine near her house on her way to have lunch with Queen Elizabeth. No one notices and Georgie lies undiscovered in the ravine. Through flashbacks she re-lives her “ordinary” life and reveals her role as a daughter, mother, sister, wife and widow and the people she has travelled through a lifetime with. Both very funny in parts and of course there is sadness as well. The reader is left to decide Georgie’s fate.
I loved this beautifully written novel about 80-year-old Georgina Danforth Wiley. Sharing the birthday of Queen Elizabeth, she is invited to the Queen’s birthday celebration at Buckingham Palace. But enroute to the airport her car runs off the road into a ravine not far from her home in Wilna Creek, Ontario. Thrown from her vehicle, she is injured and as she waits and hopes to be rescued, she reflects on her life. Highly recommended- a lovely book!
Picked this up from the Claremnt Hotel, Southwest Harbor, Maine library. I did not finish, it was a quick read but a "devolving" story. One that never got better...of course I don't know how it ended. Thought it would be a nice English story.
Started off with a Toronto women who had the same Birthday as the Queen and she was invited to London to clebrate their 80th birthdays. Then it took a turn, literally. I won't say more.
Started off with a Toronto women who had the same Birthday as the Queen and she was invited to London to clebrate their 80th birthdays. Then it took a turn, literally. I won't say more.
Beyond doubt, one of the best books I have ever read.
Each word counts, as does each recounted moment of the Georgie's life. Her history opens to us like a flower, one petal at a time, with pain and joy hand-in-hand.
This is not a grandiose life, but one to which we can all relate.
Itani is a generous writer, and an honest one. There were two ways the end of this story could go . . . and she chose honesty, which I truly appreciated.
Read it.
Each word counts, as does each recounted moment of the Georgie's life. Her history opens to us like a flower, one petal at a time, with pain and joy hand-in-hand.
This is not a grandiose life, but one to which we can all relate.
Itani is a generous writer, and an honest one. There were two ways the end of this story could go . . . and she chose honesty, which I truly appreciated.
Read it.
An almost 80-year-old woman sets out to the airport to head to England where she will be one of the people honored at a birthday party for Queen Elizabeth because she shares the Queen’s birthday. Something bad happens on the way, during which the action stops and the story becomes her memories of a quiet, ordinary, life unfolding. It has its moving moment, but it was just too quiet for me! I was bored.
Georgina Witley, une canadienne qui partage son anniversaire de naissance avec la reine d'Angleterre, se prépare pour une lunch à Buckingham Palace avec la reine. Elle ne s'y rendra pas puisqu'elle se retrouve au fond d'un ravin en route pour l'aéroport. Réflexions sur la vie, les gens que l'on cotoient, les rêves et les déceptions. Quelques longueurs mais somme toute assez bien.
Read for book club, it was interesting, but a little choppy for me. She is reviewing her life after accidentally driving her car into a ravine and she thinks back to all different events, not necessarily in order as if a person would when thinking back on life, but made it hard for me to follow with all of the details provided. Some good stories, but didn't like the ending.
A woman who shares her birthday with the Queen, Georgie is invited to the event, and drives herself toward the airport, only to end up at the bottom of a ravine, where her only companions are her own memories, as struggles to survive long enough for a rescue that won't likely know she is missing for a week.
I think that this audiobook was all the more moving and stirring due to the reader, who handled the voice of the 80 year-old woman with perfect cadence and tone. I happily meandered along with...more
I think that this audiobook was all the more moving and stirring due to the reader, who handled the voice of the 80 year-old woman with perfect cadence and tone. I happily meandered along with...more
On her way to attend the Queen's birthday celebration, eighty-year-old Georgina Witley drives off the road and finds herself in a ravine. Injured and hidden from view, she reflects on images from her past.
Gentle humour and poignancy fill the pages of this superbly written literary novel. I confess that I had to read the ending before I could return and indulge in the lovely prose.
Gentle humour and poignancy fill the pages of this superbly written literary novel. I confess that I had to read the ending before I could return and indulge in the lovely prose.
A Canadian writer - I really appreciated an earlier novel of hers - Deafening. This one is quite different about an eldery woman who has met with an accident and is waiting to be rescued. While this is occurring she goes back over her life story. Very well written and engaging but moves slowly - if you like fast paced books this is not for you.
B- An interesting method of telling a woman's life story; a woman is driving to the airport to see the Queen of England when she gets into an accident and lays in a ravine, dying. While she hopes for help, she thinks about her life. Really interesting method of constructing someone's final moments as she wishes for rescue.
I have never read a story quite like this one, all told by an 80 year old Canadian woman who got into a wreck on the way to the airport to visit Queen Elizabeth II. She rolled into a ravine and, badly injured, reflected on her life as she waited for help to come. Would read another book by this author.
Well let me just say I did not like the ending, but other than that it was a nice read.
Premise- an 80 yr old woman is on her way to a vacation alone when she careens off the road and lands in a ditch. She lays there for undertermined time reliving her life. It was a nice book, but nothing too great.
Premise- an 80 yr old woman is on her way to a vacation alone when she careens off the road and lands in a ditch. She lays there for undertermined time reliving her life. It was a nice book, but nothing too great.
The author creates a totally believable scenario for an elderly woman who accidently misses a turn down her drive and ends up at the bottom of her ravine. This provides the occasion for recalling Georgie's long life, relations with family, and social history of rural Canada. A quiet, lovely book.
I liked this book better than The Stone Angel, but that may reflect my increased maturity since I read Stone Angel, rather than a better story.
In setting up the main character, an 80 yr old woman (Georgie) who spends the novel lying in a ravine after a car accident recalling the events and people in her life, the author does not really make her lovable. I felt little connection with her, and didn't really care if she was found or not. In fact, I found Georgie's thoughts to Queen Elizabeth rather...more
In setting up the main character, an 80 yr old woman (Georgie) who spends the novel lying in a ravine after a car accident recalling the events and people in her life, the author does not really make her lovable. I felt little connection with her, and didn't really care if she was found or not. In fact, I found Georgie's thoughts to Queen Elizabeth rather...more
didnt like it. it just went on and on .. still stuck in the ravine pit and going remembering everything in her life. pointless. i'm halfway reading it forcing myself to finish it. But dont think i can force myself to read this anymore. Next book,please...
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| Spoiler Alert! The ending.... | 4 | 34 | Jul 14, 2011 12:25pm |
Frances Susan Itani is a Canadian fiction writer, poet and essayist.
Itani was born in Belleville, Ontario and grew up in Quebec. She studied nursing in Montreal and North Carolina, a profession which she taught and practised for eight years. However, after enrolling in a writing class taught by W. O. Mitchell, she decided to change careers.
Itani has published ten books, ranging from fiction and po...more
More about Frances Itani...
Itani was born in Belleville, Ontario and grew up in Quebec. She studied nursing in Montreal and North Carolina, a profession which she taught and practised for eight years. However, after enrolling in a writing class taught by W. O. Mitchell, she decided to change careers.
Itani has published ten books, ranging from fiction and po...more
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