arwenauthor's review
3.0
Gone by Julie Elizabeth Powell has a truly unique and interesting premise. It is inspired by her real life experience of a daughter being in a vegetative state for seventeen years of her life, after being resuscitated at age two, before dying a second time at nineteen. Her mother, Powell, questions: where was she gone in that time? This novel offers one explanation.
From this question comes a bizarre and adult Alice-in-Wonderland style world (complete with a pair called Fun and Games - any reminders of Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee?) in which a mother travels, meeting her daughter in Avalon, then moving to another facet of the same world, Caprice, where she rescues a bunch of strange creatures from an evil fate. It is a bizarre book - compelling in its way, but I couldn't quite get into it. I really wanted to enjoy this book a lot, and I'm not sure what got in the way for me. The bizarreness of the worlds started to grate on me, although I liked the various characters: I think I needed a little more grounding throughout to enjoy it fully. However, this is not to say that others will feel the same way, and I really commend Powell on such an innovative and different book. It is truly unique - I have never read anything like it - and I was moved by her story.
Note: I received a copy of Gone in exchange for an honest review.
From this question comes a bizarre and adult Alice-in-Wonderland style world (complete with a pair called Fun and Games - any reminders of Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee?) in which a mother travels, meeting her daughter in Avalon, then moving to another facet of the same world, Caprice, where she rescues a bunch of strange creatures from an evil fate. It is a bizarre book - compelling in its way, but I couldn't quite get into it. I really wanted to enjoy this book a lot, and I'm not sure what got in the way for me. The bizarreness of the worlds started to grate on me, although I liked the various characters: I think I needed a little more grounding throughout to enjoy it fully. However, this is not to say that others will feel the same way, and I really commend Powell on such an innovative and different book. It is truly unique - I have never read anything like it - and I was moved by her story.
Note: I received a copy of Gone in exchange for an honest review.
morganbc728's review
5.0
Where do we go when we are neither here, nor there? When is the afterlife not yet the afterlife and what happens in that place? Do we struggle there? Do we suffer for the deeds of our flesh or do we find unexpected healing and grace? Is it a place where love can finally come through to us without the barriers of this world?
Gone is a fictional work of fantasy that explores all these questions and more when a mother is transported to another plane of existence. There she finds reconnection and she is taken on a journey of discovery that will both expunge and renew.
This is one of those stories that leaves you sitting there after you’ve closed the book, your thoughts spiraling with possibilities. It is a delicate masterpiece of tragedy and restoration, and it should probably be read with a few tissues at hand because it not only stirs your imagination, but your emotions as well.
We’ve all been in the lead character’s place at one time or another. We’ve all lost someone and have had to learn to cope with the emptiness left after they’ve Gone. Gone reminds us, gently and beautifully, that they are not truly Gone and it’s a reminder that is well timed in this era of hopelessness and despair.
Gone is a fictional work of fantasy that explores all these questions and more when a mother is transported to another plane of existence. There she finds reconnection and she is taken on a journey of discovery that will both expunge and renew.
This is one of those stories that leaves you sitting there after you’ve closed the book, your thoughts spiraling with possibilities. It is a delicate masterpiece of tragedy and restoration, and it should probably be read with a few tissues at hand because it not only stirs your imagination, but your emotions as well.
We’ve all been in the lead character’s place at one time or another. We’ve all lost someone and have had to learn to cope with the emptiness left after they’ve Gone. Gone reminds us, gently and beautifully, that they are not truly Gone and it’s a reminder that is well timed in this era of hopelessness and despair.
mariahaskins's review
5.0
Julie Elizabeth Powell's 'Gone' is a wonderful, trippy, mind-bending, and deeply touching story about a woman who has lived with a terrible loss - the near-death of her child - and the tragedy of how that child's body is brought back to life, even though her consciousness seems to gone, kept alive by machines for years and years. Inspired by the author's own experiences, this is a rich book: rich in vivid imagery, and rich in both sadness and wisdom and (yes!) humour. Even in the darkest places, this story finds gleams of light and love and insight and even fun.
In many ways 'Gone' reminds me of Alice In Wonderland, as the main character Charley dies in her office chair and (much to her own astonishment) enters another dimension/realm/world/reality called Avalon. There, she encounters a creatures, people, and beings that challenge and tempt and help her. She also encounters the daughter she lost many years ago and she is forced to confront her own feelings and fears and her own inner grief and darkness. Her odyssey through Avalon is vividly told, and Powell's writing is both expressive and engaging.
'Gone' is a moving and original story that is part fairy-tale, part fantasy, part a journey through grief and fear, part spiritual quest. Powell draws you into the realm of Avalon, and brings you along on a unique ride inside one woman's grief, love, and the longing for hope and redemption. It's a terrific read, and I highly recommend it.
In many ways 'Gone' reminds me of Alice In Wonderland, as the main character Charley dies in her office chair and (much to her own astonishment) enters another dimension/realm/world/reality called Avalon. There, she encounters a creatures, people, and beings that challenge and tempt and help her. She also encounters the daughter she lost many years ago and she is forced to confront her own feelings and fears and her own inner grief and darkness. Her odyssey through Avalon is vividly told, and Powell's writing is both expressive and engaging.
'Gone' is a moving and original story that is part fairy-tale, part fantasy, part a journey through grief and fear, part spiritual quest. Powell draws you into the realm of Avalon, and brings you along on a unique ride inside one woman's grief, love, and the longing for hope and redemption. It's a terrific read, and I highly recommend it.
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