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Any Bitter Thing
by
Monica Wood,
D.E. Wood
Any Bitter Thing, Wood's brilliant new novel, is her breakout book, a timely, gripping, and compassionate tale of family, faith, and deeply hidden truths. One of its greatest strengths is its continuous ability to defy expectations. It's not what you think. It is worse. Lizzy Mitchell was raised from the age of two by her uncle, a Catholic priest. When she was nine, he was...more
Hardcover, 384 pages
Published
May 19th 2005
by Chronicle Books
(first published 2005)
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Nov 22, 2008
Brent
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
lovers of
Shelves:
fiction
I picked this book up in Portland, ME, while on my vacation thinking it would be nice to have a local author's work to enjoy on my way home.
I could not put it down my entire trip back to Utah.
When I review books, I don't summarize the plot for fear of giving something away unnecessarily. Instead, I like to focus on the more technical side to analyzing works of fiction since I need a good, logical reason to read them in the first place.
Monica Wood has a great sense of cadence in her writing that...more
I could not put it down my entire trip back to Utah.
When I review books, I don't summarize the plot for fear of giving something away unnecessarily. Instead, I like to focus on the more technical side to analyzing works of fiction since I need a good, logical reason to read them in the first place.
Monica Wood has a great sense of cadence in her writing that...more
"it struck me that any one form of love borrowed from all the others."
At seminary he found more books, oceans of thought as yet unnavigated"
reading as meditation.
he discovered prayer. Real prayer, not the romantic notions of his fervid boyhood--God is my father, God is my friend, God is my protector'
No God is not this, God is not that. God is.
He came to understand that the opposite of God is not Satan. The opposite of God is not evil. The opposite of God is absence.
undiscovered layers of thing...more
At seminary he found more books, oceans of thought as yet unnavigated"
reading as meditation.
he discovered prayer. Real prayer, not the romantic notions of his fervid boyhood--God is my father, God is my friend, God is my protector'
No God is not this, God is not that. God is.
He came to understand that the opposite of God is not Satan. The opposite of God is not evil. The opposite of God is absence.
undiscovered layers of thing...more
Great story about family, loss, and lots of buried secrets. Lizzy wakes up in the hospital after being hit by a car while running in the dark after a fight with her husband. She sees her dead uncle (a priest) at her hospital bedside while in a fog of unconsciousness and then she begins to try to come to terms with her injury, her past as her uncle's adopted daughter when she was orphaned at 2, and trying to piece together her childhood and what happened to her uncle.
Lots of nice twists and turns...more
Lots of nice twists and turns...more
Twenty-five years ago I read a short story in Yankee Magazine by fledgling writer, Monica Wood. It impressed me so much that I saved the magazine and carried it around with me for years. It's worn and tattered and the cover is coming off, but I still have it somewhere.
I long ago gave up the search for more of her writing, until a friend of mine on Facebook recommended a new novel by an author with a somehow very familiar-sounding name.... I was delighted to re-discover Monica Wood, and to find...more
I long ago gave up the search for more of her writing, until a friend of mine on Facebook recommended a new novel by an author with a somehow very familiar-sounding name.... I was delighted to re-discover Monica Wood, and to find...more
TOTALLY on my list of answers to: So, any good book recommendations? Any Bitter Thing, The Myth of You and Me, and Water for Elephants are the first that I list.
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This book was very surprising. I thought that I knew what was going to happen, how the book would end, but I was surpirsed. Simple descriptions caught me, surprised me with the strangeness and perfection of the images conjured. Read this book!
I wanted to love this book. I also wanted to finish reading it, but I just couldn't. For these reasons I shouldn't rate it, but honestly I believe Ms. Wood has a great career ahead of her as a writer, I just didn't love this book.
Some parts were beautiful and exquisite and the description was mouth-watering, but it moved so s l o w that it just didn't grab my attention. Every time I got to a part that I hoped would reveal something she would either move forward in time or backward in time and c...more
Some parts were beautiful and exquisite and the description was mouth-watering, but it moved so s l o w that it just didn't grab my attention. Every time I got to a part that I hoped would reveal something she would either move forward in time or backward in time and c...more
I grabbed this book off of a discount shelf at barnes and noble, I don't regret it, but it wasn't a compelling read ... it was a "nice story" but not a tremendous literary achievement.
I really found this story fascinating and moving. Lizzie is orphaned at 3 when her parents die in a plane crash. He uncle, who is a Catholic priest gains permission to become her guardian under some objections from both his parishioners and other priests. When his housekeeper accuses him of acting inappropriately with his 9 year old niece, he does not defend himself very vigorously. Lizzie is removed from the home and spends the remainder of her childhood feeling abandoned and unloved. When Lizz...more
A lot of words. Book begins with the idea that she was molested by the priest and throughout the book the author leaves you questioning what really happened. The truth isn't revealed until the end. Not my favorite literary technique (I'm not a fan of suspense or uncertainty). Sadly, as the ends are wrapped up on what happened in her childhood, the ends of what happens in the present time are not cleaned up very well. The book felt a little unfinished, to me. So much depth of description on the p...more
I enjoyed this book but I was not overwhelmed by it. I was mainly left with the notion that if you are guilty of anything, you are guilty of everything; well, at least you lose the right to defend yourself. Priests are simply human beings just like the rest of us. If it makes you feel better to elevate them to a position of someone who can speak to God "for" you you'll have to take what you can get. My father was a minister when I was a kid and this book made me think often of my childhood. What...more
I would actually give this 4.5 stars if GR was on a half-star rating system. I think I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. It wasn't delightful. It wasn't uplifting. But the prose was solid and Wood clearly has mastered story-telling. EVen though there was a lot of back and forth with perspectives and time periods, I didn't get confused. The initial plot line was interesting enough, but it was the way the subplots unfolded around the main one that deeply impressed me. The characters w...more
I loved this book and probably will need to revisit it because I raced through the pages. The plot is subtle in its complexity and the narrators shifts from present to past but the story is seamless in the telling - and so heartfelt. I'm not Catholic but am familiar with the liturgy and ritual and found those references for the most part comforting - shocking given the unravelings of too many of the Churches priests. Father Mike was credible in his faith and his love for his niece but beyond tha...more
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This is my first Monica Wood book and I really enjoyed it. It goes back and forth in time but is never confusing in that respect. A young woman is nearly killed in a hit and run accident and thinks she has a visitation from her long-dead uncle, the Catholic priest who raised her after her parents died. This vision greatly alters her perception of the event. Her marriage is on shaky ground and she is deeply wounded by the deaths of the people closest to her. I won't say more for fear of giving aw...more
This was my 34% Into This Book Update Status: "WOW! Not what I expected. How did I get so sucked in? The characters feel like they have literally come to life. When characters speak I hear each of their voices speaking to me. Don't let what any synopses or what any book jacket tells you this book is about - Please read it and decide what this book is about yourself. I think it's about everyone, regardless of who you are or who you are not and what your beliefs are and what your beliefs are not.....more
After my first Monica Wood, the wonderful little gem Ernie's Ark, I planned to read more, and added Any Bitter Thing to my "to read" list.
From there, I ignored it. Because the title makes me think this is an Oprah book, or another of the endless sad, bitter, angst-filled stories that seem to creep up on me and leave me depressed. While clearing out my "to read" list recently, I was thisclose to deleting this. But then I saw the author name and went - wait - what?
So I read the synopsis, and thoug...more
From there, I ignored it. Because the title makes me think this is an Oprah book, or another of the endless sad, bitter, angst-filled stories that seem to creep up on me and leave me depressed. While clearing out my "to read" list recently, I was thisclose to deleting this. But then I saw the author name and went - wait - what?
So I read the synopsis, and thoug...more
A heartfelt story of loyalty, betrayal, Fatherhood, childhood, marriage and fidelity, faith, and love. Above all, I'd say it is a tale of relationships: what makes one healthy and abiding rather than abandoned or deceived. Technically my rating is 3.5, but that rounds up to 4.
What I loved: The characterization is MASTERFUL. You LOVE each of the characters, flawed and benevolent, and most importantly, feel like you KNOW them. Wood really helps you see inside, without cluttering the reading with t...more
What I loved: The characterization is MASTERFUL. You LOVE each of the characters, flawed and benevolent, and most importantly, feel like you KNOW them. Wood really helps you see inside, without cluttering the reading with t...more
It was my understanding that most people who enjoyed "The Secret Life of bees" also loved this book. "TSLOB" is one of my favorite novels, and yet, "Any Bitter Thing" didn't do it for me.
Lizzy is hit by a teenager who left her to die. Miraculously, she is rescued, and during her coma, has visions of her Uncle, a Priest who raised her until she was nine years old. The odd thing about these visions is that her Uncle died shortly after she was taken from him back when she was nine years od, after h...more
Lizzy is hit by a teenager who left her to die. Miraculously, she is rescued, and during her coma, has visions of her Uncle, a Priest who raised her until she was nine years old. The odd thing about these visions is that her Uncle died shortly after she was taken from him back when she was nine years od, after h...more
I don't give 5 stars easily. This quiet book swept me up and dropped me breathlessly into that moment between Before and After. This writer, with her exquisite prose, weaves a gripping and grace-filled story of redemption. Human failings are brought to reconciliation, relationships are changed, and yet they remain somehow the same. There are surprises which astonish! I will go back to this amazing book again and again, to discern and savor subtleties I might have missed in my race through it the...more
I loved this book. Loved it! The sense of longing was so beautifully portrayed that I had a constant lump in my throat or my hand on my heart the entire time. The prose is so perfect in parts, really this is some of the best writing I have read in years. It is not a fast moving story or action packed at all but it is an incredibly emotional portrayal of human relationships, full of depth and wonderfully constructed. For me, this is a book that I will measure other books against.
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Wood gives an amazingly realistic portrayal of an adult's memory of early childhood. The relationship of a young girl to her caretaker that emerges is the most poignant I've ever read. Her attention to the details of childhood is such that it reminded me of things I hadn't thought about in decades. The main character's experience of being ripped from her caretaker amid false allegations is truly heart-wrenching without being maudlin - a difficult feat.
However, Wood's handling of the relationship...more
However, Wood's handling of the relationship...more
Feb 27, 2013
Mary B
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
spirituality
I always love it when I find a novel that's nearly impossible to put down ~ just had to finish this tonight in spite of everything else that needed doing! These characters really got under my skin, perhaps because of their woundedness and the tangled web of relationships and intrigue that bound them together. I suspect that those of us with a Catholic background are able to relate better to the descriptions of priesthood, but the spiritual search depicted here is pretty universal. Wonderful nove...more
This book is a complex story and full of startling events that revealed towards the end of the book.
Lizzy Mitchell's parents die and she is raised from an early age by her uncle, who happens to be a Catholic priest. Suddenly at the age of 9 she is taken from her uncle and given to an aunt from the other side of her family. The aunt puts Lizzy in boarding school. Lizzy is never really told why she was taken away, but is told that her uncle died of heart problems that are prevalent in the family....more
Lizzy Mitchell's parents die and she is raised from an early age by her uncle, who happens to be a Catholic priest. Suddenly at the age of 9 she is taken from her uncle and given to an aunt from the other side of her family. The aunt puts Lizzy in boarding school. Lizzy is never really told why she was taken away, but is told that her uncle died of heart problems that are prevalent in the family....more
A plot device I sometimes really enjoy is the mystery of the past, in this case fragmentary childhood memories that become newly relevant to the protagonist of this book. I suppose this sort of thing could become hackneyed, but I thought this book handled it beautifully. I also found it extremely moving. I didn't totally understand the religious metaphors, so there's probably a whole other level to it.
Good with caveats. In some indefinable way it reminded me of books like Amy and Isabelle - not in a bad way, but that sort of wistful, what the hell is happening, musing on friendship and relations between a parent and child tone to both books. This one turns to have a long-ago mystery embedded in it, and NO it's not a nasty priest abusing a kid. Worth reading.
I have to admit, I was surprised I liked this book. It wasn't very upbeat, but it was a nice story about strong relationships and the things we will do for the people we love. The plot surprised me not once, but twice -- a nice change after reading a couple of books that were dismally transparent and predictable. It wasn't one of the best books I've ever read, but it definitely gets a strong 4 stars from me.
When I first started reading this it was so steeped in sorrow I expected to abandon it. So glad I didn't. All the threads of this story pull together and reveal a tapestry of rich characters and life events. So many layers to think about. One of those stories that just feels as if you met real people by the time it ends. It does not go where you might expect.
I really enjoyed this book because it surprised me. The story was didn't go where I thought it was going and I was captivated the entire way through. Its not that the story is so great -- in fact I'm not sure it is a really great book but I just really got in to it. I'm not sure why I loved this book exactly but I just did.....
Wow, wow, wow. This book captured me from the first page and even though the second half felt like a totally different book than the first half, I still loved it all the way through. Phenomenal (and I mean *phenomenal*) writing, deep and moving characters, engaging plot. I will definitely check out this author's other books. So glad to have stumbled upon this gem.
Great quote from this book:
"The opposite of God is not Satan. The opposite of God is not evil. The opposite of God is absence."
This is a great book about a priest who gets custody of his niece when her parents die and this book looks at how abuse accusations lead to her being taken away from him.
"The opposite of God is not Satan. The opposite of God is not evil. The opposite of God is absence."
This is a great book about a priest who gets custody of his niece when her parents die and this book looks at how abuse accusations lead to her being taken away from him.
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Monica Wood is the author of four works of fiction, most recently Any Bitter Thing, which spent 21 weeks on the American Booksellers Association extended bestseller list and was named a Book Sense Top Ten pick. Her other fiction includes Ernie’s Ark and My Only Story, a finalist for the Kate Chopin Award.
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