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A review by felinity
The Pieces We Keep by Kristina McMorris
5.0
A beautifully written story of two women, one in the present and one in the past, whose lives seem inexplicably intertwined. As the story progresses, things from one life seep through to the other, enhancing the story until it becomes fully complete.
We share Vivian's emotional rollercoaster, and her uncertainty about Isaak, while Audra's story draws the past even closer, binding the two women together.
All the characters are drawn in loving detail, with real emotions, doubts, conflicts, fears and joy; I especially love the very realistic friendship that Audra and Tess share. Each has to deal with grief and loss, sometimes just from a parting and sometimes more permanent, and we see how each handles it in a different way; we learn that one way isn't better than the other, just different, and that isolation from the others who are grieving tends to be unhelpful. At the same time, each also grows to discover that real love is carefully, patiently, painstakingly built over time, that it cannot exist in a vacuum or without openness, honesty and acceptance, that it is an ongoing process and requires commitment.
The details of life are always uncertain, though loss seems inevitable, and what's important is holding on to those pieces which help us remember, to live, to love, and using them to build something new and better. So many teaching moments in this story, and yet it just flowed so naturally. I read this on my own, and savored every minute, but I can see it as a great bookclub read.
Disclaimer: I received a free ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
We share Vivian's emotional rollercoaster, and her uncertainty about Isaak, while Audra's story draws the past even closer, binding the two women together.
All the characters are drawn in loving detail, with real emotions, doubts, conflicts, fears and joy; I especially love the very realistic friendship that Audra and Tess share. Each has to deal with grief and loss, sometimes just from a parting and sometimes more permanent, and we see how each handles it in a different way; we learn that one way isn't better than the other, just different, and that isolation from the others who are grieving tends to be unhelpful. At the same time, each also grows to discover that real love is carefully, patiently, painstakingly built over time, that it cannot exist in a vacuum or without openness, honesty and acceptance, that it is an ongoing process and requires commitment.
The details of life are always uncertain, though loss seems inevitable, and what's important is holding on to those pieces which help us remember, to live, to love, and using them to build something new and better. So many teaching moments in this story, and yet it just flowed so naturally. I read this on my own, and savored every minute, but I can see it as a great bookclub read.
Disclaimer: I received a free ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.