sarahepierce's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
stitchandwitch's review against another edition
5.0
"All these separate journeys, crossing back and forth over each other, begot in him a type of happiness that felt perilous, vaguely ill-gotten." Page 145
That quote sums up this book for me. So many characters, so many stories but they all intertwine like lives in a small mill town do. Some of the stories are so tragic you almost feel bad for how happy the book makes you at points, as you watch hearts break and loved ones leave the plotline. But no matter what, happiness pours from the pages of this book.
That quote sums up this book for me. So many characters, so many stories but they all intertwine like lives in a small mill town do. Some of the stories are so tragic you almost feel bad for how happy the book makes you at points, as you watch hearts break and loved ones leave the plotline. But no matter what, happiness pours from the pages of this book.
dankeohane's review against another edition
5.0
This is a perfect book. If not the Great American Novel, then we can call it the Great New England Novel. Funny thing is, it's not so much a novel as a group of interconnected short stories about a group of interconnected people, living in a small Maine town heavy with the weight of a year-long labor strike. When I first realized these were individual stories I was a little bummed out, because the first story was so, so good: a man months from retirement spends his days caring for, and worrying over, his dying wife. When she urges him to enter an "art" contest he sets to work on a life-sized Noah’s ark. Not know if the next story was even connected, I read on, following the story of a man reeling from seeing his younger brother cross the picket line. He was a minor character in the previous story with Ernie. Another story is about this man's ex-wife, this woman's new husband, his daughter, even the owner of the plant where the strike is occurring. On and on. Everyone is connected, and everyone's life in this small Maine town touches everyone else's in some way. With every story I finished I wondered if the next chapter (not long into the book you stop thinking of these as separate stories) could be as good, the characters as real and multi-dimensional as the one I just finished. And they are. Consistently great, clean, beautiful writing throughout. Ernie's Ark is a gorgeous novel about the meaning of life, the beauty of the mundane, the quiet, day-to-day events that make up our lives and define who we are - especially for the people in this small town. It's a perfect New England read.
ndgrad95oh's review
5.0
I loved this sweet, sincere book...just as I knew I would. Monica Wood's 'One in a Million Boy' is my favorite book of all time and 'Ernie's Ark' did not disappoint. I was unaware that it was published in 2002 and that this was a republishing...but I was super grateful to have gotten my hands on it and thrilled to read it. The characters are portrayed so realistically but lovingly...despite their flaws, you just want to put your arm around each and every one and say, 'Look, it's going to be ok.' Monica Wood does magic with her characters and I'm lucky to have been treated to another encounter with her prowess!
stacthor's review against another edition
5.0
I've read so many great books lately which are linked stories about small towns told from different people's perspectives -- Plainsong, Olive Kitteridge, Driftless -- but this may be my favorite yet. A Northeast community is being torn apart by a long and bitter factory strike. Lots of "big" themes are covered, like belonging, coming of age, parenting, losing the great love of your life to death, but the author tells each character's story with such respect and tenderness that the insights are never trite. The book just leaves you with this longing in your heart for things to turn out well for these good people, as if they were real people you knew.
And such beautiful prose, too. When the young man sees a rare owl: "To his amazement he began to weep, not because he was lonely, but because he had always been lonely, and because there existed in this world legions of creatures and plants and cloud formations that he had never once noticed, or, worse, never even thought to look for."
Ultimately, what the book meant to me, was that there is a saving grace possible, in art, in work, in a dog, in forgiveness, a grace which reminds us "there is some life left after everything seems to be gone. Really, there is."
And such beautiful prose, too. When the young man sees a rare owl: "To his amazement he began to weep, not because he was lonely, but because he had always been lonely, and because there existed in this world legions of creatures and plants and cloud formations that he had never once noticed, or, worse, never even thought to look for."
Ultimately, what the book meant to me, was that there is a saving grace possible, in art, in work, in a dog, in forgiveness, a grace which reminds us "there is some life left after everything seems to be gone. Really, there is."
traphag's review against another edition
2.0
The characters in this book just didn't seem real to me. In a book that's so about the characters, that's important.
jeanetterenee's review against another edition
4.0
I love Monica Wood. There's a sort of understated genius in her writing. Her style reminds me somewhat of Richard Russo, although she's much more brief. She has that same ability to create a small town world with characters you care about, and to throw in a lot of insight about life and relationships.
This is a very short (189 pages) collection of interconnected stories that make a novel when read together. It takes place in a small Maine town where a strike at the paper mill drags on for months and months and divides the town. Each story tells how this situation affects a particular character and those close to him/her. Doesn't sound all that exciting, I know, but I found myself eager to get back to the book for love of the characters and beautiful writing.
This is a very short (189 pages) collection of interconnected stories that make a novel when read together. It takes place in a small Maine town where a strike at the paper mill drags on for months and months and divides the town. Each story tells how this situation affects a particular character and those close to him/her. Doesn't sound all that exciting, I know, but I found myself eager to get back to the book for love of the characters and beautiful writing.
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