May 27: Good Grief

Every once in a while I see a book that interests me but I’m hesitant to buy it because I know nothing about it or its author. Unless I’m at the library, I usually don’t risk it. But sometimes I walk on the wild side, y’know, and. I. Buy. That. Book. Yes, folks, that’s where I get crazy: Barnes & Noble.

Last week I got two books by Lolly Winston; Good Grief and Happiness Sold Separately. Look at the cover of Good Grief—do you SEE the bunny slippers? Do you think I could resist a book with bunny slippers on the cover??? Well, I took a chance and guess what? I totally won. Okay, I haven’t read Happiness yet, but I finished Good Grief the other day and thoroughly enjoyed it. Here’s the Publishers Weekly review:

“The grief is up already. It is an early riser, waiting with its gummy arms wrapped around my neck, its hot, sour breath in my ear.” Sophie Stanton feels far too young to be a widow, but after just three years of marriage, her wonderful husband, Ethan, succumbs to cancer.

With the world rolling on, unaware of her pain, Sophie does the only sensible thing: she locks herself in her house and lives on what she can buy at the convenience store in furtive midnight shopping sprees. Everything hurts—the telemarketers asking to speak to Ethan, mail with his name on it, his shirts, which still smell like him. At first Sophie is a “good” widow, gracious and melancholy, but after she drives her car through the garage door, something snaps; she starts showing up at work in her bathrobe and hiding under displays in stores.

Her boss suggests she take a break, so she sells her house and moves to Ashland, Ore., to live with her best friend, Ruth, and start over. Grief comes along, too—but with a troubled, pyromaniac teen assigned to her by a volunteer agency, a charming actor dogging her and a new job prepping desserts at a local restaurant, Sophie is forced to explore the misery that has consumed her.

Throughout this heartbreaking, gorgeous look at loss, Winston imbues her heroine and her narrative with the kind of grace, bitter humor and rapier-sharp realness that will dig deep into a reader’s heart and refuse to let go. Sophie is wounded terribly, but she’s also funny, fresh and utterly believable. There’s nary a moment of triteness in this outstanding debut.

The subject matter—cancer causing a young spouse to be left behind—almost kept me from buying this book; that’s a little too close to home. I can’t say that the story was totally cheery or uplifting throughout, but it was definitely not a big bummer of a book either. I think what helped is that when things really started to get dark, the story moved on. When things turned toward happy and positive, it wasn’t long before reality hit and Sophie fell into her grief again. In fact, it seemed like a fairly realistic portrayal of what I imagine a young widow’s first year would be. By the end, you could see that there had been progress all along, and those baby steps were what got Sophie through her first year.

I admit, one of my favorite things about the story was that most of it was set in Ashland; having been born in that part of our fair state, it holds a special place in my heart. Anyone familiar with the area will recognize the much-discussed weather, landmarks mentioned, and culture of the city. (I did wonder exactly where “Jackson” is, though… did she mean Jacksonville? I don’t know.) I can’t remember ever reading a book that was set in southern Oregon. Well, there was a true crime one I read a while back, but we’re not going to bring up that creep-fest of a book.

The thing I really love about discovering new authors, though, is the thrill that comes with reading a book I’m not constantly re-writing in my head. You know how some writers word things so poorly or awkwardly that you just can’t get beyond some sentences? Let’s not use this blog as an example, please. I’m thinking of the trashiness that is Danielle Steel or Jackie Collins. Ugh. It’s a lovely thing to find an author who writes in a way that I can enjoy. Lolly Winston is one of those, and I’m eager to get started on her second book, Happiness Sold Separately.