Remembering the Bones
by Frances Itani
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 133)
Read in August, 2008
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
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Read in July, 2008
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 t...more
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Read in September, 2008
Although not in my usual sort of genre, this was selected by my wifes bookclub for October, and she was the lead reviewer. So I HAD to read it!
I was completely taken up by this book. The way the life of a 'normal' person was revealed during her ordeal, and the little snippets of what was happening to her kept me wanting to read 'just bit more before I go to bed'. And so I finished it in a couple of evenings.
I will look out for more from Itani. This may not be her typical fare, but the ...more
I was completely taken up by this book. The way the life of a 'normal' person was revealed during her ordeal, and the little snippets of what was happening to her kept me wanting to read 'just bit more before I go to bed'. And so I finished it in a couple of evenings.
I will look out for more from Itani. This may not be her typical fare, but the ...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
middle-aged women
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 no...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 no...more
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Read in May, 2008
reading now...was all set to go meet the queen and wham... seemed a little confusing, but I am sticking with it to see what happens.
Now finished.... took me longer...normally when I have book I like, I can finish quickly....because want to read every chance get, but this one I found myself reading few pages, putting down and doing other things and coming back to it.
was little hard to get into...but was fasinating in same statement...because I was determined to see what happened to her, ...more
Now finished.... took me longer...normally when I have book I like, I can finish quickly....because want to read every chance get, but this one I found myself reading few pages, putting down and doing other things and coming back to it.
was little hard to get into...but was fasinating in same statement...because I was determined to see what happened to her, ...more
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Read in July, 2008
I listened to a review of this book on NPR over a year ago and have been searching for it ever since, intrigued by its unusual structure. An elderly woman, about to travel from Canada to England to share a birthday celebration with Quenn Elizabeth, goes over an embankment down the street from her home. She keeps her mind and body alive remembering people and events from her life within the framework of the bones she memorized from "Gray's Anatomy" as a young child. The skillful writi...more
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This is the best book I've read in the past year, no question. It may be one of the best books I've read in ANY year. I laughed aloud and cried at least twice, and I hated for it to be over. It's so beautifully and seamlessly written that it seems almost like a narrative poem, but don't let that be scary: It's easy reading. I almost want to go back and teach the Canadian Novel class again so I could share this book!
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Read in April, 2008
Reminded me of Crace's "Being Dead," except that this one was told in flashbacks by a live (if injured) character rather than a couple of decomposing corpses. Can you blame me for liking this one better? The protagonist was also a really sympathetic and likeable character; even though there's very little present-day action, I was on the edge of my seat until the end waiting to see if she'd be rescued or not.
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
everybody who drives
Frances Itani is a first class writer. The book is superbly crafted. There she lies horribly hurt thrown out of her car that had rolled down into a deep ravine. When she's finally spotted it's too late. She was on her way to the airport to join the Queen on her 80th birthday in London. Nobody misses her, after all, she was with the Queen and not in a Canadian ravine, It's truly a gripping story.
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Read in April, 2008
recommended to Mary by:
Village Booksrecommends it for: everyone
Wow.
This book tells the story of Georgina an 80 year old woman who is lying helpless at the bottom of a ravine after a car crash. She is trying to survive and is remembering her entire life, from childhood to widowhood. This is a fast read, you will fall in love with Georgie and her whole family.
This book tells the story of Georgina an 80 year old woman who is lying helpless at the bottom of a ravine after a car crash. She is trying to survive and is remembering her entire life, from childhood to widowhood. This is a fast read, you will fall in love with Georgie and her whole family.
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Read in February, 2008
Itani is such a gifted writer that I couldn't wait to read this book after finishing "Deafening". I can't fault the story or the protaganist for a sigh of relief when I turned the last page. There were just a few too many characters that seemed to experience one too many joyless, tragic experiences.
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Read in June, 2008
We saw Frances read from this book at last season's Library Author series. It tweeked my interest then and didn't let me down
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Read in June, 2008
Ugh! I wanted to read about her having lunch with the queen. I just couldn't get behind the turn the story took. Yes, it was a great tale of a life, but she could have had lunch with the queen and told the same story.
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Read in March, 2008
I liked this book. It's a novel about a woman who has been in a car accident and spends her time remembering her life as she's awaiting rescue. So really, it's a novel about family, love, grief -- you know, the biggies.
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Read in February, 2008
I loved this less as I kept reading. There are some coincidences that I couldn't quite get past. Still, parts of the novel are really breataking and reminiscent of a favorite book of mine Bonnie Burnard's the Good House.
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5 comments
A woman reflects on her life. Her joys and sorrows, funny and sad moments, satisfactions and regrets.
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Got a nice short review in the New Yorker. A woman is thrown into a ravine by a car crash, begins reciting the remembered litany of the bones of her body, and in so doing, coaxes forth eight decades of memories ...
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Read in May, 2008
recommends it for:
canadian fiction fans
Beautifully written story of Georgie, an elderly Canadian woman, who crashes into a ravine on her way to the airport. As she awaits rescue, she reflects over her long life and the strong women in her family.
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Read in September, 2008
I enjoyed this book slightly more than her previous one. I liked it and thought it was believable, both the way the narrator's thoughts rambled and were all over the place and the ending.
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