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A Reckoning: A Novel
by
May Sarton
The heart of the story is Laura's realization that for her the real connections have been with women: her brilliant and devastating mother, a difficult daughter, and most of all a woman she knew when she was young.
Paperback, 256 pages
Published
May 17th 1997
by W. W. Norton & Company
(first published 1978)
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This was a Book Club title. I found Laura a bit over the top in her obsession with women to women relationships and what they meant or didn't mean or should have meant etc. I know she is dying in the book and as such is entitled to do exactly what she wants till the end of her short time on earth. Instead of introspection, I sometimes felt like her whole life was one disappointing relationship after another. She did love her precious Charles, but other than him, everyone she knows or is related...more
The theme, as the title suggests, is the sad, slow process of grieving the death of May's long-time friend. This is a journal, which by its nature, and because of the theme, is rather repetitive and depressing.
I appreciate her amazing persistence, fed by a talent many know and respect, she keeps on writing a novella in which she finds no joy. In a way, I'd rather not know that but author's are subject to the same emotions as the rest of humankind. Sometimes work that we love doesn't nurture us....more
I appreciate her amazing persistence, fed by a talent many know and respect, she keeps on writing a novella in which she finds no joy. In a way, I'd rather not know that but author's are subject to the same emotions as the rest of humankind. Sometimes work that we love doesn't nurture us....more
What a moving short novel about a woman in her sixties with lung cancer who decides to fully live the last few months and takes stock of her life in the process--the reckoning. Simply written, short, it calls us to live life to the fullest now, and as David Whyte the poet wrote in Sweet Darkness: Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet confinement of your aloneness to learn anything or anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you. I am also reading May Sarton's journals at this ti...more
My first May Sarton, but definitely not the last. A beautifully written exploration of female friendship and how to die well, I didn't quite manage to finish the copy I borrowed from the retreat library. Must go on retreat again soon to finish it!
PS I went on retreat again and finished it with very little need to look back and refresh my memory. Very satisfying.
PS I went on retreat again and finished it with very little need to look back and refresh my memory. Very satisfying.
Interestingly without realizing it I pick up two books in a row about a dying mother and her relationships with her daughter in particular and other members of her family and an old girlhood friend. Very introspective and more serious than other book and talks much about the relationships of women.
Lord, it has been forever since I read this book! I don't remember details but I remember a fineness that one can always be assured of in Sarton. The story tells of a dying woman's reflections on the past.
A touching brilliantly written story of Laura who is dying of lung cancer. She chooses to die on her own terms and in the process discovers the importance of female relationships.
Nice, introspective novel about a woman who finds out she's dying and attempts to reconcile relationships and her view of life. Well done, if quiet.
A most moving and insightful book. I read it years ago and was moved to tears by its emotional impact.
A little bit self-indulgent at times, but still an interesting insight into facing death and letting go, especially with the perspective of 35 years.
have read twice ... excellent
Poignant account of a woman's preparation for death after her diagnosis of cancer. i think I like this book so much because I can empathize with the protagonist rather closely. I appreciate her need for privacy and her longing for a death on her own terms.
Woman dying of lung cancer takes stock of her life and relationships. Well written.
exquisite
May 19, 2013
M.a. Brass
marked it as to-read
Apr 27, 2013
Rebecca
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Apr 21, 2013
Joyce
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Apr 18, 2013
Heather Miller
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Apr 16, 2013
Jennifer Gilbert
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Apr 10, 2013
Justin Dill
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Apr 01, 2013
Eola
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Feb 17, 2013
Laura
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May Sarton (May 3, 1912-July 16, 1995) was an American poet, novelist, and memoirist born in Wondelgem, Belgium. Many of her novels and poems are pellucid reflections of the lesbian experience.
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Jun 01, 2012 05:38pm