amyjanereads's review
5.0
Heartbreaking and stunning, the writing is lyrical. It washes over you like a river and refreshes your outlook on life. A must read for anyone but especially those who have experienced any sort of loss. Pure magic.
jem_of_the_brew's review
5.0
You can also read my review of this book on my blog here: http://oddfeather.co/2017/04/07/review-jean-harley-was-here-by-heather-taylor-johnson/
Warning: some spoilers
Jean Harley Was Here, by Adelaide-based author Heather Taylor Johnson, is about friend, wife, mother, traveller and cyclist Jean Harley. Or rather, as suggested by the title, it is about her absence. A tragic and fatal bicycle accident sets the story in motion, and what follows is a story told from the perspectives of people who knew Jean or had some connection with her, and the novel spans several years as the shock waves of the tragic event are felt by everyone close to her, and even by people she didn’t know.
Jean Harley is an American who has lived in Australia for many years, is married to the love of her life, Stan, mother to a four year old boy, Orion, and best friends with two women she has known since university, Neddy and Viv. Each chapter is told from the perspective of someone in Jean’s life: Stan, Orion, Neddy, Viv, her mother Pearl, her mother-in-law Marion, an old flame from university, her American niece, her dog, and Charley, the ex-con who accidentally killed her. Through the memories and lives of each character we slowly learn more about Jean Harley: her personality, her travels, her plans, and her impact on those around her. The exception to these revelations of Jean’s life, and perhaps the strongest arc of the novel, is Charley. When he hit Jean Harley on that fateful summer day, Charley was just trying to post a letter to Lisa, the woman who taught him to read in prison. The novel comes full circle when, seven years after Jean’s death, Orion receives a letter from Charley explaining how Jean’s death had affected him, and a correspondence between them begins.
Part of what makes Jean Harley Was Here unique is that it is the story of a woman whose perspective we never hear from, yet by the end of the novel the reader feels as though they have known her for years. There are not many stories in which the main character never gets a direct look-in, or even appears, alive, in the timeframe of the main story. But Johnson has somehow created a character who is imagined, remembered and grieved-over through the intricate overlapping of her life with the lives of the people she connected with, and it is so beautiful that I fought back tears more than once.
Although the story is bittersweet, it is written in gentle, redolent prose that is highly readable and renders the work evocative and easily digestible. I took longer than intended to finish the work – three weeks for a 240 page book – as I was often unavoidably interrupted. Each time I was forced to lay the book down I worried that the melancholy story would prevent me from picking it up again, but a combination of the writing style, short chapters, and vibrant, tactile characters meant I was eager to dive back into the story until I reached its conclusion.
My only complaint of this novel is that I would have liked to hear more from Viv, one of Jean’s best friends. Years after Jean’s death Viv and Neddy finally find the time to meet up and reassess their friendship, and it quickly becomes clear that Jean was the one who held them together; she pulled Viv, the bachelorette with little interest in motherhood, and Neddy, the mother of three whose intention was always to marry and settle down, together into an unstoppable threesome of sisterhood. In their last meeting Viv and Neddy cannot find common ground between them. They argue and air their grievances, some of their gripes decades old, and reconcile enough that they enjoy their night together in that pub, on that night. But of their friendship for the rest of their lives, we learn nothing, and I would have liked some more closure for them.
Ultimately this is a very enjoyable read, but be ready to cry at the last chapter, and then spend the next few days closely examining your relationships and wondering what if, what if…
Warning: some spoilers
Jean Harley Was Here, by Adelaide-based author Heather Taylor Johnson, is about friend, wife, mother, traveller and cyclist Jean Harley. Or rather, as suggested by the title, it is about her absence. A tragic and fatal bicycle accident sets the story in motion, and what follows is a story told from the perspectives of people who knew Jean or had some connection with her, and the novel spans several years as the shock waves of the tragic event are felt by everyone close to her, and even by people she didn’t know.
Jean Harley is an American who has lived in Australia for many years, is married to the love of her life, Stan, mother to a four year old boy, Orion, and best friends with two women she has known since university, Neddy and Viv. Each chapter is told from the perspective of someone in Jean’s life: Stan, Orion, Neddy, Viv, her mother Pearl, her mother-in-law Marion, an old flame from university, her American niece, her dog, and Charley, the ex-con who accidentally killed her. Through the memories and lives of each character we slowly learn more about Jean Harley: her personality, her travels, her plans, and her impact on those around her. The exception to these revelations of Jean’s life, and perhaps the strongest arc of the novel, is Charley. When he hit Jean Harley on that fateful summer day, Charley was just trying to post a letter to Lisa, the woman who taught him to read in prison. The novel comes full circle when, seven years after Jean’s death, Orion receives a letter from Charley explaining how Jean’s death had affected him, and a correspondence between them begins.
Part of what makes Jean Harley Was Here unique is that it is the story of a woman whose perspective we never hear from, yet by the end of the novel the reader feels as though they have known her for years. There are not many stories in which the main character never gets a direct look-in, or even appears, alive, in the timeframe of the main story. But Johnson has somehow created a character who is imagined, remembered and grieved-over through the intricate overlapping of her life with the lives of the people she connected with, and it is so beautiful that I fought back tears more than once.
Although the story is bittersweet, it is written in gentle, redolent prose that is highly readable and renders the work evocative and easily digestible. I took longer than intended to finish the work – three weeks for a 240 page book – as I was often unavoidably interrupted. Each time I was forced to lay the book down I worried that the melancholy story would prevent me from picking it up again, but a combination of the writing style, short chapters, and vibrant, tactile characters meant I was eager to dive back into the story until I reached its conclusion.
My only complaint of this novel is that I would have liked to hear more from Viv, one of Jean’s best friends. Years after Jean’s death Viv and Neddy finally find the time to meet up and reassess their friendship, and it quickly becomes clear that Jean was the one who held them together; she pulled Viv, the bachelorette with little interest in motherhood, and Neddy, the mother of three whose intention was always to marry and settle down, together into an unstoppable threesome of sisterhood. In their last meeting Viv and Neddy cannot find common ground between them. They argue and air their grievances, some of their gripes decades old, and reconcile enough that they enjoy their night together in that pub, on that night. But of their friendship for the rest of their lives, we learn nothing, and I would have liked some more closure for them.
Ultimately this is a very enjoyable read, but be ready to cry at the last chapter, and then spend the next few days closely examining your relationships and wondering what if, what if…
kaydee's review
5.0
A beautifully rendered and incredibly moving novel of loss and grief. The story is told from multiple perspectives and the writing is remarkably nuanced and affective. I just wish that it was longer.
lucytulloh's review
2.0
A story about the diverging lives of the family and friends of a woman killed in a tragic bike accident: it started out okay, but by the last hundred pages I was pretty over it.
The writing is okay; there are glimpses of nice poetic prose but more often than not the imagery didn't really work and/or felt stilted. I got annoyed at the number of times I had to re-read passages to get the timeline right, as it often jumped from a scene into a memory and back again without much to direct the reader. The book is divided into sections which I thought corresponded to how much time had passed relative to the accident, but by the end several years were passing by in a single sentence. The last few chapters feel rushed, and I lost connection with the characters (especially Jean's son and husband, whose stories I really wanted to hear).
That being said, it was actually quite hard to make connections with the characters because there were so many of them! Perspective switches from the husband to the son to best friend 1 to best friend 2 to mother-in-law to mother to murderer to DOG (seriously, do we need the dog's take on his owner's death???) and it just meant I got a shallow understanding of a large group's view of this woman's life. I really liked the chapters that focused on the young son and the husband, which were quite poignant and looked at grief in an original way, but unfortunately so much time was spent looking closely at other characters that those good chapters didn't get an opportunity to stand out.
I might be being unfair - I'm sure some readers will really enjoy the mosaic of stories which come together in love for one woman, but unfortunately not my thing. A solid 2.5 stars.
The writing is okay; there are glimpses of nice poetic prose but more often than not the imagery didn't really work and/or felt stilted. I got annoyed at the number of times I had to re-read passages to get the timeline right, as it often jumped from a scene into a memory and back again without much to direct the reader. The book is divided into sections which I thought corresponded to how much time had passed relative to the accident, but by the end several years were passing by in a single sentence. The last few chapters feel rushed, and I lost connection with the characters (especially Jean's son and husband, whose stories I really wanted to hear).
That being said, it was actually quite hard to make connections with the characters because there were so many of them! Perspective switches from the husband to the son to best friend 1 to best friend 2 to mother-in-law to mother to murderer to DOG (seriously, do we need the dog's take on his owner's death???) and it just meant I got a shallow understanding of a large group's view of this woman's life. I really liked the chapters that focused on the young son and the husband, which were quite poignant and looked at grief in an original way, but unfortunately so much time was spent looking closely at other characters that those good chapters didn't get an opportunity to stand out.
I might be being unfair - I'm sure some readers will really enjoy the mosaic of stories which come together in love for one woman, but unfortunately not my thing. A solid 2.5 stars.
samstillreading's review
5.0
Jean Harley Was Here is a book that should be sad, but isn’t. It’s a strong and uplifting story that leaves the reader with hope. It’s also the kind of novel that gets under your skin that you don’t want to end.
When I mention the plot, you will probably wonder why I’m making the above statements. The book is a reflection of grief after Jean Harley dies after falling off her bicycle and being hit by a car. There isn’t much of Jean herself in this book, but her memory and loss is felt very strongly by those close and not-so-close to her. Her husband, Stan. Son, Orion. Mother in law, Marion. Best friends, Neddy and Viv. The family dog, Digger. And the man who was driving the car, Charley. While the common focus is Jean and carrying on after her death, these characters are all interesting in their own right. Marion is a later life playwright. Charley was taught to read in prison. Neddy’s life revolves around her children and Viv lives for work and flings.
The story of life after the event is told in chapters from different points of view. I never knew who we were going to hear from next, nor how much time had passed. That was a good thing. It kept me eager to find out more about what was happening with Charley or Neddy and it revealed the healing process. Jean is never forgotten even as time moves on. Each character is finely crafted, flawed and realistic. They are just interesting people, who would generally fit in the category of ‘ordinary’ but when you follow their lives, are extraordinary. Charley led a hard life which ended up in prison. He only wanted to learn to read so he could read his mum’s letters and eventually write back to her. Lisa was the patient teacher and they struck up a friendship through letters. Charley is sorry for what happened with Jean, but explains his previous life as being what he deserved.
Neddy and Viv are like chalk and cheese. Neddy was a promising writer, now she’s a full time mum. Does she love her new life? No. Would she swap it? Absolutely not. Even though Neddy is mum, cook, cleaner, driver and tethered to her house and/or a child, she celebrates what she has and knows to take small steps to manage her life (even if it is just cleaning Weet-Bix off the table and her). Viv is a mysterious high flyer of the design world, always ready for a challenge and another house to make over. She’s glamourous and tells herself she’s not one for children. Now it might be too late to change her mind – but is motherhood what she wants?
Jean Harley Was Here is a beautiful, strong story exploring grief with memorable characters. It’s a book you will remember long after you’ve finished it. Heather Taylor Johnson’s writing is just right – not too sad, not too trite but sensitively handled.
Thank you to Readings for the copy of this novel, shortlisted for the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction. My review is honest.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
When I mention the plot, you will probably wonder why I’m making the above statements. The book is a reflection of grief after Jean Harley dies after falling off her bicycle and being hit by a car. There isn’t much of Jean herself in this book, but her memory and loss is felt very strongly by those close and not-so-close to her. Her husband, Stan. Son, Orion. Mother in law, Marion. Best friends, Neddy and Viv. The family dog, Digger. And the man who was driving the car, Charley. While the common focus is Jean and carrying on after her death, these characters are all interesting in their own right. Marion is a later life playwright. Charley was taught to read in prison. Neddy’s life revolves around her children and Viv lives for work and flings.
The story of life after the event is told in chapters from different points of view. I never knew who we were going to hear from next, nor how much time had passed. That was a good thing. It kept me eager to find out more about what was happening with Charley or Neddy and it revealed the healing process. Jean is never forgotten even as time moves on. Each character is finely crafted, flawed and realistic. They are just interesting people, who would generally fit in the category of ‘ordinary’ but when you follow their lives, are extraordinary. Charley led a hard life which ended up in prison. He only wanted to learn to read so he could read his mum’s letters and eventually write back to her. Lisa was the patient teacher and they struck up a friendship through letters. Charley is sorry for what happened with Jean, but explains his previous life as being what he deserved.
Neddy and Viv are like chalk and cheese. Neddy was a promising writer, now she’s a full time mum. Does she love her new life? No. Would she swap it? Absolutely not. Even though Neddy is mum, cook, cleaner, driver and tethered to her house and/or a child, she celebrates what she has and knows to take small steps to manage her life (even if it is just cleaning Weet-Bix off the table and her). Viv is a mysterious high flyer of the design world, always ready for a challenge and another house to make over. She’s glamourous and tells herself she’s not one for children. Now it might be too late to change her mind – but is motherhood what she wants?
Jean Harley Was Here is a beautiful, strong story exploring grief with memorable characters. It’s a book you will remember long after you’ve finished it. Heather Taylor Johnson’s writing is just right – not too sad, not too trite but sensitively handled.
Thank you to Readings for the copy of this novel, shortlisted for the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction. My review is honest.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
eri_123's review
4.0
This was an incredibly powerful novel on grief. BUT: there was a flaw in the central premise which has bothered me ever since.
We follow many, many characters (including the family dog??) in the wake of Jean's death (she has been 'doored' on her bicycle, AKA hit by a car door when the driver opened their door into traffic, and then run over accidentally by the character named Charley). Her death haunts Charley for the rest of the novel. However, we never hear from the driver who doored Jean, even though she caused the accident and therefore her death. (In Victoria, Australia, dooring is a traffic offence with fines and penalties). For an otherwise very detailed novel with a great many perspectives and narrators, this seems a fundamental oversight.
Otherwise: a deep, haunting read. Grief is the central theme, but in exploring a multitude of reactions to grief, the novel also examines family and parenthood, friendship, identity and living a meaningful life. It was a much deeper book than I was expecting and it was quite confronting and emotive to read - not quite a relaxed beach holiday read (as I was expecting!), but a really worthwhile book, and fantastic fiction with a regional feel (particular to regions of Australia and the USA, as per the author's background). Although the South Australian wine references were a bit contrived.
We follow many, many characters (including the family dog??) in the wake of Jean's death (she has been 'doored' on her bicycle, AKA hit by a car door when the driver opened their door into traffic, and then run over accidentally by the character named Charley). Her death haunts Charley for the rest of the novel. However, we never hear from the driver who doored Jean, even though she caused the accident and therefore her death. (In Victoria, Australia, dooring is a traffic offence with fines and penalties). For an otherwise very detailed novel with a great many perspectives and narrators, this seems a fundamental oversight.
Otherwise: a deep, haunting read. Grief is the central theme, but in exploring a multitude of reactions to grief, the novel also examines family and parenthood, friendship, identity and living a meaningful life. It was a much deeper book than I was expecting and it was quite confronting and emotive to read - not quite a relaxed beach holiday read (as I was expecting!), but a really worthwhile book, and fantastic fiction with a regional feel (particular to regions of Australia and the USA, as per the author's background). Although the South Australian wine references were a bit contrived.
wtb_michael's review
4.0
Sad and believable story of the death of one young woman and the ways it reverberates through a community.
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