susannadkm's review against another edition
The language was overdone, too many metaphors. And I didn't care enough about the story to even make it to 50 pages.
sweddy65's review against another edition
3.0
This is a very good book and worth reading. Maybe because it's about not being able to see the grief of others, I couldn't become very attached to any of the characters. They all seemed to exist on the surface, except for, perhaps Biscuit, as we see her experiencing grief more fully.
It ends with a Greek-chorus like musing, which seemed too much like my students' conclusions: I have to wrap this up and so here it is.
It ends with a Greek-chorus like musing, which seemed too much like my students' conclusions: I have to wrap this up and so here it is.
paigereitz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Child death, Grief, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Death of parent
readerrho's review against another edition
2.0
Just one of those books that couldnt keep me engaged enough to even finish it. I was originally drawn to the subject matter having also experienced loss but for whatever reason, I just was not able to get through this book.
leleroulant's review against another edition
4.0
When John and Ricky Ryrie‘s third child lives only fifty-seven hours they are thrown into a tailspin of grief. They along with their other children 14year-old Paul and 10 year-old Biscuit strive to continue along normally, almost ignoring the birth and death of Simon. When Biscuit’s truancy from school and odd antics become an issue, they must all deal with the feelings that have been hidden deep inside. They realize that they can no longer mourn alone, but must come together to heal.
Ms. Cohen does a great job of wrapping the emotions and difficulties of grief with lyrical prose and an engaging story. At the end of the book there is an essay she wrote on grief that ends with this question, “Isn’t it a funny and a fine thing to realize that: being whole nearly always requires not just the tending of ourselves, but the tending of our bonds with others?”
I received this book as an uncorrected proof. The final version of this book may vary.
Ms. Cohen does a great job of wrapping the emotions and difficulties of grief with lyrical prose and an engaging story. At the end of the book there is an essay she wrote on grief that ends with this question, “Isn’t it a funny and a fine thing to realize that: being whole nearly always requires not just the tending of ourselves, but the tending of our bonds with others?”
I received this book as an uncorrected proof. The final version of this book may vary.
atlantic_reader_wannabe's review against another edition
4.0
I found myself crying during this book. How tragic that this family had to endure the loss of a child! While I haven't had to endure losing a child, I know people who have. I can understand, from an outsiders' perspective, how much it hurts to lose a child. I've seen that pain for myself and I hope I never have to experience it firsthand. This book helped me understand better what it's like to lose a child and the friend I lent it to after I had finished said she went through a lot of this herself when it happened to her many years ago. This book is heartbreaking but worth reading.
essentiallyroseandthyme's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This novel explored a family who struggles with sincerity, grief and lack of closure.
The characters are well developed and not all are likable, but I found the story to be a bit bland.
The characters are well developed and not all are likable, but I found the story to be a bit bland.
shelfimprovement's review against another edition
3.0
This novel examines that varying affects that grief can have on different members of the same family. John and Ricky Ryrie’s son is born with anencephaly, meaning that he is missing a portion of his skull and his brain, and he lives for just 58 hours. The loss understandably puts a strain on their marriage as they go about mourning in their own ways and as they attempt to manage how their other children are dealing with it. Fourteen-year-old Paul suffers in silence as he is bullied at school, and ten-year-old Biscuit begins to skip school and becomes obsessed with farewell rituals. Add on top of this the sudden reappearance of Jess, John’s adult daughter from a high school fling, unaware of her father’s recent loss, and looking for an emotional support system after a surprise pregnancy puts strains on her own parental relationships.
As the story goes on, secrets between John and Ricky are revealed - chiefly that Ricky knew of the anencephaly five months into her pregnancy and decided to carry the child to term without telling anyone else, including John.
There’s a lot of emotionally turbulent material in this story – and that’s totally to be expected from a novel called The Grief of Others - but something about it didn’t resonate with me the way I hoped it would. The opening scene, in which Ricky refuses to let anyone else hold her precious newborn for the duration of his brief life, is heartbreaking. Cohen’s language is gorgeous; her eye for details is sharp. Somehow, though, she loses that as she delves into the meat of her story. I want to say that it was overwritten, but I don’t think that’s an accurate word. It’s more like it was full of unnecessary details that did little to strengthen the emotional core of the story. I appreciated how Cohen attempted to show that each member of the family had his or her own way of dealing with grief, and the characters were all wonderfully unique and fleshed-out, but I could never truly connect with them. I think part of it was that I really didn’t understand Ricky’s motivation. I just felt that the responses to loss were well-examined, but there was little effort to genuinely understand where the responses came from.
As the story goes on, secrets between John and Ricky are revealed - chiefly that Ricky knew of the anencephaly five months into her pregnancy and decided to carry the child to term without telling anyone else, including John.
There’s a lot of emotionally turbulent material in this story – and that’s totally to be expected from a novel called The Grief of Others - but something about it didn’t resonate with me the way I hoped it would. The opening scene, in which Ricky refuses to let anyone else hold her precious newborn for the duration of his brief life, is heartbreaking. Cohen’s language is gorgeous; her eye for details is sharp. Somehow, though, she loses that as she delves into the meat of her story. I want to say that it was overwritten, but I don’t think that’s an accurate word. It’s more like it was full of unnecessary details that did little to strengthen the emotional core of the story. I appreciated how Cohen attempted to show that each member of the family had his or her own way of dealing with grief, and the characters were all wonderfully unique and fleshed-out, but I could never truly connect with them. I think part of it was that I really didn’t understand Ricky’s motivation. I just felt that the responses to loss were well-examined, but there was little effort to genuinely understand where the responses came from.
lisagray68's review against another edition
4.0
Very good book. Reminded me of an Anne Tyler book, the way she takes a family and just does a character study of each member if the family. Beautifully written.