After You [Hardcover]

Annie Garrett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 1998

It begins with a postcard from Riley Brackett's wife to Clare McClendon, informing her that Riley has been in a serious accident and lost his memory of everything but her and the summer they spent together when Clare was seventeen. Could Clare come to Maine? Perhaps seeing her will cause Riley to recall the intervening years. Clare agrees to the request against her better judgment.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A postcard bringing news of a boating accident prompts a 34-year-old married woman to revisit her first love affair in Garrett's latest sentimental novel (after Because I Wanted You, 1997). In flashbacks recounted to her friend Jojo over lunch in New York's Central Park, Clare McClendon relives the passion she once had for fisherman Riley Brackett during the summer of her 17th year, which she spent in Maine after having been sent away from her Midwestern home while her mother was dying of cancer. Clare is now a successful TV broadcaster, but she feels estranged from her husband, Michael, who has become absorbed in his own mother's battle with cancer. When Riley's wife pleads for Clare's help because Riley's head injury has rendered him amnesiac about everything but their affair, Clare feels she must go to Maine to try to reactivate Riley's memory. But the still-besotted Riley is unwilling to hear that the years have wrought a great many changes, namely both their marriages and a hinted-at illness for Clare. The plot at this point becomes manipulative and maudlin; that Clare, too, has had breast cancer, a fact that she doesn't reveal to Riley, seems designed to keep readers reaching for Kleenexes. The accumulation of physical and emotional pain is artificially palliated by Clare's epiphany that all life is a risk and that, while "the sun is still shining," one should embrace both memories and hopes for the future. The ending, with Clare and Michael on a hilltop, has all the subtlety of a Hallmark card. Film rights to Mark Johnson Productions for DreamWorks. (Sept.) FYI: Annie Garrett is the pseudonym of Kelli Pryor, a "celebrity journalist."
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Like Garrett's previous Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground (LJ 1/96), this is the story of the reuniting of sweethearts after many years. Clare is dealing with some serious problems. Recovering from a mastectomy, she also suffers a loss of intimacy with husband Michael, who is stressed by his mother's demands as she succumbs to Alzheimer's. Into Clare's unhappy life comes a postcard from the wife of her first love, Riley. He has suffered a head injury and has forgotten his wife and children, remembering only his relationship with Clare from many years ago. Clare is asked to come and help him recover his full memory. She does so, and, in the process, she heals her own marriage. The ending somewhat redeems the contrived plot. Garrett (the pseudonym of former Entertainment Weekly staffer Kelli Pryor) has sold the film rights to DreamWorks. For larger popular fiction collections.?Carol J. Bissett, Dittlinger Memorial Lib., New Braunfels, TX
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur; 1st edition (August 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312196717
• ISBN-13: 978-0312196714
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,537,293 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sentimental and thoughtful..., July 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: After You (Hardcover)

A bit more synopsis: Clare has been married to Michael for ten years, but lately their marriage has been tested by a series of tragedies. Clare has had cancer and undergone a double mastectomy. Michael's mother is dying and needs his constant care. Clare feels abandoned and Michael feels obligated. Into this mix comes a postcard, mailed to Clare from the wife of her first and strongest love, Riley. Clare met Riley during a summer spent in Maine at seventeen. The two fell deeply in love, but were separated after a boating accident nearly killed them. Now, Riley has been in another serious accident and suffered amnesia. He can't remember anything that has happened since he and Clare were separated, including his marriage to Laurie and the birth of their two daughters. An embittered Laurie asks Clare if she will return to Maine, a request which will have serious consequences for all involved.

Comments: This is a sweet, sentimental story with a definite female mindset. It! is also beautifully written, moving, and thought-provoking. As Clare straddles the line between the past and present, she wonders at how a seemly random series of events could have permanately altered her life. She faces the realization that one life must be chosen over another if anyone involved is to truly heal. These are interesting issues, and the author deals with them well, allowing Clare to grieve, love, and make tough decisions. It isn't brilliant literature, but it is a good read based on interesting subject matter.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Second Chance With Your First Love?!, July 2, 2002

By 

Allison (Lexington, KY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: After You (Hardcover)

This book takes place on the coast of Maine and from reading the book, I take it that Annie Garrett loves the Maine coast and visits it often, maybe even when she is writing a new novel. Clare, the main character, describes the scenerey and the people as if they are her true love, not to mention the way she feels about the man in her life now and the "first love" from her past. The setting itself and its descriptions take you to a place that is both unique and captivating. The storyline is a little weak, however, the novel is well worth reading as a whole. It will keep you looking for others novels just like it (Island Summer Love by Amy Belding Brown). I highly recommend this book for a by-the-pool summer read!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Carolena's review, February 16, 2000

By 

Carolena Prior (Thomaston Maine) - See all my reviews

This review is from: After You (Hardcover)

_After You_ By Annie Garrett, was an all right book. The story was a quick read. It also was somewhat exciting. I would recomend this book to those who enjoy lost loves, the ocean and danger.

I had to read this book for a Maine lit. project in school, other than that I wouldn't have read it. I'm sure there are other Maine authors with books better written than this.