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Alexandra, Gone

by Anna McPartlin

3.6 · Rating Details · 850 Ratings · 113 Reviews

LETTING GO FOR GOOD . . .

Once, Jane Moore and Alexandra Walsh were inseparable, sharing secrets and stolen candy, plotting their futures together. But when Jane became pregnant at seventeen, they drifted slowly apart. Jane has spent the years since raising her son, now seventeen himself, on her own, running a gallery, managing her sister’s art career, and looking after th ...more

Paperback, 342 pages

Published April 13th 2010 by Gallery Books (first published January 1st 2009)

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Sep 05, 2010 Marie rated it it was ok

Shelves: fiction, women, europe

Blah. So glad to be done with this one. I only finished it because I wanted to see what would happen. It was by an Irish writer...about a woman who disappears and various people who are trying to find her...

I didn't particularly like the characters--most of them didn't seem to have any morals--and in fact I didn't feel as if I really got to understand them at any rate. The writing was just not very strong.

This novel is a classic example of telling rather than showing. And even though I love musi ...more

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Aug 06, 2010 Amanda Vance rated it it was amazing

Anna McPartlin is an author I can count on to give me what I want, characters I can love with real problems, stories that can be sad and aren't always perfect, but some humor and laughter along the ride. I have read her other books and have loved them all, consuming them quickly even when there were things I told myself I'd get done before I continued. Alexandra Gone is no exception. Jane cares for everyone except herself, Elle straddles the line between being ridiculously selfish and having emo ...more

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Apr 13, 2010 Jennifer Defoy rated it really liked it

Shelves: pocket-book-blog-tour, 2010-reads

I really liked this book. The title would suggest that it is about Alexandra, and it is to an extent. But the real story involves the other characters and what they go through while trying to find Alexandra. Really the character Alexandra is just a catalyst to pull all of the other characters together. Not to say that Alexandra isn't part of the plot, because the entire book revolves around finding her, but she's not part of the main stories.

This book reminded me a bit of a Maeve Binchy novel. I really liked this book. The title would suggest that it is about Alexandra, and it is to an extent. But the real story involves the other characters and what they go through while trying to find Alexandra. Really the character Alexandra is just a catalyst to pull all of the other characters together. Not to say that Alexandra isn't part of the plot, because the entire book revolves around finding her, but she's not part of the main stories.

This book reminded me a bit of a Maeve Binchy novel. Even before I read the author bio, and realized that McPartlin also lives in Ireland. I guess it's a similarity in Irish authors, but luckily Maeve Binchy is one of my favorite authors so being similar to one of her books is a good thing (at least in my opinion). The writing is similar and the dialect is the same. While this story doesn't have a Binchy style happy ending it is still very similar.

There was really only one character that I connected with, and that was Leslie. I too have lost family to cancer, and like Leslie am scared every time I go to the doctor that they will find something. Even though I didn't really have a personal connection with the rest of the characters I still liked every one of them. Jane is the levelheaded one. She keeps everyone else "in line" so to speak. Elle is the one that adds drama and excitement to the story. Tom is the one we all want to feel sympathetic for. The rest of the characters help the plot along, but I didn't really feel anything for them. They were just kind of there.

The writing was very good. It was humorous, touching, and romantic. Everything in the story was believable. I didn't feel as if any of the characters were fake, and the dialog was real. There were a few twists that I didn't see coming. And while I knew how the story would end I didn't expect it to take the path it took to get there.

Overall this was a great book. I liked the characters, the plot, and the writing. It's very readable, and I think I could read this again. ...more

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Apr 18, 2010 Colleen rated it liked it

Alexandra, Goneby Anna McPartlin opens with the disappearance of Alexandra one afternoon in Dublin. The reader knows little about her but witnesses her disappearance and the subsequent devastation of her husband, Tom, and her family as they desperately hold out hope that she will be found healthy and safe. While looking for Alexandra, Tom has a chance meeting in a broken elevator with Leslie, Elle and Elle's sister, Jane. The four soon band together in the search for Alexandra and through that p Alexandra, Goneby Anna McPartlin opens with the disappearance of Alexandra one afternoon in Dublin. The reader knows little about her but witnesses her disappearance and the subsequent devastation of her husband, Tom, and her family as they desperately hold out hope that she will be found healthy and safe. While looking for Alexandra, Tom has a chance meeting in a broken elevator with Leslie, Elle and Elle's sister, Jane. The four soon band together in the search for Alexandra and through that process come to know each other and to share their personal tragedies.

Each of the four main characters has their own storyline:

Jane is raising her teenage son alone but still loves her son's father, her teenage sweetheart. She is the matriarch of her family and takes responsibility for not only her sister Elle's career but the rest of life too - she manages her money, provides her with a home and is the rock upon which Elle relies. In addition to Elle, Jane is responsible for their alcoholic mother who lives with her and is prone to rude outbursts.

Elle is the boisterous and unpredictable artist who makes unwise decisions in love and tends to live life in extremes - she is very much the opposite of Jane but their love and affection for each other is clear.

Leslie is the solitary remaining living member of her family - cancer has ravaged the family's gene pool and she has lost both parents and two sisters to the disease. She knows she has the faulty gene that led to the early demise of her sisters due to ovarian or breast cancer and she essentially shuts down, closes herself off from people and relationships while she waits for her inevitable diagnosis and early death.

Tom is devastated by his young wife's disappearance and his life slowly unravels after she goes missing. His relationship with his in-laws is strained as many of them blame him for her disappearance; as a result, he finds himself increasingly alone in his search for his wife and his desperation until he is trapped in the elevator with the three women who sign on for his search and rally around him.

The story is essentially told around the absence of Alexandra - we learn very little about her throughout the novel and the real revelations are in the lives of the four main characters who are tied together in their search for Alexandra. At some point, I found myself almost forgetting about Alexandra as I became more and more drawn into the stories of the four main characters. Because the story is told from the points of view of these four main characters (with a few other minor ones thrown in for good measure), the novel seemed a little choppy to me in the beginning - I felt as if I barely knew any character well enough to care about them and kept wondering when I would learn more about Alexandra. But once I realized that the book was really not about Alexandra and the stories behind each of the four main characters began to unfold, I found I could not put the book down! In the last third of the novel, the revelations come fast and furious for each of the four main characters. Their stories were often very emotional as they dealt with histories of mental illness, sacrificed dreams and the loss of loved ones. I definitely shed a tear or two in the last part of the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel - even though some of the themes are quite heavy (death, loss, mental illness), the author infuses the dialogue with humor and quips which helps to lighten the mood of the novel. I am now eager to move onto the other novels by the author currently on my shelf - Pack Up the Moon,Apart from the Crowd, and As Sure As the Sun.
...more

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Jan 30, 2015 Sónia rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: segredo-dos-livros, 2014

Anna McPartlin é conhecida por escrever livros de leitura fluída, mas que nos possibilitam uma reflexão sobre vários pormenores mais sérios. Este não foge à regra e digamos que é o livro da autora com uma abordagem mais "séria" que li. Isto porque se debruça, principalmente, sobre o desaparecimento . Não falo do desaparecimento a que todos, mais dia menos dia, estaremos votados. Falo, sim, do desaparecimento sem rasto, do alguém sair de casa e haver a incógnita Onde estará?

A partir de um tema qu ...more

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Apr 13, 2015 Mariazita rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Gosto muito desta autora, os seus livros são sempre muito emotivos .
Mais um livro com diferentes personagens, cada uma com um problema , e as suas maneiras de os superarem.
Tudo começa com o desaparecimento de Alexandra, Tom o seu marido tenta encontra-la desesperadamente, nessa procura por um mero acaso encontra Jane, uma amiga de infância de Alexandra, a qual não a via a dezassete anos, desde que ainda adolescente engravidou .Jane além de criar o seu filho, tem que ajudar a sua irmã Elle, que t ...more

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Jun 15, 2016 Joanne rated it really liked it

I enjoyed a number of the characters in this book. I found it slow moving however and struggled to get back to it on a couple of occasions. I found the writing style clear and consistent and I did like the music references scattered throughout.

The simplicity of both the characters and the plot was nice and there were no dramatic inconsistencies but this also made it feel a bit slow in places as there was a "well thats no surprise" feeling about some of the revelations.

Overall I would recommend t ...more

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Oct 27, 2010 Leah rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-2010, for-review

Once Jane and Alexandra were inseparable – sharing adventures, secrets and big dreams for the future. But when Jane got pregnant at seventeen, they drifted apart. Seventeen years later, Jane discovers Alexandra has disappeared and she sets about helping Alexandra’s broken-hearted husband, Tom, to find his wife. But in searching for Alexandra Jane is about to confront some big questions about herself. Like, what happened to the high-spirited seventeen-year-old she once was? What will happen if sh Once Jane and Alexandra were inseparable – sharing adventures, secrets and big dreams for the future. But when Jane got pregnant at seventeen, they drifted apart. Seventeen years later, Jane discovers Alexandra has disappeared and she sets about helping Alexandra’s broken-hearted husband, Tom, to find his wife. But in searching for Alexandra Jane is about to confront some big questions about herself. Like, what happened to the high-spirited seventeen-year-old she once was? What will happen if she stops trying to control the world? And does love really mean letting people go? Two fractured people come together accidentally and in one another they find strength, friendship – and even the beginnings of hope …

**Please note that this book is also titled So What If I’m Broken and Alexandra, Gone!**

When I read Anna McPartlin’s debut novel Pack up the Moon earlier this year I was so thankful that I had spotted the cover while browsing Google because otherwise I never would have bought the book because I would never have known it existed. I thought Pack up the Moon was stunning, it really blew me away and I quickly collected up the rest of Anna’s books. I managed to get myself a copy of her latest book The One I Love (also known as Alexandra, Gone and So What If I’m Broken?) to review and I started it fully expecting another cracking read and I wasn’t disappointed at all.

At the beginning of The One I Love, the entire Chapter One in fact, we’re introduced to numerous characters; there’s Alexandra, who after writing a note to husband Tom sets off to meet her friend but disappears on route, we meet Elle and Jane who are friends of Alexandra and who are sisters, Elle likes to write letters to the Universe whereas Jane has found herself pregnant at 17, we then meet Leslie, who we learn is cut off from all of her family and friends due to a genetic gene and then finally, we meet Tom, Alexandra’s husband as he sets about trying to find his wife. It’s complete chaos, ranging from 1989 to 1996, to the present day of 2007, told in letter forms and flashbacks, and I was a bit concerned the book would carry on that way. But after setting out the storyline by introducing us to the main characters, and their problems, we then stay in 2007 and the story progresses from there like a proper story should as they try to find Alexandra.

The plot truly is fantastic, because although the basis for the entire plot is Alexandra being missing and Tom’s search to find her, we also learn about Tom, Jane, Elle and Leslie. After meeting at a Jack Lukeman concert, they got stuck in the lift, they all band together to search for Alexandra but they also become friends as well. Yet they all have their own problems: Jane is still in love with her son Kurt’s dad Dominic, Elle has deep-set issues with the world, Leslie lives her life under a cloud, constantly being hounded by a gene that has harmed other family members and Tom is just looking for his wife. As they all try to come to terms with their problems, and learn new secrets, and start new relationships you really begin to care about each and every one of them, and I was turning the pages avidly, desperate to carry on reading.

There is no main or lead character in the novel, that’s shared by Jane, Tom, Elle and Leslie and each have their own quirks and foibles that make them their own. I liked them all equally and found them all incredibly well rounded. But what I liked best was that they were all so human. They each made mistakes throughout the novel, little ones, big ones, and for me it just made me like them all the more. Jane was the most family-oriented, looking after her son Kurt as well as her aging, drunk mother Rose and flighty sister Elle, and always put them before herself. Elle, as I’ve said, was flighty and impulsive and a bit of a wild child, and she spoke to me the most I think (for the record, I am nothing like Elle). Leslie was shy, staying alone and away from the world, until her encounter in the lift when she finally decided it was time to stop living like a hermit. And Tom, Tom was brave, when many people would have just left Alexandra for dead, Tom carried on looking for her and I totally admired that in him. He had heart and spirit. In fact, they all had heart and spirit. There are many other, minor, characters in the novel. Rose, Elle and Jane’s spiky mother, Kurt, Jane’s teenage son, Alexandra’s family, her parents and siblings, Leslie’s sister’s widow Jim, they all made their mark and none more so than Alexandra herself. Alexandra herself is in four pages total, but the book is infinitely her. From the memories Jane has of her, to Tom’s memories, her families memories, she just shines off the pages and despite not really knowing her, we do care for her. I’ve no idea how McPartlin pulled that off, but she did, and for me, Alexandra was utterly real.

The One I Love is about a lot of things, but the main thing that will stay with me is written on the front of the book: that no matter what, true friends will not give up and that encompasses the book perfectly. Not only that, but the feeling I got of how each of the characters found themselves, it was immense. McPartlin has pulled off another stunning novel, and for me she ranks up there with Marian Keyes and Melissa Hill in terms of how well she writes and how good she is at crafting a story. The book is told in third-person, moving from Jane to Elle to Leslie to Tom, which works fantastically well and I never got lost off despite there being so much going on. I adored the book, and Anna is two for two with me so far and I look forward to getting stuck into her other two novels. I sincerely hope she’s working on another novel – and many other novels in the future – as she’s definitely an author you want to be reading. She may not be huge in the UK, I can’t really speak for Ireland, but she deserves to be. I am a huge fan. ...more

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Oct 01, 2015 Carla Faleiro rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: os-despachados, ebooks

Sabe, quem passou pela experiência, que perder alguém é algo que nos deixa no limite. Mas perder alguém para algo desconhecido é passar além do desespero.
Alexandra sai de casa um dia e nunca mais volta... O marido Tom acredita que ela está perdida algures, a sua mãe Breda sente que o coração da sua filha ainda bate, mas a verdade é terrível.

Este é o mote para mais um livro de Anna McPartlin, um livro cheio de sentimentos, que nos deixa na mesma angustia que os personagens.

Esta autora tem o dom d ...more

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Oct 16, 2015 Steph Dinning rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This was very easy to get immersed in and with a whole mix of characters to get to know and plots I couldn't put it down once started.
Though a lot of it was kinda predictable and you knew that certain people would end up together but at times like this it's the story of how they get there that holds it all together.

Toms wife Alexandra goes missing and the story is told over the next year.
I really had no idea what way the plot would go, would she turn up,would she stay hidden forever or would she This was very easy to get immersed in and with a whole mix of characters to get to know and plots I couldn't put it down once started.
Though a lot of it was kinda predictable and you knew that certain people would end up together but at times like this it's the story of how they get there that holds it all together.

Toms wife Alexandra goes missing and the story is told over the next year.
I really had no idea what way the plot would go, would she turn up,would she stay hidden forever or would she meet an untimely end.
Then one day he gets stuck in a lift with 3 very different women, Jane and Elle who are sisters and Leslie and they strike up a friendship.

The story briefly takes you back in time to introduce the 3 women and tells their stories,so to get a little insight into them.
From the start I liked Jane,a single mum since having her son Kurt at 17, he is now 17 himself. Jane turned her life around and made a success of it and she's strong and a fighter though her weakness is her sons father,Dominic who basically has been using her for sex.

I never much liked Elle, she's a grown woman who acts like a child and her sister excuses all her mistakes and pats her on the head n says it's okay. Elle was really irritating and eventually we find out why she is like this and when she does the unthinkable but I couldn't feel any sympathy for her.
Jane forgives her the unthinkable and that really annoyed me as if they were making excuses for this illness she has so let her away with anything.

Leslie started off as a real sad lonely character and gradually changed throughout the story into a much nicer person.
It's obvious from the start in a way how her story is going to end and even though it's nice for her after everything she has been through,it just didn't sit right with me,felt wrong somehow.

My favourite was Rose, the alcoholic mother of Jane and Elle. She was so funny and the things she would come out with,I would go back n read them just to laugh again.

The book was actually really funny in places,the humour was pretty evident throughout which lightened some darker times and scenes.

There were some little surprises threw in that rocked things up at times,some sad moments that you weren't expecting, but all these things add to the story in a good way.

I really enjoyed this book for its humour,characters and great plot. ...more

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Jan 19, 2016 Lainy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 355

Publisher - Penguin

Blurb from Goodreads

LETTING GO FOR GOOD . . .

Once, Jane Moore and Alexandra Walsh were inseparable, sharing secrets and stolen candy, plotting their futures together. But when Jane became pregnant at seventeen, they drifted slowly apart. Jane has spent the years since raising her son, now seventeen himself, on her own, running a gallery, managing her sister’s art career, and looking after their volatile mother—all the while trying not to re Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 355

Publisher - Penguin

Blurb from Goodreads

LETTING GO FOR GOOD . . .

Once, Jane Moore and Alexandra Walsh were inseparable, sharing secrets and stolen candy, plotting their futures together. But when Jane became pregnant at seventeen, they drifted slowly apart. Jane has spent the years since raising her son, now seventeen himself, on her own, running a gallery, managing her sister’s art career, and looking after their volatile mother—all the while trying not to resent the limited choices life has given her.

Then a quirk of fate and a faulty elevator bring Jane into contact with Tom, Alexandra’s husband, who has some shocking news. Alexandra disappeared from a south Dublin suburb months ago, and Tom has been searching fruitlessly for her. Jane offers to help, as do the elevator’s other passengers—Jane’s brilliant but self-absorbed sister, Elle, and Leslie Sheehan, a reclusive web designer who’s ready to step back into the world again. And as Jane quickly realizes, Tom isn’t the only one among them who’s looking for something . . . or traveling toward unexpected revelations about love, life, and what it means to let go, in every sense.

In this insightful and irresistible novel, by turns profound, poignant, and laugh- out-loud funny, acclaimed Irish writer Anna McPartlin tells a story of friendship and love, of the families we are born into and the ones we create for ourselves, and of the hope and strength that remain when we fi nd the courage to leave the past behind at last.

My Review

Alexandra Walsh is missing, gone out to pick up tickets and then nothing, no contact, just gone. Jane Moore was once her best friend, but like a lot of friendships, life and events saw them separate. A chance meeting at a concert brings Alexandra's husband into contact with Jane, Jane's sister Elle & Leslie. After being trapped together in a lift, they decide they will help Tom to try and find Alexandra. Elle is a loose cannon, a liability but a fantastic artist who has many demons she needs to address. Leslie has lost so many of her family to cancer, she tested for the gene and has decided the best way to be safe is to keep a distance from people & family. This chance meeting will see them all come together and in helping Tom expose themselves to friendship and self exploration and personal growth.

There is a lot about this story I liked, when someone disappears you want to know what has happened. Relationships forming and learning more about the characters, some happiness, some sadness and some laughter in between. People coming together, growth of characters and vesting interest is always a great art created by some very talented authors. What didn't I like? There are themes of infidelity, some codes broken that as friends and or family you just wouldn't do, lines you do not cross. However, in saying that, it does happen and brings realism to the story, I still personally do not like it.

Yet another good tale by McPartlin, I enjoy meeting and following the characters she creates. I really wanted to know what happened to Alexandra and getting to know the characters followed secondary to that. Once the story got kick started, you find yourself being drawn in and not wanting to put the book down so you can find where their paths are going. 3/5 for me this time, I will continue to buy up this authors work although my favourite still remains, The Last Days Of Rabbit Hayes. ...more

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Aug 09, 2014 Helen F rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

(Note: I read the edition titled The One I Love. It also seems to be available as So What If I'm Broken)

Hurrah! What a breath of fresh air this book was. It was a great combination of mystery, romance and humour with a couple of dysfunctional families thrown in to keep the pace moving. I found there were so many characters you could relate to in some way, whether it is Rose's 'tell it like it is' attitude, Leslie's fierce independence/ hiding from the world, Elle's mishaps, Jane's mothering inst ...more

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Aug 09, 2014 Helen F rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

(Note: I read the edition titled The One I Love. It also seems to be available as Alexandra Gone)

Hurrah! What a breath of fresh air this book was. It was a great combination of mystery, romance and humour with a couple of dysfunctional families thrown in to keep the pace moving. I found there were so many characters you could relate to in some way, whether it is Rose's 'tell it like it is' attitude, Leslie's fierce independence/ hiding from the world, Elle's mishaps, Jane's mothering instinct or ...more

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Aug 04, 2014 Maria João rated it liked it · review of another edition

7 de 10*

Quando li a sinopse deste novo livro de Anna McPartlin pensei que iria ler a história da busca de Alexandra e da procura dos motivos para o seu desaparecimento. Não podia estar mais enganada... o livro centra-se nos que ficaram, nos que lutam por encontrá-la e nos outros problemas individuais que cada um tem que enfrentar.
É um livro que se lê muito bem, com uma escrita fluída mas que, no entanto, não me deixou a sua marca.

Quando Alexandra desaparece de subito, numa tarde normal de um dia ...more

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Nov 14, 2014 Elphaba J rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Opinião completa em: http://historiasdeelphaba.blogspot.pt...

Com um traço muito singular para tocar afectos, Anna McPartlin faz-me sempre encontrar sem procurar algo belo e simultaneamente cru sobre a humanidade nas suas histórias, histórias compostas por personagens diversificadas e múltiplas temáticas sensíveis que tocam os seus leitores enquanto os faz reflectir sobre si mesmos.

Um Amor Perdido é, como próprio título e sinopse aludem, uma narrativa que nos conta como alguém pode lidar com a ev ...more

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Mar 12, 2014 Ann rated it liked it · review of another edition

The One I Love is a story about a missing girl, Alexandra, and people who find each other due to her disappearance. It was an enjoyanble read, would give it 3.5 stars.

Readers are introduced to several lives combined together and affecting one another. We get to know their backgrounds and things that have shaped them. For me, there were so many characters. I did enjoy getting to know them.

I would have been irritated if we wouldnt have gotten the solution to the disappearance. What did bother me ...more

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Apr 12, 2010 Kathleen Kelly rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: finished

Alexandra,Gone written by Anna McPartlin takes place in a Dublin suburb and is about how two families cope with the disappearance of Alexandra who one day just disappears. Of course her husband Tom is the automatic suspect but as the story progress's you realize that this is not the case. This contemporary story jumps from character to character which makes the story flow together. The story is sad and at the same time humorous. The main character Jane (who was a childhood friend of Alexandra's ...more

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Apr 13, 2010 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction

From my blog...[return][return]Alexandra, Gone is a brilliantly stunning novel that showcases the masterful storytelling of author Anna McPartlin where readers learn just enough about the key cast to have their interest piqued. The novel begins with Alexandra's narrative on 21 June 2007 in Dublin where she left a note for her husband Tom to head to the grocery when he returned home from work and said she would be out for a brief time while having drinks with her friend Sherri. Alexandra departed From my blog...[return][return]Alexandra, Gone is a brilliantly stunning novel that showcases the masterful storytelling of author Anna McPartlin where readers learn just enough about the key cast to have their interest piqued. The novel begins with Alexandra's narrative on 21 June 2007 in Dublin where she left a note for her husband Tom to head to the grocery when he returned home from work and said she would be out for a brief time while having drinks with her friend Sherri. Alexandra departed the train in Dalkey, and then she completely vanished. Back in 1989, then 8 year-old Elle Moore began a tradition of spending New Year's Eve writing a letter to the Universe. By May of 1990 we learn that Jane Moore, Elle's 17-year old sister is pregnant and she has turned to her friend Alexandra for help. Jane gave birth to a baby boy, Kurt, and 4 months later Alexandra was gone from the Moore girls lives. In 1996 Imelda writes a letter to her husband Jim, imploring him to look after Leslie when she is gone, for Leslie will be left with no family once she succumbs to cancer. Which brings the reader up to present day with Tom Kavanagh pleading on a radio station for any information or leads that may help find his wife. Jim decides to hand out leaflets at a concert and finds himself trapped in a lift with Elle and Jane Moore and Leslie Sheehan. Elle and Jane are shocked to see a picture of their friend all these years later and stunned to her of her disappearance. The four make a pact to find out the truth of Alexandra's disappearance. McPartlin tells the story through the different voices of Elle, Jane, Leslie, and Tom, each with their unique viewpoints. The characters in Alexandra, Gone are vibrant, flawed, dysfunctional and deal with very serious issues, yet the book does not come across as either too heavy or depressing, rather the story is quite cleverly interwoven. Ingeniously, McPartlin tells the story of not merely a missing woman, but of families, friends, and friends who become family. I recommend Alexandra, Gone with the highest of praise I am able to give. ...more

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Jun 07, 2010 Cheryl rated it it was amazing

Alexandra, Gone by Anna McPartlin
Published by Downtown Press (Division of Simon & Schuster)
ISBN 978-1-4391-2333-1
At the request of Gallery & Pocket Books, a PB copy was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.
Synopsis (from back of book): Once, Jane Moore and Alexandra Walsh were inseparable, sharing secrets and stolen candy, plotting their futures together. But when Jane became pregnant at seventeen, they drifted slowly apart. Jane has spent the years since raising her son, now s Alexandra, Gone by Anna McPartlin
Published by Downtown Press (Division of Simon & Schuster)
ISBN 978-1-4391-2333-1
At the request of Gallery & Pocket Books, a PB copy was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.
Synopsis (from back of book): Once, Jane Moore and Alexandra Walsh were inseparable, sharing secrets and stolen candy, plotting their futures together. But when Jane became pregnant at seventeen, they drifted slowly apart. Jane has spent the years since raising her son, now seventeen himself, on her own, running a gallery, managing her sister's art career, and looking after their volatile mother-all the while trying not to resent the limited choices life has given her.
Then a quirk of fate and a faulty elevator bring Jane into contact with Tom, Alexandra's husband, who has some shocking news, Alexandra disappeared from a south Dublin suburb months ago and Tom has been searching fruitlessly for her. Jane offers to help, as do the elevator's other passengers-Janes's brilliant but self-absorbed sister, Elle and Leslie Sheehan, a reclusive web designer who's ready to step back into the world again. And as Jane quickly realizes Tom isn't the only one among them who's looking for something...or traveling toward unexpected revelations about love, life, and what it means to let go, in every sense.
My Thoughts and Opinion: Most books I read, I can't wait to finish it to find out the ending. I was totally ambivalent with this one. I hated to see it end, but then I also wanted to see how it did end. I don't know about you, but, I become part of the story in which I am reading. That is why I didn't want to turn the last page because I became friends with the characters of this book. In Alexandra, Gone, the author writes a story of the lives of many loveable, but at times, troubled characters. I found myself laughing out loud on one page, eyes filling with tears on another, and frustrated with them on yet another. Ms. McPartlin tells a tender, funny, poignant and moving story of friendship, loss, disappointment, pain, denial and love on so many levels. This book is the type of book that you get so engrossed while reading that you are unaware of what is going on around you, at least that is what happened to me. I highly recommend reading Alexandra, Gone and becoming friends with Jane, Elle, Leslie and all the other characters.
My Rating: 5 ...more

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Jan 03, 2016 Ann Douglas rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: novel, fiction, read-in-2015

I almost stopped reading this book about two chapters in because the constant references to Irish musician Jack Lukeman became really, really grating (the book started to feel like an advertorial and/or fan fiction) and the e-book formatting problems just about did me in (example: the lyrics at the beginning of Chapter 1 show up repeatedly throughout the text for no good reason.) That said, I'm glad I persisted because the story was decent and the characters grew on me over time.

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Apr 15, 2010 Gaby rated it it was amazing

Shelves: literary-fiction

I loved Alexandra, Gone. Reading the blurb, I had expected the book to be dark and with a greater focus on forensics because of Alexandra's disappearance. Instead, I entered this world of Jane, her sister Elle, their friend Leslie, their new friend Tom, and the rest of Jane's off-kilter family. Getting to know these people, what and who they love, their vulnerabilities and hopes, and their stories and strengths was full of laughs and surprises.

In Jane, Elle, and Leslie of Alexandra, Gone, Anna M ...more

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Apr 08, 2016 Magdalena Wajda rated it really liked it

I really like the style of Anna McPartlin. She writes about uneasy issues, such as disease, single motherhood, battling depression etc. in a very unsentimental, matter-of-fact manner. Almost like a reporter, she tells the stories of the people in her books, but avoids any sentimental, mushy comments or descriptions. Leaves the reader a lot of space for own thoughts.
The characters are realistic, likeable and above all, believable.

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Apr 02, 2014 Grae rated it really liked it

I thought the characters were interesting and wanted to get to know them. Although the story is about a woman who goes missing, you almost don't care what happens with her because you are being drawn into the lives of the other characters. There is resolution though and I was happy with how the author tied up everything.

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Aug 31, 2014 Stephen rated it really liked it

I'm planning to seek out all of her books, in chronological order, and read them one by one. Such a sad book, but with hope peeking out behind every crafted urban landscape. People who have lost much, helping each other, and healing by helping. Letting go of the past, no matter how much those in that past were loved, and moving on, making a new now.

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Oct 28, 2013 Jenny L rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2013-books

This is the first book I have read by Anna McPartlin and I am now keen to read more by her. This was such a good story. Alexandra is indeed gone, disappeared one afternoon never to be seen again and the story is about the people who come together - accidentally, to try to help find her. Her husband Tom has never stopped looking for her and with the help of her oldest childhood friend and others, a new search unfolds as does the complex story of interwoven lives of real people. Despite the subjec ...more

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Oct 06, 2015 Lori rated it liked it

liked the Irish title better, So What If I'm Broken, because the missing girl played a very small role in this book which is why I picked it up in the first place. But interesting how it all came together

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Jan 01, 2016 The Cats Mother rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, read-in-2013, from-book-club

I really liked the story and the characters here, but it lost a star for school-girlish writing which made it hard to get into.
The story is set in Ireland and is about a young woman who goes missing one day, and her husband and estranged best friend, and their family and friends, who in trying to find her find life, love and themselves. There are some fairly dark parts about death, loss, mental illness, alcoholism and betrayal, but also some very funny bits. Songs by Jack Lukeman who is a real s ...more

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Sep 03, 2014 Sharon rated it really liked it

This book has also been published as "The One I Love".

I thought the characters were very human. We're not all perfect, how we all react to the loss of a loved one varies from person to person and this story reflects that.

Although it develops as a sad story with death, illness and disappointments in love, the story ends on a lighter, happier note on how we can forge friendships through sorrow, that it is never too late to make a fresh start.

When I started reading this I didn't expect to enjoy it, ...more

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Oct 01, 2014 Katie rated it liked it

This was a fun little read. Nothing earth shattering, but not bad either. Nice to read if you've got nothing else on your plate and are looking for something to fill up your time.

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Apr 17, 2010 Andrea rated it liked it

This book was a little hard for me to get into. There was something about the writing that made me have to struggle with it at first, and then once I did, it was easier to read.

This was a deep book--it's definitely not something you'd want to read if you were looking for a happy, uplifting or fluffy book. But it was definitely interesting. A lot of issues were brought up--teenage pregnancy, missing people, suicide, cancer, mental illness.

The way the characters were all integrated took a little ...more

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About Anna McPartlin

Anna McPartlin was born in 1972.

Anna’s debut novel Pack Up The Moon was published in January 2006, it went on to be a best seller both here and abroad.

Since then Anna’s written three more novels, So What If I’m Broken being her latest work. She’s also written School Run, a TV comedy-drama for TV3 which was nominated for both an IFTA and a TV award. Anna’s books are published in Ireland, Germany, A Anna McPartlin was born in 1972.

Anna’s debut novel Pack Up The Moon was published in January 2006, it went on to be a best seller both here and abroad.

Since then Anna’s written three more novels, So What If I’m Broken being her latest work. She’s also written School Run, a TV comedy-drama for TV3 which was nominated for both an IFTA and a TV award. Anna’s books are published in Ireland, Germany, America, Russia, The UK and Australia. She’s currently working on her first film.

In the early nineties, Anna ran an alternative cabaret called Tales of the City in a run down bar on Capel Street. The show comprised of a Dutch torch singer, a folk rock band, an ancient alcoholic queen of monologues, and a waitress in drag … not to mention comedy. Anna was a stand up comedienne for four years and it is her experience writing sketches that ignited her passion for storytelling.

Friends and family are Anna’s inspiration. Given the amount of upheaval and tragedy Anna has experienced in her life from a very young age, it is no wonder friends and family are what she cherishes most and evidence of this is in all of her work. It tickles your funny bone, tugs at your heartstrings, and reminds you to never give up on love.

Anna’s lived many kinds of lives in this short lifetime her parents separated when she was five and her mother was diagnosed with MS when she was six. She lived with and cared for her Mum and her Gran until the age of twelve and was then fostered by her Aunt and Uncle who lived in Kenmare, Co. Kerry. At the age of 14, Anna was introduced to her half sister who had been living thirty five miles away from her. At 17, she lost her mother, and a few years later she lost a close friend to suicide, as well as her father to cancer, though she never really knew him. She nearly lost her own life when she was hit by a car aged 21. Surviving loss and being faced with death inspired Anna to write about the darker side of life but because she has been lucky enough to be surrounded by joyful people her work and life is brimming with hope and laughter.

Anna’s husband Donal is a drummer who has worked with Jack Lukeman and Junkster. He’s currently in an up and coming band called Torchlight. Anna’s been supporting and following her husband around the world for sixteen years and she looks forward to continuing doing so for the next 16 years.

Her most recent novel So What If I’m Broken is the story of four strangers who vow to find a missing person but first they must find themselves. ...more

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