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St. Ivo
Over the course of a weekend, two couples reckon with the long-hidden secrets that have shaped their families, in a charged, poignant novel of motherhood and friendship
It's the end of summer when we meet Sarah, the end of summer and the middle of her life, the middle of her career (she hopes it's not the end), the middle of her marriage (recently repaired). And despite the years that have passed since she last saw her daughter, she is still very much in the middle of figuring out what happened to Leda, what role she played, and how she will let that loss affect the rest of her life.
Enter a mysterious stranger on a train, an older man taking the subway to Brooklyn who sees right into her.Then a mugging, her phone stolen, and with it any last connection to Leda. And then an invitation, friends from the past and a weekend in the country with their new, unexpected baby.
Over the course of three hot September days, the two couples try to reconnect. Events that have been set in motion, circumstances and feelings kept hidden, rise to the surface, forcing each to ask not just how they ended up where they are, but how they ended up who they are.
Unwinding like a suspense novel, Joanna Hershon's St. Ivo is a powerful investigation into the meaning of choice and family, whether we ever know the people closest to us, and how, when someone goes missing from our lives, we can ever let them go.
It's the end of summer when we meet Sarah, the end of summer and the middle of her life, the middle of her career (she hopes it's not the end), the middle of her marriage (recently repaired). And despite the years that have passed since she last saw her daughter, she is still very much in the middle of figuring out what happened to Leda, what role she played, and how she will let that loss affect the rest of her life.
Enter a mysterious stranger on a train, an older man taking the subway to Brooklyn who sees right into her.Then a mugging, her phone stolen, and with it any last connection to Leda. And then an invitation, friends from the past and a weekend in the country with their new, unexpected baby.
Over the course of three hot September days, the two couples try to reconnect. Events that have been set in motion, circumstances and feelings kept hidden, rise to the surface, forcing each to ask not just how they ended up where they are, but how they ended up who they are.
Unwinding like a suspense novel, Joanna Hershon's St. Ivo is a powerful investigation into the meaning of choice and family, whether we ever know the people closest to us, and how, when someone goes missing from our lives, we can ever let them go.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published April 14, 2020
86 people are currently reading
2557 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
May 17, 2020
So, I finished this book and have been pondering over the last few days. Why, did I like this book so much and why does it continue to echo in my thoughts. There are no big action scenes, actually very little action action at all. I didn't especially like nor did I dislike the characters. Yet, this story drew me in, and kept me there.
Two couples, once good friends attempt to reconcile when one of the couples has a young daughter. Twenty years have passed and when they knew each other before, the other couple had a young child. They arrive to spend the weekend together, both are hiding something from the other, and tension simmers due to this. There is as much meaning in what is unsaid as in what is said. There is so much going on under the surface.
The truth is, this is life. Messy, complicated, the pulling apart, the making of concessions. I could relate to this book, these characters. Dreams can turn into failures, opportunities lost. Hopes, heartbreaks, hope and expectations. People come and go, in this book and in our lives. We act out of character, do things we don't understand as one of the characters does in the book.
The writing is terrific, the dialogue flows naturally. A book that makes one think about if afterwards is not rare, but not common either. I just feel lucky when I find/ read one that does.
ARC from Edelweiss.
Two couples, once good friends attempt to reconcile when one of the couples has a young daughter. Twenty years have passed and when they knew each other before, the other couple had a young child. They arrive to spend the weekend together, both are hiding something from the other, and tension simmers due to this. There is as much meaning in what is unsaid as in what is said. There is so much going on under the surface.
The truth is, this is life. Messy, complicated, the pulling apart, the making of concessions. I could relate to this book, these characters. Dreams can turn into failures, opportunities lost. Hopes, heartbreaks, hope and expectations. People come and go, in this book and in our lives. We act out of character, do things we don't understand as one of the characters does in the book.
The writing is terrific, the dialogue flows naturally. A book that makes one think about if afterwards is not rare, but not common either. I just feel lucky when I find/ read one that does.
ARC from Edelweiss.
January 20, 2020
3.5 stars. While they don't seem to have all that much in common, I would put this book in the same stack as last year's THE BODY IN QUESTION by Jill Clement. Both are definitively literary novels, but use elements of crime and suspense to heighten tension. Ultimately neither one is really all that concerned with crime, though, they are mostly devices to provide narrative momentum.
In ST. IVO, Sarah is emotionally at sea. It is not immediately clear to us just how badly. (In fact, my biggest criticism of the book is that it takes us an awfully long time to understand the depths of Sarah's situation.) We know she is a writer/director who hasn't had a project in a long time. We know there is some kind of loss having to do with her daughter. We know she and her husband are reconciled after a period of difficulty. But Sarah's past will come to us slowly. Her present is a single weekend where she and her husband go upstate to visit Sarah's old friend Kiki, who she hasn't seen in over a decade.
The setup of the weekend away is a great one. Female friendships are full of things unsaid and grudges buried. Kiki has a new baby, though she never wanted children in the days when she and Sarah were close. Kiki doesn't know what happened to Sarah's daughter (neither do we, so we're in the same boat that way). There is a vast divide between them but these kinds of occasions are the kinds where it's often easier not to acknowledge. Sarah knows she needs to update Kiki but she hesitates.
Over the course of the weekend, Sarah's behavior becomes more odd and even unreasonable. Right before the weekend she and her husband are mugged, the new trauma stirs up the old ones, though Sarah refuses to acknowledge any of this. It is not a full unraveling, but it is a denial that cannot last even as it escalates. By the end of the book we have a better picture of it all. We know her backstory, we see the issues in her recent behavior, we see what has really been going on. But I do wonder if it would have helped to have a little less withholding so we could see Sarah's denial and refusal a little more directly. But in the meantime there's piles of awkwardness and misunderstandings that come with newly reconciled friends and Hershon gets so much of it right.
I had just sped through two books before reading this and was just looking to dip my toe into something. Then I looked at my kindle and realized I was more than 70% of the way through this book. It isn't long, but I was surprised by how quickly it moved me along. I read it in a single sitting.
In ST. IVO, Sarah is emotionally at sea. It is not immediately clear to us just how badly. (In fact, my biggest criticism of the book is that it takes us an awfully long time to understand the depths of Sarah's situation.) We know she is a writer/director who hasn't had a project in a long time. We know there is some kind of loss having to do with her daughter. We know she and her husband are reconciled after a period of difficulty. But Sarah's past will come to us slowly. Her present is a single weekend where she and her husband go upstate to visit Sarah's old friend Kiki, who she hasn't seen in over a decade.
The setup of the weekend away is a great one. Female friendships are full of things unsaid and grudges buried. Kiki has a new baby, though she never wanted children in the days when she and Sarah were close. Kiki doesn't know what happened to Sarah's daughter (neither do we, so we're in the same boat that way). There is a vast divide between them but these kinds of occasions are the kinds where it's often easier not to acknowledge. Sarah knows she needs to update Kiki but she hesitates.
Over the course of the weekend, Sarah's behavior becomes more odd and even unreasonable. Right before the weekend she and her husband are mugged, the new trauma stirs up the old ones, though Sarah refuses to acknowledge any of this. It is not a full unraveling, but it is a denial that cannot last even as it escalates. By the end of the book we have a better picture of it all. We know her backstory, we see the issues in her recent behavior, we see what has really been going on. But I do wonder if it would have helped to have a little less withholding so we could see Sarah's denial and refusal a little more directly. But in the meantime there's piles of awkwardness and misunderstandings that come with newly reconciled friends and Hershon gets so much of it right.
I had just sped through two books before reading this and was just looking to dip my toe into something. Then I looked at my kindle and realized I was more than 70% of the way through this book. It isn't long, but I was surprised by how quickly it moved me along. I read it in a single sitting.
June 12, 2020
A near-perfect chamber drama of grief, guilt, self-loathing, and privilege.
Joanna Hershon’s story of middle-aged Sarah and Matthew’s fraught marriage—haunted by the specter of their daughter, Leda—brushes up against a strange encounter with a Czech man on a Brooklyn-bound subway train; a three-day weekend upstate with their estranged friends, Kiki and Arman (another couple having their own set of conflicts as new parents); and an armed assault in Prospect Park.
As these traumatic events collide and conflict with both past and present tensions, Hershon is able to build a highly convincing portrait of how absence is a marked presence in our lives, and how guilt can infect our interactions and relationships with those we love as well as with ourselves.
4.5 stars. Highly recommended.
Joanna Hershon’s story of middle-aged Sarah and Matthew’s fraught marriage—haunted by the specter of their daughter, Leda—brushes up against a strange encounter with a Czech man on a Brooklyn-bound subway train; a three-day weekend upstate with their estranged friends, Kiki and Arman (another couple having their own set of conflicts as new parents); and an armed assault in Prospect Park.
As these traumatic events collide and conflict with both past and present tensions, Hershon is able to build a highly convincing portrait of how absence is a marked presence in our lives, and how guilt can infect our interactions and relationships with those we love as well as with ourselves.
4.5 stars. Highly recommended.
February 5, 2020
I won this as a goodreads giveaway. Thank you Farrar, Straus, and Giroux and Macmillan.
I enjoyed the writing style of this book. The storytelling was very vivid and I was able to see it in my mind while reading along.
The actual story didn’t draw me in, if it had I would have given it a higher star rating.
This is an author whose other works I might read in the future and see if the other story lines hook me in.
I enjoyed the writing style of this book. The storytelling was very vivid and I was able to see it in my mind while reading along.
The actual story didn’t draw me in, if it had I would have given it a higher star rating.
This is an author whose other works I might read in the future and see if the other story lines hook me in.
December 9, 2019
This is probably a perfectly fine book for many but it wasn't one I enjoyed reading. It reminded very much of those contemporary movies set in large cities where the people in it go on and on and on about every little thing that happens to them, repeatedly beating every occurrence and decision to death. Apologies to the author for saying this but I just couldn't keep reading, hoping that something interesting would happen.
October 29, 2019
The synopsis made the book sound mysterious and exciting -- I wanted to settle in and enjoy this book. However, the more I read, I realized that the description was the best part. The characters were two dimensional, cliches. . . And not very likable. The story meandered here and there, seemingly with no sense of direction. It moved slowly, with long, boring sections I barely go through. But then the ending was rushed and unsatisfying. I didn't enjoy the book and, therefore, wouldn't recommend it to friends and fellow readers.
I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read St. Ivo.
I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read St. Ivo.
August 28, 2020
I can see how some people might find this book meandering and kind of pointless, but I have to guve it 4 stars for how wonderfully Hershon nails the feeling of loving an addict, and what it might feel like to have your own child reject you. I also liked how real the marriage felt, too.
January 14, 2020
Sarah goes about her life in a daze, half in the past and half in the present. She worries what the future will hold. A chance encounter on the subway sticks with her even after she and her husband, Matthew, are mugged. The couple quickly leaves town to visit old friends they haven’t spoken to in years. But the past refuses to leave Sarah be. She struggles with the emotional repercussions of wanting to confide in her friends the changes that life has brought in the years since they last spoke, and the fear of how they will perceive her if they know the truth.
This novel is wonderfully written. The language of it flows beautifully while still giving off the lost emotion that Sarah is feeling. This is a book about relationships: martial, familial, and friendships. It’s about the way people allow things to define them. It’s about how someone else’s decisions can change the world around you. It’s a short, but emotionally packed read. Sarah’s character has a depth that isn’t completely delved into in the story, and everyone else is so defined by her perception of herself. Everyone is carrying the weight of their world on their shoulders. I feel it is an extremely raw, emotional work that is so wonderfully done. Easily four stars for me.
This novel is wonderfully written. The language of it flows beautifully while still giving off the lost emotion that Sarah is feeling. This is a book about relationships: martial, familial, and friendships. It’s about the way people allow things to define them. It’s about how someone else’s decisions can change the world around you. It’s a short, but emotionally packed read. Sarah’s character has a depth that isn’t completely delved into in the story, and everyone else is so defined by her perception of herself. Everyone is carrying the weight of their world on their shoulders. I feel it is an extremely raw, emotional work that is so wonderfully done. Easily four stars for me.
November 14, 2019
Sarah finds it hard to face the truth. She believes herself incapable of writing successfully as she once had, despite her publisher’s encouragement. She seems weary in her marriage, despite the reconciliation. She finds it difficult to analyze her relationship with her estranged daughter. She meets a man on the subway who invites her to St. Ivo, his son’s “restaurant,” and who looks into her soul and assures her she is a good mother. When faced with an invitation for her husband and her to spend a weekend with formerly close friends, she resorts to lies to get her through. It is during this weekend, however, that she starts to reassess her life when she realizes how others have suffered and lied to hide pain and disappointment. Joanna Hershon invites her readers to come along on Sarah’s investigative journey to find out what can heal a broken relationship and how to adjust to the loss that it brings.
May 3, 2020
I couldn't put this book down. A page-turning glimpse under the surface of a seemingly perfect life and marriage, St. Ivo had me hooked from its opening pages. Highly recommend for those who like smart, emotionally satisfying literary fiction--and for anyone (isn't that everyone?) who'd like to escape for a long weekend right now.
January 12, 2020
Thanks to Goodreads and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for this ARC.
What can I say about this book that I won't trash it? It wasn't an enjoyable book and didn't like the characters. I was bored with the subjects by the end of the book but luckily it was short and I finished it pretty fast.
What can I say about this book that I won't trash it? It wasn't an enjoyable book and didn't like the characters. I was bored with the subjects by the end of the book but luckily it was short and I finished it pretty fast.
April 6, 2020
A page-turner with the momentum and suspense of a great beach read, but with the particularity, depth and originality that is Hershon's signature. You feel you have met these characters in life, yet never experienced them rendered on the page until now.
Hershon has a way of handling narrative events that is absolutely lifelike in its ebb and flow. The more dramatic and intense moments emerge unpredictably out of more reflective passages. It leaves no author fingerprints on what you know intellectually has been crafted, but feels simply lived. And once begun the book pulls you effortlessly and relentlessly to its conclusion.
Hershon has a way of handling narrative events that is absolutely lifelike in its ebb and flow. The more dramatic and intense moments emerge unpredictably out of more reflective passages. It leaves no author fingerprints on what you know intellectually has been crafted, but feels simply lived. And once begun the book pulls you effortlessly and relentlessly to its conclusion.
July 18, 2020
3+ stars - Apparently I didn’t read the description close enough because I thought this was a thriller, a mystery. Ah, but no. There is a slight mystery as the reader is fed bread crumbs of information throughout the entire novel as to what happened to Sarah’s daughter, Leda. This is accomplished through jumps and spurts and memories and excruciating self-loathing thoughts and actions from Sarah. It reminded me of one of those movies where you think it’s about some fun couples together for a weekend with a twist of mystery, and then to your shock, you discover it’s all angst and sadness and pain. Hershon’s writing is meticulous, making vivid Sarah’s pain and cringe-worthy actions. It was too depressing and sad for me at this time.
April 5, 2020
This incredibly moving page turner is the perfect companion piece for the current state of the world. It’s about how we connect to those we love, how we move on and how we live with uncertainty. I recognized myself in the story and got lost in the beautiful writing. The book takes you from the chaos and beauty of Park slope
Brooklyn to the quiet unrest of the Catskills. I was fully invested in these characters and they have stayed with me weeks after reading the last sentence.
Brooklyn to the quiet unrest of the Catskills. I was fully invested in these characters and they have stayed with me weeks after reading the last sentence.
April 6, 2020
Hershon's novel beautifully explores loss and what comes next. I couldn't put it down. It's a short and powerful page-turner, moving and relatable, yet filled with startling revelations and gripping dramatic tension. An examination of relationships -- motherhood, marriage, friendship, and starting those relationships over. I don't want to give too much away but this is a perfect escape during the intense time we are living in.
March 20, 2021
I read this book in one day. It's short but it leaves a mark. The description sounds like a thriller but it's definitely literary with a touch of mystery/suspense. At the beginning of the novel several unforseen circumstances/chance encounters force the main character to reevaluate her life. The book touches on emotions of denial, regret, loss, shame, and love/longing but overall the reading experience did not feel too heavy.
April 18, 2020
I fell under the strange spell of this book immediately -- I couldn't put it down, and yet this is no ordinary page-turner, but a literary work that penetrates the truth and mysteries of our closest relationships in a fresh and artful way. I was by turns enraptured by the writing, engrossed by the storytelling, and provoked by the deep questions Hershon poses. Masterfully done.
August 12, 2021
As its brooding cover suggests, St. Ivo is not a fluffy novel. Exploring the pain of mothering a child whose path leads her away from family, how marriages suffer in such situations, and the complexity of friendship when people's lives move in differing directions.
April 2, 2020
Wow, does this small book pack a punch. This an introspective book that surrounds two couples over a few days. These couples have been close for a long time, but have lost touch over the years. They come together over one weekend to catch up, but they are both hiding deep secrets and some motives may not be sincere.
For my full review, please visit my blog at: http://obsessedbookaholic.com/2020/04...
Thank you NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
For my full review, please visit my blog at: http://obsessedbookaholic.com/2020/04...
Thank you NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
July 30, 2020
I was handed down this book by my mother, and though I skimmed the flap of the dust cover, I really didn't have much of an idea what it was about before I started reading. After finishing, I'm still not entirely sure what it's about, either. It's one of those stories that's a snapshot of a character's life, where you see the emotion and the consequences of what's happened before the narrative opens but don't really feel like you're seeing the whole picture.
This book is well written and moving, but it's also depressing and feels incomplete. The reader knows from the beginning that there is some secret that is destroying the main character from the inside out, but it takes about three-quarters of the book before that secret is revealed, and when it is, it feels almost anticlimactic. It's certainly an interesting study of a woman and a couple dealing with difficult things for which there are no easy solutions, but to me it felt like the rest of the book -- the rest of the story -- was missing.
One quote from the book did stand out for me:
"She envisioned herself as a golem; it was easy. She might be disguised as a well-maintained formerly creative person who had a taste for fine textiles and cocktails and expensive organic hair dye, but she was actually a lifeless block of clay, with stones for eyes and a big gaping hole for a mouth. It was as if she'd just discovered a new rift and it was expanding by the second. What would you do if you found a hole in yourself? You'd fill it. You would stuff it up with whatever crude materials you happened to have on hand." (p. 129)
This book is well written and moving, but it's also depressing and feels incomplete. The reader knows from the beginning that there is some secret that is destroying the main character from the inside out, but it takes about three-quarters of the book before that secret is revealed, and when it is, it feels almost anticlimactic. It's certainly an interesting study of a woman and a couple dealing with difficult things for which there are no easy solutions, but to me it felt like the rest of the book -- the rest of the story -- was missing.
One quote from the book did stand out for me:
"She envisioned herself as a golem; it was easy. She might be disguised as a well-maintained formerly creative person who had a taste for fine textiles and cocktails and expensive organic hair dye, but she was actually a lifeless block of clay, with stones for eyes and a big gaping hole for a mouth. It was as if she'd just discovered a new rift and it was expanding by the second. What would you do if you found a hole in yourself? You'd fill it. You would stuff it up with whatever crude materials you happened to have on hand." (p. 129)
December 26, 2019
This book was exquisite, start to finish. I could not put it down, and was absolutely enamored throughout the entire read. Joanna Hershon’s writing is a true gift. Her story pulls you in and the characters are mysterious and hypnotizing. Her writing is both suspenseful and sensual, poetic even. The story captures how motherhood is all consuming, for better and worse. Can not recommend this book enough!!
December 14, 2019
Joanna Hershon's fifth novel is extraordinary—a multifaceted, sensual and deeply emotional meditation on motherhood, marriage, addiction and loss that also happens to be a heart-stopping page-turner. Her best work yet—and one that, like its mysterious title character, will affect you in ways both unexpected and lasting.
April 14, 2020
St. Ivo is an intimate page turner. Gorgeously evocative and emotionally taut, the novel immediately brings the reader close to its characters and holds her tight while stunning and surprising her. It's a mother-daughter story, a marriage story, a friendship story, paced with the intensity of a thriller. You will be engaged, you will be moved, and you will not be able to put it down.
November 14, 2019
I love this novel. It’s about mothers and daughters and mortality and marriage and the secrets we keep, the lies we tell ourselves to persevere. It’s wise and riveting, beautifully written and big-hearted. I couldn’t put it down.
March 25, 2022
I really enjoyed the existential dread that the author sets up pretty early on but felt pretty lukewarm about everything else. There was no real resolution for any of the plot threads so I felt dissatisfied.
Writing style is excellent, storytelling....not so much.
Writing style is excellent, storytelling....not so much.
May 21, 2020
Two stars in this case does not reflect Hershon's writing. I think she writes very well. I thought this should be a story, not a novel - and in the afterward, Hershon writes that this was a short story.
I think that would fit; the novel takes place in one weekend - that's not a problem. But, the action and reactions are pretty linear as the main character, Sarah, and her husband deal with issues in their long marriage and a difficult situation, to say the least, w/ a child. And if I say more I will reveal
what the entire book. There is an introduction of a second couple - but there isn't really a build, or any resolution - sad, happy, or anything. It's just the arc of this long-married couple on a weekend. I might read another of her books - as what I think Hershon does well is capture the feelings of Sarah - her "back and forth-ing" - her self-esteem hither and yon, and the many ups and down - slight and larger - between long-marrieds. But that's not enough. This book is about people in their
40s - midlife. . .and I just may be too old for this book.
I think that would fit; the novel takes place in one weekend - that's not a problem. But, the action and reactions are pretty linear as the main character, Sarah, and her husband deal with issues in their long marriage and a difficult situation, to say the least, w/ a child. And if I say more I will reveal
what the entire book. There is an introduction of a second couple - but there isn't really a build, or any resolution - sad, happy, or anything. It's just the arc of this long-married couple on a weekend. I might read another of her books - as what I think Hershon does well is capture the feelings of Sarah - her "back and forth-ing" - her self-esteem hither and yon, and the many ups and down - slight and larger - between long-marrieds. But that's not enough. This book is about people in their
40s - midlife. . .and I just may be too old for this book.
September 3, 2022
Hershon packs a lot into this slim novel that takes place over a weekend. Sarah & Matthew have a complicated marriage; it's being repaired after a 2 year separation. Although they live comfortably in a NY brownstone, the lengthy and painful absence of their adult daughter in their lives undoubtedly contributes to the strain in their relationship. On this particular weekend, they're traveling to upstate NY to reconnect with old friends. There's some awkwardness to this weekend stay with their friends and their new baby. The 2 couples were once very close, but have lost touch over the years. Sarah primarily was not responsive to her friend's efforts to reach out, but the reader knows why. Both couples, however, are hiding secrets, and there are concealed motives buried in this effort to try and reconnect. This is a book about family, friendship, and loss. That there is much difficulty and sorrow with moving on in life when faced with loss is abundantly clear.
December 12, 2025
3.5 stars. There is no real action in St. Ivo, but I enjoyed it just the same. Sarah and her husband, Matthew, have one daughter who you come to discover is an addict and who has cut off contact with them.
Over the course of one weekend with estranged friends, Sarah acts oddly but reconnects with an old friend. More importantly, she discloses that her daughter, Leda, is gone.
The interaction between a married couple, especially one who experienced such trauma, is believable. I liked the story but also wished for something more.
The part I enjoyed the most was when we learn of Sarah's upbringing with her extremely over-protective father.
My favorite lines:
"So much of life is beyond our control. Shouldn't we be doing everything we possibly can to stay safe? To keep living?"
"The phone calls and the waiting and the daily mental exertions - this had the same effect as doing nothing."
"The anguish of death is different from the awareness of self-destruction."
Over the course of one weekend with estranged friends, Sarah acts oddly but reconnects with an old friend. More importantly, she discloses that her daughter, Leda, is gone.
The interaction between a married couple, especially one who experienced such trauma, is believable. I liked the story but also wished for something more.
The part I enjoyed the most was when we learn of Sarah's upbringing with her extremely over-protective father.
My favorite lines:
"So much of life is beyond our control. Shouldn't we be doing everything we possibly can to stay safe? To keep living?"
"The phone calls and the waiting and the daily mental exertions - this had the same effect as doing nothing."
"The anguish of death is different from the awareness of self-destruction."
April 21, 2020
Joanna Hershon just hit St. Ivo out of the park! Hershon explores marriage, friendship, traumatic loss, grief, secrets and lies, the complexities of human nature, all with poignancy, compassion, and suspense. Yes, suspense. Most of St. Ivo takes place over a weekend, as Sarah and Matthew visit friends, Kiki and Arman, from whom they’ve been estranged. Sarah and Matthew haven’t heard from their daughter, Leda, in years and don’t know if they ever will. The back story of this family unravels in small increments, adding tension to the suspense. The dialogue, often taut, always perceptive, tells us all we need to know about marital discord, confusion, challenges, and the difficulty of honest communication. But, it also tells us about tenderness and hope. There's much more I could write,
but instead of reading more of my words, I wholeheartedly recommend you read Joanna’s.
but instead of reading more of my words, I wholeheartedly recommend you read Joanna’s.
November 12, 2025
Messy. Complicated. A story that tells the truth about life. Even though I am fairly young at the time of reading this book. I believe this book captures the struggles of adulthood extremely well.
Grief was a theme explored through this novel and the effects of it were in great detail. I loved how you can see the emotion and thought put into this short 200 page novel.
Character development was superb, but Sarah (our main girl) very much mad me not like her. This allowed me to understand her character better. The way she was so insecure, anxious, angry, and not willing to accept certain situations with her own daughter. I will be honest for some reason I thought her daughter died, whoops!
Overall, I read this book in about a day and a half. I haven’t read a book in one sitting in over a year. I think this book just got me out of the biggest book slump of my life.
Grief was a theme explored through this novel and the effects of it were in great detail. I loved how you can see the emotion and thought put into this short 200 page novel.
Character development was superb, but Sarah (our main girl) very much mad me not like her. This allowed me to understand her character better. The way she was so insecure, anxious, angry, and not willing to accept certain situations with her own daughter. I will be honest for some reason I thought her daughter died, whoops!
Overall, I read this book in about a day and a half. I haven’t read a book in one sitting in over a year. I think this book just got me out of the biggest book slump of my life.
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