Customer Reviews

Coming Back to Me: A Novel

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

COMING BACK TO ME by Carolyn Leavitt is everything I want a novel to be. The story is told as a narrative in a way that you know how each person thinks and feels. I found myself captured by the essence of the story, by the sadness as Molly is insidiously abandoned by her mother and her sister, by the joy that Gary brings back into her life. I've never read any of Carolyn Leavitt's books before and might not have noticed this one had it not been for the cover. At first, I thought it was one of those shallow stories about a woman who has a baby and gets sick and is then miraculously cured. This book is anything but shallow. It's very real and very good. I was reminded of Alice Hoffman's style, the words wrapping around me like a friendly voice, Leavitt's phrases pleasing me like a warm cup of tea. There were nights when I would wake up after midnight thinking of Molly and Gary and Otis. I'd turn on the light and reach for COMING BACK TO ME to read a few pages before I'd fall back to sleep again.

If you like Elizabeth Berg, Cathie Pelletier, Anita Shreve, or Alice Hoffman, you deserve to give yourself a gift by reading this book.

What I loved about this book, besides getting so immersed with the characters' lives, was the fact that they were so real and filled with life. Gary, Molly, Suzanne, and Otis had their own stories, thoughts, and feelings, which were all woven together beautifully. I thought the author wrote a lovely story about what it would feel like to go from an extremely happy situation to a scary, unknown nightmare. Images stand out in my mind, such as the feeling Gary had when he walked into Otis' room right after Molly got ill and saw the blanket she had special ordered and nearly fell apart. I felt horrible when Ivan left the car to get cigarettes and left Otis in the car. There were images, pieces of conversation, and emotions that were so vivid that any reader, whether or not they have been through a similiar situation, could relate to. It's rare when an author can make me forget about my own life and immerse me so deeply in a piece of writing, which is why I give this novel five stars. I wish I could give it more, but there aren't enough to show how much I appreciate this novel and the excellent work the author displayed.

Caroline Leavitt's new book is her best yet. At once a love story, a survival story, and the reunion of two sisters, I could not put it down. Her clear, heartfelt description of a new mother's descent into the vortex of illness is harrowing. But she skillfully brings in a cast of characters to impel the reader to continue along--Gary, Molly's husband--where do we order guys like that? Suzanne, Molly's wild sister--finally sees the light courtesy baby Otis--that tiny wise man a baby nurses insists speaks to him. Much to admire here. Wish I didn't have to wait a year for another book from Ms. Leavitt. A must read for all women--and the very smartest of men.

I stayed up all night reading this. From the first chapter, Caroline Leavitt's writing style captivated me like a delicious bar of chocolate I could not bear to put down. The characters of first Gary, and then Suzanne had such clear voices, I feel as if I know them. As if I've had a peek into their lives. I found that I was privately rooting for Suzanne to "pull through" just as much as I was rooting for Molly. One thing this book illustrates is how each one of us copes with stress in different ways: Gary, plodding along on 'auto-pilot', Suzanne rebelliously smoking in the house while mentally muttering to herself about how unfair her life has been, the neighbors remaining withdrawn, almost invisible (yet, as it turns out, helping in their own clandestine ways), the doctors all the while fueling the frustration by admittedly not knowing what's wrong with Molly.....and Molly, poor Molly, perhaps proving herself to be the strongest of them all, excepting of course for baby Otis. Hope paves the way to faith in this frighteningly realistic (and from what I could gather by the hints dropped in the acknowledgements section, semi-autobiographical) story, and anger, fear and over-reactions give way to compassion and forgiveness. I look forward to reading another Caroline Leavitt novel!

I have read every single one of Caroline Leavitt's novels, and find her a wonderful writer who creates memorable characters and plots. The writing, itself, is always lovely -- particular phrases and images jump out like perfect little gems -- but what remains long after I've finished reading the book is the story. Leavitt is a master storyteller.

And her latest, "Coming Back to Me," is as satisfying a read as I've come to expect. How satisfying? I chose to read it instead of watching The Academy Awards, and that's saying something! And I was so involved in the story -- so engaged by the characters, who felt so real, and the twists and turns of the plot -- that I had to stop reading it a few hours before bedtime, or else I couldn't fall asleep. I highly recommend "Coming Back to Me," not only for long-time Leavitt fans, but for readers who are searching for a novel that's so wonderfully human.

Caroline Leavitt has a thing about sisters: her highly regarded 1979 debut novel, MEETING ROZZY HALFWAY (which grew out of an award-winning short story of the same name published in Redbook magazine) dealt with a sister's struggles with mental illness. Her latest book, COMING BACK TO ME, involves a husband reaching out to his absent sister-in-law for childcare help when his wife lies dangerously ill after childbirth. Without speculating as to why Leavitt is preoccupied with sisters, it's noteworthy that she gets the delicate dance of sibling rivalry exactly right: a story thread about a misappropriated locket speaks volumes about adoration and menace existing within the same relationship.

The locket originally belongs to Suzanne, the older sister of Molly, who is wife to Gary and mother of infant Otis. As the novel opens, Gary is spending night after night with Otis at the Tastee Diner in northern New Jersey as Molly lies in the hospital, comatose from a mysterious afterbirth blood condition. Through his musings and further back to Molly's narrative memories, we learn that the two saved each other from loneliness, their tiny family unit a new beginning (heralded, a la Thirtysomething, by fresh coats of paint in the house they buy). Gary is a book designer, Molly an elementary school teacher; their sturdy middle-class professional status threatens their entrenched blue-collar neighbors. Once Molly becomes pregnant, however, some hostility melts as the neighbors realize Gary and Molly are going to "stay."

The couple's happy nesting instincts may have been meant as a counterpoint to Molly's upbringing: she and Suzanne were raised in a helter-skelter manner by lovely and stressed-out mother Angela, a one-time "Miss California Beaches" whose husband abandoned her and the girls early on and she was forced to take a succession of low-paying office jobs to stretch the spaghetti rations. While it's easy to believe that Angela's uneven parenting skills combined with a cross-country move were responsible for both Suzanne's running off with a musician at age 17 and Molly's yearning for a settled life, at times it feels as if there are two separate stories in this book that don't quite merge. One is the story of Gary and Molly, the other of Suzanne and Molly. The title implies that the story resolves in "Me," which would appear to be Molly.

But what about Suzanne? Her story is compelling: what it was like for her to live as an adolescent thousands of miles from her mother and sister, how her relationship with would-be rock star Ivan winds down, her awkwardness with her baby nephew that blossoms into love, her mistakes and gains and small satisfactions as a hair stylist. The portrait of Suzanne is so strong, loving and detailed that Molly fades into her hospital bed.

Leavitt has a real gift for characterization and storytelling. Readers won't want to put this book down because they'll care about what happens to everyone, even the casserole-gifting lady next door --- but they may find themselves wishing for a sequel focusing on the sister who gets so much wrong while trying to make things right.

--- Reviewed by Bethanne Kelly Patrick

As I read more of Ms. Leavitt's books (this is the third), I notice recurring elements: constellations of freckles, unruly & irresistable hair, vocational school boys, teachers, floundering parents, and the longing generated by secrets and mis-communications, to name a few. In spite of the sense of deja vu inspired by these similarities, I enjoy the author's methods of storytelling, and her confessional manner of letting the reader know all there is to know about the folks who people her novels.

Though I'm constantly telling my kid not to inhale his food, that's exactly what I did with this novel. It's my absolutely favorite kind of book: the story is utterly compelling, the people are real, the pace is astonishing (this is maybe the most brilliant thing about it), the voices are absolutely distinctive -- I could not put it down. In places, I felt like Laurie Colwin had maybe come back to life (my highest praise; I still remember how "Happy All the Time" revived my soul). However, this is decidedly not a fairy tale, but a beautifully crafted tale of love, catastrophe, truth, disfunction, redemption -- all the biggies are here, and they're riveting. This is well-written fiction at the highest, and most accessible, level.

COMING BACK TO ME by Caroline Leivitt is a heartfelt story about two people, Gary and Molly drawn to marriage by true love. It's a marriage of happiness and fulfillment that only gets better with the birth of their first child Otis. Then suddenly, three days after Otis is born, Molly falls deathly ill. A medical anomaly that sends her fighting for her life through various surgical procedures and a coma. Her diagnosis is uncertain. The doctors can't say if she will live or die.

Gary finds himself in a new position of responsibility and loneliness. Devoting himself to his newborn child and the hope that Molly will again be with him someday, he does his best to hold everything together. Then he looses his job and life suddenly takes an even steeper spiral down hill. With no family of his own except Molly and the new baby, his only hope is to find Molly's. Only he knows nothing of her family either. Both of them experienced painful childhoods and neither ever discussed their families. Still, with no where else to turn, Gary begins investigating Molly's past in search of help grateful to discover Suzanne, Molly's wild sister. Through Otis Suzanne sees the need for change and comes through when she's needed most.

COMING BACK TO ME is a story of the ultimate love, survival, and the reuniting of family. The characters are so well created and explained that you feel as if you are a part of them. Your heart goes out to Gary and Otis, you cry and feel deep hope for Molly's recovery and you rejoice when they are brought together again. Each and every page hits close to home.

Well, I read this book in pretty much one sitting and while it was also engrossing and entertaining, it was not my favorite of her books. It too had an open ending - albeit, not as open as the others.

I'm out of her books now and frankly, I am just shocked at how quickly they all went out of print. They are VERY good... I just wish that they were easier to find!