A review by alissamargaret
The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County: A Novel by Claire Swinarski
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County by Claire Swinarski is about a group of individuals that live in Ellerie, a small town in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Esther Larson has been cooking food for funerals for seventy years with a group of "funeral ladies." She makes an internet friend but realizes that she was scammed out of $30K. Her granddaughter Iris is desperate to help her while also wanting to focus on her own goals of opening a vacation home in the area. Previous resident Annabelle Welch has passed away and her husband Ivan (a celebrity chef), Cooper (adult step-son), and Cricket (teenage daughter) arrive in Ellerie for the funeral and end up staying longer than expected. Readers follow the story of these folks in this slice-of-life type book as the Welsh's try to heal following their loss and other trauma they have experienced and as the town rallies to support Esther by creating a community cookbook to sell.
I didn't know what to expect with this book. I chose to read it because the title and cover caught my eye and I thought it would be interesting. Overall I enjoyed reading this book. The author has a specific way that she writes and it took me a little bit to get used to it but I thought it was an effective style for this story. The characters were interesting and I felt invested in learning about their lives and struggles. With a few exceptions, in general the story does not get very deep. There are some potentially difficult topics that are addressed in this story that readers might want to be aware of (cancer, alcoholism, PTSD related to gun violence) but I thought they were explored in a very realistic way. I also appreciated the multi-generational POV. There is a bit of a love story but it is clean.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for granting me a free advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review. This book is expected to be published on March 12, 2024
I didn't know what to expect with this book. I chose to read it because the title and cover caught my eye and I thought it would be interesting. Overall I enjoyed reading this book. The author has a specific way that she writes and it took me a little bit to get used to it but I thought it was an effective style for this story. The characters were interesting and I felt invested in learning about their lives and struggles. With a few exceptions, in general the story does not get very deep. There are some potentially difficult topics that are addressed in this story that readers might want to be aware of (cancer, alcoholism, PTSD related to gun violence) but I thought they were explored in a very realistic way. I also appreciated the multi-generational POV. There is a bit of a love story but it is clean.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for granting me a free advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review. This book is expected to be published on March 12, 2024