Reviews with content warning for Car accident - The Collected Regrets of Clover

Title: The Collected Regrets of Clover
Author: Mikki Brammer
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 4.25
Pub Date: May 9, 2023

I received complimentary eARC and ALC copies of this book from St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted #Ad

T H R E E • W O R D S

Distinctive • Endearing • Thoughtful

📖 S Y N O P S I S

From the day she watched her kindergarten teacher drop dead during a dramatic telling of Peter Rabbit, Clover Brooks has felt a stronger connection with the dying than she has with the living. After the beloved grandfather who raised her dies alone while she is traveling, Clover becomes a death doula in New York City, dedicating her life to ushering people peacefully through their end-of-life process.

Clover spends so much time with the dying that she has no life of her own, until the final wishes of a feisty old woman send Clover on a trip across the country to uncover a forgotten love story—and perhaps, her own happy ending. As she finds herself struggling to navigate the uncharted roads of romance and friendship, Clover is forced to examine what she really wants, and whether she’ll have the courage to go after it.

💭 T H O U G H T S

After reading the synopsis and learning Clover was a death doula, I knew The Collected Regrets of Clover was going to be a book for me. Books with open and compassionate dialogue around death and dying are a niche genre I gravitate towards because of my own personal experience with grief.

The Collected Regrets of Clover, Mikki Brammer's debut novel, is such a slow-paced, unique and enlightening novel. Clover is an incredibly relatable and introverted main character, as the story progresses her personal connection to and obsession with death is slowly revealed, which I thought was fascinating. It allowed me to reflect on what it would be like to have the immense privilege of being privy to people's last words.

One of my absolute favourite parts of the book was how Clover's Grandpa used the analogy of matches to explain life and death. Some matches fail to light, some burn out too soon, and some burn all the way down. It touches on how so many factors beyond our control can impact how a match burns. This analogy seemed so spot on and absolutely beautiful.

Despite loving so much about this novel, the reason it doesn't quite meet my 5-star criteria is because my attention did wane slightly around the 60% mark. There was so much building and unraveling on Clover's story that took time, but for me something shifted in the second half that didn't hold my attention like I wanted it to. The audiobook, narrated by Jennifer Pickens was very well done. It helped add a layer of emotion to my reading experience, and also helped me getting through that lull.

At the end of the day, The Collected Regrets of Clover is a book tackling the topic of death. Yet it does so in such a gentle way that it becomes so much more. It's a book about living, a book about time, a book about ageing. It's filled with so much inspiration of reflective moments. It's an uplifting read demonstrating how discomfort is a natural part of life, and a reminder to celebrate life because we just never know when our match will burn out.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers looking for a hug in book form
• fans of unlikely friendships

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Being denied the chance to say goodbye to a loved one left stubborn emotional scars."

"I don't think it's weird at all. Death is a natural part of life. In fact, it's the only thing in life that we can really count on."

"People who were complete strangers to me less than a year ago had forever shifted the trajectory of my life. The fact that all of us were entangled - that everyone on the planet somehow shaped the course of one another's lives, often without realizing it - felt like almost too much for me to comprehend.

But perhaps that's the point. Do we actually need to understand the world and all its patterns?

You can find meaning in anything if you look hard enough, if you want to believe that everything happens for a reason. But if we completely understood one another, if every event made sense, none of us would ever learn or grow. Our days might be pleasant, but prosaic.

So maybe we just need to appreciate that many aspects of life - and the people we love - will always be a mystery. Because without mystery, there is no magic.

And instead of constantly asking ourselves the question of why we're here, maybe we should be savoring a simpler truth: We are here"

Content Warnings

quoththeraven97's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Clover Brooks is a death doula, guiding others through their final days with grace, comfort and companionship. Clover is quite the character - she's introverted, socially awkward, and not scared of death, though most people avoid talking about it. Her experiences with death started at a young age when she witnessed her kindergarten teacher pass away suddenly during class.

Through her career as a death doula, Clover comes to grips with her own life and regrets from a new perspective. Clover keeps records of words her clients share with her before they pass, in notebooks titled "Regrets", "Advice" and "Confessions". One of her clients, Claudia, leads Clover to realize that she doesn't want to come to the end of her own life with some of the same regrets she has heard repeatedly from previous clients; and that in order to die a beautiful death, one must live a beautiful life.

One may think that a book about a character that is seemingly surrounded by death would be dark, but this story was quite the opposite, in fact, bringing to light the beauty and joys of life, if you are only willing to let them in.

All opinions expressed in this review are my own. I listened to the audio version of "The Collected Regrets of Clover" from Macmillan Audio via NetGalley, due to be published on May 09, 2023.

Content Warnings

amhud1030's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I loved the characters in this book, except for Sebastian. He was very annoying and pushy to me however, that made the characters diverse.

This book definitely had me thinking and reflecting, made me cry, and I walked away, loving the characters, rooting for Clover, and feeling happy with the way that book ended.

Content Warnings

onemorepagecrew's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer follows the life and musings of Clover, a death doula living in New York City. Now in her adulthood, she is realizing that her life is a bit isolated, by her own design, and she starts to unpack why that might be. Her reflection on her childhood and career choice are heightened when she is hired to care for a woman whose last wishes lead Clover on a journey that she didn’t expect.

This book is centered on the topic of dying, however it’s not the only focus of the story. It’s more about the thoughts and feelings experienced by those who are nearing the end of their lives, and Clover’s reflection on her own life. As an adult, she is making friends and experiencing crushes for what feels like the first time and navigating her way through it.

There were elements that I really appreciated about this book. I applauded the importance and value placed on death doulas in this book. Death and illness are unthinkable for so many, and I love a book that highlights grace, love, and honesty in this stage of life. I also appreciated that it was religion neutral and acknowledged spirituality without being specific, leaving the reader to apply their own beliefs.

There were also elements that didn’t land for me. Clover’s backstory and flashbacks felt underdeveloped. They gave the basics of how she became the person she is in adulthood, but it read like a bio and didn’t paint a picture. I also struggled with the way her trip to Guatemala was presented and the way she reflected on her parents, specifically the analysis on the maternal figure.

All in, a liked not loved book for me. I am drawn to novels that reflect on life and I am charmed by a character who is awkwardly making new connections, both platonic and romantic. But to do that well, I need to really feel the characters and their experiences, and I didn’t have that with this book.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the gifted advanced copy of this book – I am always grateful for the chance to read and share my thoughts.

Content Warnings

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