tintina's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Can’t rate it because of how sad it was. You could feel the author’s trauma and loneliness.
cowmingo's review against another edition
2.0
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review.
This book has been sitting on my Kindle for months now so I finally decided to sit down and read it. I almost stopped reading it several times but stuck it out. The author writes about growing up as the daughter of a gravedigger just as the title suggests but I felt as if it was more a book of essays rather than a continuous story. I found myself asking lots of questions throughout the book that I never got answered to my satisfaction, if at all.
This book has been sitting on my Kindle for months now so I finally decided to sit down and read it. I almost stopped reading it several times but stuck it out. The author writes about growing up as the daughter of a gravedigger just as the title suggests but I felt as if it was more a book of essays rather than a continuous story. I found myself asking lots of questions throughout the book that I never got answered to my satisfaction, if at all.
shelfimprovement's review against another edition
3.0
An enjoyable memoir of what it was like to grow up in 1970s Minnesota, well-written but a little lacking in focus.
Rachel Hanel's father was a grave digger in their small town, so she grew up somewhat unfazed by death and cemeteries. These were all simply part of her day-to-day life. She writes about what that was like, while also giving us a peek into her family's history and exploring some of the losses therein. I liked reading Hanel's story, but I wish she had further plumbed some depths as I ultimately wasn't left with any real takeaways.
Rachel Hanel's father was a grave digger in their small town, so she grew up somewhat unfazed by death and cemeteries. These were all simply part of her day-to-day life. She writes about what that was like, while also giving us a peek into her family's history and exploring some of the losses therein. I liked reading Hanel's story, but I wish she had further plumbed some depths as I ultimately wasn't left with any real takeaways.
mholles's review against another edition
4.0
Hanel's memior, set in south central Minnesota. Rachel's family are the local cemetary caretakers. She feels she knows death, but when her father dies it is different than what she has experienced on the outside. An excellent depiction of place, I felt I knew the community.
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