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Suzanne
Rating:
 
Review
I resisted reading this book for awhile because I thought the title signified a story about victimization – wrong! It's about two women in transition to better lives. It's set in Seattle (a bonus, as far as I'm concerned), and it's delightful. Margaret, 75, is informed she has a brain tumor, and subsequently decides to take in a border in her sprawling old Capital Hill mansion full of expensive porcelain. Wanda, the young stage manager who becomes her border, is running after the boyfriend who left her. The way their relationship develops goes off in directions I didn't expect at all. I loved the two women's different eccentricities and flaws, and how each acted a little nuts as she worked through her own kind of pain. The way in which creating art became a process of renewal for them felt very satisfying, too. After decades of being a recluse, Margaret throws off the ties that bind her to her parents' unhappy and shameful past and finally moves on. Her brain tumor brings on perceptions of visits from her mother's ghost, which I also found interesting. A number of loose ends are brought together at the end in ways that are too coincidental, but that didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book as a whole. Very refreshing!
Best Line:
"It is often said, in consolatory tones, that "time heals all wounds." But radiologists, who study and interpret physical proofs of the body's ability to store memory, know that this is a crock of shit." (pg. 222)
Kim
Rating:
Review
Once Margaret Hughes receives her brain tumor diagnosis, she decides to make a few changes in her mostly reclusive life, starting with taking in boarders into her mansion of a house in Seattle. Wanda Schultz is a woman in need of a room, and some company would do her well since the only reason she's in Seattle is to track down an ex-boyfriend. Margaret and Wanda become comfortable housemates, and when Margaret suggests getting rid of her wedding china, Wanda knows she has found "a home with someone who was as deeply aggrieved and crazy as she was". When Wanda is in a serious accident, Margaret helps her find a new direction in life. This is an incredible book on so many levels, and there is so much more to this story, rest assured. The writing is beautiful and somber at the same time, which came as a nice surprise.
Best Line:
"She'd get up then. Drop a couple of birds. Sort pieces."
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