Some Bright Nowhere by Ann Packer

 

I almost didn't read this book because the topic is so difficult, but in the end, I am so glad that I did! This book deals with love and death and marriage and the difficult choices we make when the end is near. It is hard to fathom the choices that Claire, the main character, made in dealing with the end of her life, but when all's said and done, I really could understand how she made some of the choices she made. Ann Packer tells the story so well; you can't imagine that she did not have someone close to her that went through a similar circumstance.

Here's a synopsis from Amazon:

Eliot and his wife Claire have been happily married for nearly four decades. They’ve raised two children in their sleepy Connecticut town and have weathered the inevitable ups and downs of a long life spent together. But eight years after Claire was diagnosed with cancer, the end is near, and it's time to gather loved ones and prepare for the inevitable.Over the years of Claire’s illness, Eliot has willingly—lovingly—shifted into the role of caregiver, appreciating the intimacy and tenderness that comes with a role even more layered and complex than the one he performed as a devoted husband. But as he focuses on settling into what will be their last days and weeks together, Claire makes an unexpected request that leaves him reeling. In a moment, his carefully constructed world is shattered.
What if your partner’s dying wish broke your heart? How well do we know the deepest desires of those we love dearly? As Eliot is confronted with this profound turning point in his marriage and his life, he grapples with the man and husband he’s been, and with the great unknowns of Claire’s last days.
Ann Packer makes a triumphant return with this powerful novel that is tender and raw, visceral and unexpected. Emotionally vibrant and complex, Some Bright Nowhere explores the profound gifts and unexpected costs of truly loving someone, and the fears and desires we experience as the end of life draws near.

Late in the Day by Tessa Hadley

Tessa Hadley is a great writer who I have not read lately, so picked this up and was not disappointed.

From Westchester Libraries:
Alexandr and Christine and Zachary and Lydia have been friends since they first met in their twenties. Thirty years later, Alex and Christine are spending a leisurely summer's evening at home when they receive a call from a distraught Lydia: she is at the hospital. Zach is dead.
In the wake of this profound loss, the three friends find themselves unmoored; all agree that Zach, with his generous, grounded spirit, was the irreplaceable one they couldn't afford to lose. Inconsolable, Lydia moves in with Alex and Christine. But instead of loss bringing them closer, the three of them find over the following months that it warps their relationships, as old entanglements and grievances rise from the past, and love and sorrow give way to anger and bitterness.
Late in the Day explores the complex webs at the center of our most intimate relationships, to expose how, beneath the seemingly dependable arrangements we make for our lives, lie infinite alternate configurations. Ingeniously moving between past and present and through the intricacies of her characters' thoughts and interactions, Tessa Hadley once again "crystallizes the atmosphere of ordinary life in prose somehow miraculous and natural" (Washington Post).

Wreck by Catherine Newman

I like this author very much and I appreciate this book a lot but I think I read it at the wrong time.  Illness concerns abound! 

Taking a step away from that, I have to say that I love the way she depicts family life - you can really relate as a mother, as a wife, as a daughter, and as a woman.  Newman has a knack of talking about things that you can identify with. It's uncanny.

But the plotline of the book was upsetting for me at this particular point in my life. I should pick it up again in a few months.  It's short and an easy read.  

The characters are the same as in her other book I read last year, Sandwich.

Euphoria by Lily King

 

I loved the Lily King books that I have read over the past couple of years, so picked this up. It got excellent reviews when it came out and I recall intending to read it.

But it did not quite draw me in as I wanted it to. I certainly learned a lot about anthropologists and their science. 

I read it during a rough week for me, so that may have contributed. I probably needed a more uplifting book at that point.