Review : The Widow’s Season

Posted by kay on August 14, 2009 4:17 am in 4.5 stars reads | 13 comments

The Widow’s Season by Laura Brodie
Pages : 303
Genre : Fiction
My Rating : 

Sarah McConnell’s husband had been dead for three months when she saw him in the grocery store.
What does a woman do when she’s thirty-nine, childless, and completely alone for the first time in her life? Does it mean she’s crazy to think she sees her late husband beside a display of pumpkins? Or is it just what people do, a natural response to grief that will fade in time? That’s what Sarah McConnell’s friends told her, that it was natural, would last a season, and then fade away.

But what if there was another answer? What if he was really there? They never found the body, after all. What if he is still here somehow, and about to walk back into her life?

The Widow’s Season was an amazing surprise; I hadn’t expected such a beautiful, mysterious and poetic tale. I read most of it in one sitting, and long after that the story hauted me. Thanks to the author for giving me the privilege to review this book!

More than a ghost story, this is a story about love and grief. Brodie’s writing is beautiful and so close to life that I felt I could understand Sarah’s feelings as if they were mine. This is an impressive feat for a book written in the third person, even more when I consider how little my life has in common with Sarah’s. Once I opened it, I couldn’t put it down. Right from the start I was curious about her husband appearance. Was he real? Was he just an illusion? And I didn’t get my answer until the very end; as I turned the pages, I tried to guess what the truth was, but every new detail changed my mind again.

This is a hard book to review without giving away too much of the story. I really love how, through the book, we learn more about Sarah’s past with her husband, David. She reevaluates their choices and their life, missing him but also considering what could have happened if he hadn’t disappeared. When she starts seeing him again, these thoughts are even more important, as Sarah tries to figure out what does she wants for her life.

There were very few other important characters besides Sarah and David. Margaret’s character was really interesing, and I appreciated her as Sarah’s friend. The group of widows was also entertaining, a nice touch in the story even though we don’t get to see them really often. As for Nate, David’s brother, he added more complexity to the story and Sarah’s life, and I liked that aspect, too.

The Widow’s Season was a great book, from beginning to end. The ghost scenes, whether David was a ghost or not (I won’t tell you!), were so well written that it seemed real, but also intriguing. Fortunately, the book also had its light moments, and I had a few laughs while reading it.

I think the best way to put it was that it was “complete”, making me go through a series of emotions I hadn’t expected. I hope we’ll read more by Laura Brodie in a close future – I know I’ll be waiting for it.