miramichireader's review against another edition
4.0
My full review of this excellent, down home (or should I say down east) collection of vignettes is here: www.Miramichireader.ca
avitalgadcykman's review against another edition
5.0
Jim Nichols writes with his heart, or rather, in a soulful way, so you fall for each character, no matter how roughly they treat themselves and others, as is the case of the alcoholic Johnny Lunden who opens the book. The characters and their lives are weaved together, while each of them has a chapter. When we read about the lovely, sensitive Tomi, a teenager, for example, we learn not only about her, but also about Lunden. Our perspective changes a little, becomes more generous, perhaps, as the book moves on. The town to which they are strongly connected is somewhat melancholic, but this is sweet melancholia, nostalgia and longing. Of everyone, Early Blake is perhaps the character who bears most the face of yearning and contemplation, as he works at sea, leading a marginal life.
Only a rare talent like Nichols can speak through so many people and sound different and authentic with each one. The book is a beauty, and I recommend it with all my heart.
Only a rare talent like Nichols can speak through so many people and sound different and authentic with each one. The book is a beauty, and I recommend it with all my heart.
tamccafferty's review
5.0
I love character-driven novels, and Closer All the Time delivered. Though this novel is told in vignettes about single characters, each characters' development doesn't stop once their chapter is over. Instead, we get a unique view of not only how the one character sees the world, but how the other characters in Baxter view each other. That is exactly the way to capture a small town like the fictional Baxter, Maine. There is no better way to learn about a place's heart than by getting into the minds of those who inhabit it and learn what they long for. Closer All the Time is about loss, longing, and yearning, something that each of the Baxter residents we are introduced to experience in a number of different ways. Accompanying them as they earn the scars that prove they have lived is a truly moving experience. Once I finished the book, I flipped back to the beginning and started over because I wasn't quite ready to leave Baxter yet.
annebrittingoleson's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I adore this book.
Structurally, it's a masterpiece.
Structurally, it's a masterpiece.
More...