Extraordinary.
Compelling.
Joyful, heartbreaking, bittersweet, tragic, triumphant.
These are just some adjectives that describe this sequel to one of the best books I read back in 2022 titled Count the Ways. If you don't read any other books this year, read Count the Ways, followed by How the Light Gets In.
It's a family saga that will stick with you for many days after you turn the final page.
STORY SUMMARY
Eleanor, family matriarch, is now 57 years old. She has just dealt with the ashes of her recently dead ex-husband Cam. She had come back to the farm the previous year, to help Cam die peacefully of pancreatic cancer. The farm is located in the heart of New Hampshire where they raised their 3 children: Alison (now Al) who is now married to Teresa, a Mexican-American (they live in Seattle and are trying to adopt a baby) ; Ursula, now married to Jake with 2 young children, Lulu and Orson (they live in Vermont); Toby, single, now 31 and still living on the farm due to his brain-injury from back when he was 4 yrs old. Everyone and everything appears to be pretty stable. But.....old resentments, bitterness, and some anger simmer below the surface. And Eleanor still keeps her apartment in a suburb of Boston for the times when she needs to be alone.
This story follows Eleanor and her family from 2009-2024. We learn about the changes taking place in America and the world (climate change, the January 6th insurrection, school violence, and the leaders of this nation....some amazingly good....one who is not so good).
We learn how their lives take shape after Count the Ways. They deal with "later in life" love, parental alienation, steadfast friendships. Life is messy but they manage to find their way to a place called home.
MY THOUGHTS
Wow. I really can't do justice to this novel in a blog book review. The author is brilliant at her craft. First of all, I only found one editing error. That's huge in and of itself nowadays.
The book could stand alone since this author is so adept at character development and basically recapping the first book into the first few chapters of this 2nd book but it's best, in my opinion, to read Count the Ways first. You will miss a lot of the relationships between Eleanor-Cam, Eleanor to Coco (Cam's 2nd wife and mother of Elijah, both of whom appear in this 2nd book), Eleanor and her daughter Ursula and their estrangement, and why Al is the way he is.
What I most loved about this book is the beautiful ebb and flow...the rhythm of this story....and how everyone connects.
This story has a lot of symbolism in it and it's not super obvious but it's definitely there. Eleanor is an author and she creates a graphic novel with a character called "Yellow Top" who is a villain who rules over Metropolis with his ice cold wife Stefania and they live on the top floor of Yellow Top Towers. You can guess who this symbolizes. 😜
Her son Toby has a hero (Jimmy Carter). At one point in the story (I don't want to give details so I don't ruin it for you), Eleanor asks herself "What would Jimmy Carter do?" (What would Jesus Christ do?)
The overall theme is love. Deep familial love in all its messy forms.
There are underlying themes of single parenthood, divorce, death, cancer, life during the pandemic, bullying, child neglect, drug and alcohol abuse, the mother-daughter relationship/estrangement; betrayal, forgiveness, acceptance, gender/sexual identity issues.
One thing I chuckled at: the author mentions Herkimer diamonds. I'm from Herkimer! And yes, we took my daughters to dig for diamonds when they were 10 and 5. That's where I was born and raised until I went to college at age 18. That's where my parents are buried and where I still have 3 good friends living.
There are many amazing quotes in this book. Here are some that really stood out to me (but these are just a few!):
"There is no single way for a person to express grief" (pg 11 How the Light Gets In by Joyce Maynard c. 2024)
"We don't tell our children who they should be. Eleanor knows now. They tell us." (pg 127)
"If a person goes away, and hardly anybody knew he was ever there in the first place, how do you grieve that he's gone?" (pg. 187)
"We have to keep trying, don't we, Grammy?" she says, "Even when terrible stuff happens. We have to keep hoping things will get better. We have to keep trying." (Lulu to Eleanor after Hillary Clinton lost the election; pg 216).
"Failure keeps you humble. Failure opens your heart to all those other people out there who also fall short. It makes a person try to do better." (pg 409 The Epilogue)
This is a powerful story of one family's life in this world. It spans three generations.
It's the best book I've read so far this month and I've read 4 prior to this.
In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 14 and older.
On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 10.
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