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gregz_newdorkreviewofbooks's review against another edition
4.0
(First appeared at http://www.thenewdorkreviewofbooks.com/2015/09/this-is-your-life-harriet-chance-evison.html)
Normally, I'd avoid a novel about a 78-year-old woman like, well, a real-life 78-year-old woman in a grocery store line. But a novel about a 78-year-old woman written by Jonathan Evison? I'm all in! And this is great.
Harriet Chance has lived a long and fruitful life, and soon after Bernard, her husband of fifty-plus years, dies, she learns he'd won an Alaska cruise, which he'd never collected, at a silent auction. She decides YOLO, and goes, even after her friend Mildred bails on her, and her two grown (and scheming) children, Skip and Caroline, try to talk her out of it.
Along the way, though, we delve back into Harriet's life in short snippets of story (told in the style of the radio program "This Is Your Life"; "Look at you Harriet, a grown woman!", i.e.) that show her at various formative stages. All this gives context for the real-time action, and the revelation of a secret about Bernard that Harriet discovers not long after she's embarked on the cruise. It's a secret that changes everything...dum dum dum.
But the intriguing thing here is that we soon learn that Harriet harbors her own skeleton(s), and isn't completely blameless. Evison's revelations are carefully placed and tug us along through the narrative at just the perfect times. It's a near-perfectly constructed novel, is what I'm saying.
One of my favorite parts of this novel is how it subtly scolds readers for our (or maybe just my?) stereotypes of and annoyances with the elderly. Indeed, there's even a scene, at a time in the novel when we're at maximum sads for Harriet, when she struggles with her coupons in the grocery store, and the line behind her gets impatient. I'm not going to lie, I was a little ashamed of myself when I read that part.
Overall, though, this is quick, charming, delightful, if often sad, read. As was the case with The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving, Evison's terrific 2012 novel (soon to be a movie with Paul Rudd, by the way), Evison is fantastic at somehow making his readers happy while reading a sad story. You'll read this quickly, and if you're like me, you'll really dig it.
Normally, I'd avoid a novel about a 78-year-old woman like, well, a real-life 78-year-old woman in a grocery store line. But a novel about a 78-year-old woman written by Jonathan Evison? I'm all in! And this is great.
Harriet Chance has lived a long and fruitful life, and soon after Bernard, her husband of fifty-plus years, dies, she learns he'd won an Alaska cruise, which he'd never collected, at a silent auction. She decides YOLO, and goes, even after her friend Mildred bails on her, and her two grown (and scheming) children, Skip and Caroline, try to talk her out of it.
Along the way, though, we delve back into Harriet's life in short snippets of story (told in the style of the radio program "This Is Your Life"; "Look at you Harriet, a grown woman!", i.e.) that show her at various formative stages. All this gives context for the real-time action, and the revelation of a secret about Bernard that Harriet discovers not long after she's embarked on the cruise. It's a secret that changes everything...dum dum dum.
But the intriguing thing here is that we soon learn that Harriet harbors her own skeleton(s), and isn't completely blameless. Evison's revelations are carefully placed and tug us along through the narrative at just the perfect times. It's a near-perfectly constructed novel, is what I'm saying.
One of my favorite parts of this novel is how it subtly scolds readers for our (or maybe just my?) stereotypes of and annoyances with the elderly. Indeed, there's even a scene, at a time in the novel when we're at maximum sads for Harriet, when she struggles with her coupons in the grocery store, and the line behind her gets impatient. I'm not going to lie, I was a little ashamed of myself when I read that part.
Overall, though, this is quick, charming, delightful, if often sad, read. As was the case with The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving, Evison's terrific 2012 novel (soon to be a movie with Paul Rudd, by the way), Evison is fantastic at somehow making his readers happy while reading a sad story. You'll read this quickly, and if you're like me, you'll really dig it.
stilettoscience's review against another edition
1.0
Hated this book. The characters were shallow and the settings didn't ring true. I also found the narrator's overt disgust for the main character extremely tiresome. I'm not sure if the author intended this to be social commentary, but it fell short.
And WHY even include the husband??
And WHY even include the husband??
tracyreally's review against another edition
2.0
I liked the structure of this, but otherwise felt that the real book was Harriet's other life, the one she didn't pursue.
jaclyncrupi's review against another edition
3.0
This is Your Life, Harriet Chance! certainly has some charming aspects (our 78-year-old protagonist calls everyone 'dear', drinks too much and talks to her ghost husband) but doesn't quite work overall. I enjoyed the talk show style narrator until I didn't. The tone is snarky and the book is dark. There is a lot of heart in this book but it's let down by the narrator in the final third. Ultimately, the gimick highlights the artifice of the concept. This is a life stripped bare but not one that offers much hope or promise.
jcaceres's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
slynne12's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I truly like this book. The pace and flow of the book made it a quick read.
nooneyouknow's review against another edition
3.0
Just ok. I guess I was hoping more for a little humor tinged with sadness and reality a than depressing sadness occasionally offset by mildly humorous reality.
cooperca's review against another edition
5.0
I was on Bainbridge Island when I discovered a wonderful bookstore, Eagle Harbor Book Company. Written by a local author, This is Your Life sounded like a book that would show that it's never too late to take on a new adventure. Harriet is 78, recently widowed. When she finds out her husband had planned a cruise for two to Alaska, her desire to prove her independence leads her to take the cruise.
The story is told in a non-linear way, with two POV's. The omnipresent voice reads like the old TV-show, This is Your Life. Reliving various parts of her past, we learn of her dreams and hopes, her loves, her kids, her faults, and a traumatic "event" that would always be in the background of her life. Other chapters are told from Harriet's POV. She also reminisces about her past and as the cruise takes her out of her comfort zone, secrets, hers, her kids, her dead husband's, all come out.
At the end, I was crying. Crying as Harriet forgave not only her cheating dead husband, but mainly she forgave herself. I took the ending to mean one thing. But in reading the Questions for Discussions in the back, I realized that the ending could have two meanings. It all depended on our perspective.
Beautifully told, with a lot of heart and human faults.
"You can't remember getting old....It happened gradually. The years just wore you away, dulled your edges, leached the color from your face, and flattened you out like river rocks." (p. 131)
"'The hell with Donna Mae,' says Harriet. 'Become an advocate for yourself.'" (p. 203)
"While the days unfold, one after the other, and the numbers all move in one direction, our lives are not linear, Harriet. We are the sum of moments and reflections, actions and decisions, triumphs, failures, and yearnings, all of it held together, inexplicably, miraculously, really, by memory and association." (p. 293)
The story is told in a non-linear way, with two POV's. The omnipresent voice reads like the old TV-show, This is Your Life. Reliving various parts of her past, we learn of her dreams and hopes, her loves, her kids, her faults, and a traumatic "event" that would always be in the background of her life. Other chapters are told from Harriet's POV. She also reminisces about her past and as the cruise takes her out of her comfort zone, secrets, hers, her kids, her dead husband's, all come out.
At the end, I was crying. Crying as Harriet forgave not only her cheating dead husband, but mainly she forgave herself. I took the ending to mean one thing. But in reading the Questions for Discussions in the back, I realized that the ending could have two meanings. It all depended on our perspective.
Beautifully told, with a lot of heart and human faults.
"You can't remember getting old....It happened gradually. The years just wore you away, dulled your edges, leached the color from your face, and flattened you out like river rocks." (p. 131)
"'The hell with Donna Mae,' says Harriet. 'Become an advocate for yourself.'" (p. 203)
"While the days unfold, one after the other, and the numbers all move in one direction, our lives are not linear, Harriet. We are the sum of moments and reflections, actions and decisions, triumphs, failures, and yearnings, all of it held together, inexplicably, miraculously, really, by memory and association." (p. 293)
_matthewdon_'s review against another edition
4.0
A very enjoyable, sweet little novel about an elderly widow who decides to go on a cruise that was left to her by her late husband. An entry in the rapidly growing "senior-stories" canon, alongside great entries like The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules or The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared, This is Your Life, Harriet Chance! isn't afraid to show old age as it really is, and its nonlinear narrative structure (flipping and sliding and flying about from Harriet at age zero to Harriet in her late seventies) can be a little grating. Alas, once it gets going, it becomes a delightful, endlessly gratifying tale about a lady going out of her comfort zone, something which we can all relate to.
I think I'm supposed to mention that I won this in a Goodreads giveaway (my first win ever!), so here is that mention. Yay!
I think I'm supposed to mention that I won this in a Goodreads giveaway (my first win ever!), so here is that mention. Yay!
linzcat's review against another edition
3.0
What a strange, strange little book.
This is not a funny book.
This is a sad book about a very sad life. It is sad and slightly meaningless and frustrating because of this and yet I still enjoyed it and finished it without grudges. Poor, sweet, stupid, stubborn, crazy Harriet.
This is not a funny book.
This is a sad book about a very sad life. It is sad and slightly meaningless and frustrating because of this and yet I still enjoyed it and finished it without grudges. Poor, sweet, stupid, stubborn, crazy Harriet.