book data
185 ratings,
3.20
average rating, 51 reviews
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published
June 5th 2007
by Free Press
binding
Hardcover, 224 pages
isbn
141654139X
(isbn13: 9781416541394)
description
What You Have Left is an unforgettable story of love, loss, and, most of all, longing.
In 1976, on the day of his wife's funeral, Wylie Greer drops off...more
In 1976, on the day of his wife's funeral, Wylie Greer drops off...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 294)
All ratings
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5 stars (17)
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4 stars (50)
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3 stars (75)
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2 stars (39)
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1 star (4)
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avg 3.20
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
recommends it for:
people who enjoy books like "Empire Falls" by Russo
I enjoyed this book a great deal. The story of a father who abandons his daughter after her strong-willed, race-car driving mother dies. The father and daughter's eventual reunification is the crux, but only a facet of the tale. It's one of those quiet, seemingly effortless studies, told from from various character points of view. I say quiet and effortless because the author manages with ease to get his reader to feel, hear and experience these relationships with their full dimension in ta...more
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Read in April, 2009
Well I just finished this book, and contrary to everyone else's reviews, I didn't like it. At first, I found the characters and the short stories touching. But about halfway through, the changing perspectives just got old and confusing. I think it ended up detracting from the original bond you felt towards the characters, which led to my disinterest in the book. Eventually, I just really didn't care anymore. When the ending finally came, when everything and all the stories and viewpoints fi...more
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Read in November, 2007
I love the double entendre of the title which can be interpreted as 1) what you left behind and 2) what remains. The book canvases both definitions, exploring the lives of a woman whose father abandoned her as a child after the death of her mother, her husband, and the father.
The author creates several striking contrasts in the book to demonstrate how people react, internalize and express differently. Cal, the grandfather, and Wylie, the father, both suffer from neurological diseases...more
The author creates several striking contrasts in the book to demonstrate how people react, internalize and express differently. Cal, the grandfather, and Wylie, the father, both suffer from neurological diseases...more
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Read in January, 2008
Following his wife’s death, Wylie Greer drops off Holly, his 5-year old daughter, at his father-in-law’s dairy farm, never to be seen again. As the years pass, Holly thinks of Wylie frequently, unable to let go of a wish to find and confront him. A few decades down the line, Holly is married and has a feisty daughter, not unlike herself. Having leads on Wylie’s whereabouts, but unsure whether a happy reunion is possible, she makes the decisive move to seek out her father once and for al...more
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Read in February, 2009
Fast enjoyable read about a young girl who, at five years old, must deal with the loss of her mother to an accident and the loss of her father who walks out the day after the funeral. She is brought up by her Grandfather. The story shifts back and forth to the past to her mother and father's live's and back to the present to her's. Highly recommend.
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Read in November, 2007
Just thoughts, really. Not sure I want to 'review' a book I've read.
This book was a gift and I think it was given to me with a sense of thoughtfulness because I'm a single father. I'm very much in my daughter's life, but there's always that fear that somehow our connection will get lost as she grows up.
As for the book, the characters were thin for me. A female character written by a man seems difficult to do, and I think this was a shortcoming in his work. Wally Lamb,...more
This book was a gift and I think it was given to me with a sense of thoughtfulness because I'm a single father. I'm very much in my daughter's life, but there's always that fear that somehow our connection will get lost as she grows up.
As for the book, the characters were thin for me. A female character written by a man seems difficult to do, and I think this was a shortcoming in his work. Wally Lamb,...more
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This is written in a very creative and unusual style. While I read this a good bit ago, I still remember being very taken by it and liking the way it flows. Ultimately, not such a complicated story but made emotionally compelling by the way its told.
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Read in March, 2009
I picked this up because the author lives in NJ, and because the blurb mentioned a farm and racing (two things I love). It was an OK novel, but just didn't hold my attention.
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Read in January, 2009
The first part of the book was interesting. The rest not so much. I kept asking why am I interested in this. And at the end I'm still asking myself why am I interested in this.
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Read in April, 2008
recommended to Tara by:
Judged it by the cover and thought it looked interesting -- I wa
I didn't enjoy this book. It was depressing -- the story line was depressing, the characters were depressing.... I only finished it because I hoped that there would be some silver lining and that at least one of the characters would in some way triumph over their sad circumstances. The book just sort of ended with the characters still dealing with "What they had left," but not in any particularly inspiring way, and a lot of the issues in the book didn't really get resolved. In addit...more
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Read in May, 2009
A quick, decent read. Interesting to find what you wanted and not know if you still want it, but get it anyway.
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Read in October, 2008
I have a weakness for southern literature.
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
men
A gritty story told in five perspectives - 2 female and 3 male. Interestingly, the woman in this book are incredibly hard and feisty. While the writing is clear and enjoyable and the author does a great job with the male perspectives, it was obvious that this was a male writer. There was never even a peek of any softness in the women. Therefore, I felt that there wasn't much of an emotional change in the main character which was disappointing after sticking with the character for the whole book.
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Read in May, 2009
This is a great book for someone who enjoys learning about peoples pasts and stuff. It can be confusing though because it goes from one person to another and it changes years very quickly, But if you can keep up you'll really enjoy reading it.
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Read in July, 2007
The chapters of this book are as heavy and tight as the hearts they illustrate. A daughter, her father, and her husband each struggle in their own ways to be true to themselves and one another, and each succeeds and fails in a different way.
Will Allison has a way of telling a tough story so you want to hear it; he shows us the beauty in pain and the transformation available to someone who's not afraid to struggle.
Will Allison has a way of telling a tough story so you want to hear it; he shows us the beauty in pain and the transformation available to someone who's not afraid to struggle.
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11/04/08
Amanda
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Read in December, 2008
Was a simple book, but I enjoyed it. After reading fantasy, i expected it to be boring and mundane to me, but it kept my attention and I found a new writer I enjoy.
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This novel, told in alternating chapters by three of its main characters, revolves around a little girl whose mother dies in an accident and whose father leaves her at her grandfather's to be raised. As she struggles through life as a virtual orphan, her father has struggles of his own . . . and so on. I really liked all of these characters and the ending didn't feel forced. A-.
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Read in October, 2007
First off, this book is extremely well written. It reminded me of a very poetic Roseanne episode. My one criticism would be that I didn't have enough to like even one of the main characters - later in the book Holly has a likeable daughter. What You Have Left has me very interested in Will Allison's future books, but for now I consider this book a warm up.
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Read in September, 2007
A simple family story that jumps back and forth in time, and from different viewpoints. After his wife is killed in an accident, Wylie leaves his daughter,Holly, with her grandfather, Cal. Thirty years later, they are reunited, and Holly now has her own child. The story is based in South Carolina with car racing, drinking and smoking as pastimes.
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