Customer Reviews

Eva Moves the Furniture: A Novel

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

On the surface at least, Eva MacEwen, the protagonist in Eva Moves the Furniture, is an ordinary woman who leads an ordinary life. Her mother dies shortly after she is born and she is raised by her aunt and father. She grows up in a small Scottish town and eventually moves away to study nursing and falls in love. Eva's story, however, is not ordinary for two important reasons. First, she is visited, at a very young age, by her "companions", two ghosts who come in and out of her life, helping, interfering, meddling. Second, the story is told by Margot Livesey who is quite an extraordinary storyteller. She breaths life into this "ghost" story so that it is interesting, moving and subtly emotional. Eva is as surprised by these ghosts as we are and her narration is wonderfully understated. I truly loved this novel. There was something almost comforting about reading it. While it is a story about Eva's life, it is also the story of the love we have for our families and how absolutely powerful that love is. The final pages moved me to tears without a scintilla of sentimentality. Ms. Livesey is truly talented. I recently finished The Missing World, and, while I loved both novels, each is completely different. Enjoy this one.

This is a novel that lives in your mind like a poem. It's a ghost story, a coming of age novel, a book about love and death. It is difficult to put the book down, once you have begun reading. Right away you like Eva, the narrator, and empathize with her loneliness, and her struggle to live her own life, to make a living.

The spirits who have visited her since she was a baby--"the woman" and "the girl"-- are ghostly projections of family. They help and hurt, they're jealous, selfish, selfless all at once just like real mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers. Eva's Scotland is a nether world of spirits. They seem to like the granite cities and the hills.

At one level the book poses the question: how can human beings live their own lives while doing justice to those who give us life and help us?

But EVA MOVES THE FURNITURE is also an absorbing story. You want to know what is going to happen when Eva, working as a nurse in Edinburgh during WW II, falls in love with a surgeon.

The author has a keen sense of history. Most of the action of the novel takes place before and during the war, but there is not a false note in the entire book. It is utterly convincing in its historical setting.

At the end of the novel, Eva discovers who the ghosts were during their time as living persons. Eva knows herself at this point, too.

You finish the book with an "ah Bartleby, ah humanity" kind of feeling.

Too bad I can only give this book five stars...

Morgot Livesey's newest novel chronicles the life of Eva McEwan, told by the character in the form of a memoir. We are there at her birth, and we witness -- after the appearance of 6 magpies, a dark omen -- the death of her mother that very night. We see her grow, under the loving care of her father David and her aunt Lily, blessed with an uncomplicated childhood in the small village of Troon, Scotland -- uncomplicated, that is, but for her two companions. They appear as if out of nowhere, and vanish just as mysteriously. As she comes to know them -- a middle-aged woman and a young girl -- it dawns upon Eva that no one else can see them. They are with her, on and off, throughout her life.

The story of her life is a touching one, filled with the events that one might expect -- school, making and losing friends, choosing a career, successes and failures, romances. What sets this novel apart from many others, for me, is not just the skill and care with which Livesey develops her characters, but her respect for them. Time and again I've read books that were spoiled by the author's irritating insistance on assigning attributes to characters that seem -- well, out of character for them. Livesey has the respect for her characters -- and the good sense -- to keep them real and true to themselves.

Those who people this story are lovingly engendered -- Livesey is extremely adept, through both voicing and observation, in creating believable, whole characters with whom I had absolutely no trouble empathizing. Her skill in this area gave the book a much greater impact. This obvious concern for her creations, coupled with her style of prose (shining in its illumination, but never wordy, always natural) and a very moving story line, made this one of the best books I've read this year. It's original look at the relationships between the dead and the living is completely refreshing -- those who appreciate this aspect of this book should check out Sheri Reynolds' excellent novel A GRACIOUS PLENTY as well.

This is the first of Margot Livesey's works I've read -- now I have ANOTHER author to investigate further. I'LL NEVER GET ALL OF THE BOOKS ON MY 'LIST' READ! (Oh well -- not too serious a complaint, and nothing to do with this fine book...).

This story will break your heart.

It is so perfectly beautiful that writing this review is an amazing challenge.

The story is told in first person narrative by Eva McEwen a lonely girl whose mother died in childbirth. She is adored by her widower father and her aunt, who has come to help raise her. Though beloved by her family, she is lonely, friendless, and very isolated. When she is six years old the "companions" visit her for the first time.

From her childhood through her adult life we watch Eva mature and grow into a woman, eventually becoming a nurse during WWII in Scotland. The companions are with her from start to finish.

Are they good or are they evil? You'll have to read the book to find out.

This gut-wrenching story is one you won't be able to put down until the last page. I sat silently for several minutes after the last line of the book - it had such a great impact. This book is a keeper.

I had heard so much about this book for a long time, and finally decided to see what all the enthusiasm was about. I was not disappointed (which often happens with raved-about books!).

Set in Scotland, this is an intelligent book which asks that we suspend belief to accommodate Eva's "companions", a young girl and a woman who accompany her through her life, appearing randomly, and able to be seen only by Eva. Although we sense that they are there to protect her, they also change the course of her life (but not its eventual outcome). Livesey deftly blurs the real and that which is fantasy, making all of these appearances by the companions, and their actions, seem natural.

Where do people go when they die? Are there spirits out there, watching over us? Is the bond between mother and daughter unbreakable and eternal? These are some of the things to be pondered while reading this book.

Livesey's telling of Eva's story, her coming-of-age, is unique and lovely. She makes the reader feel that it is perfectly logical that these companions should appear to Eva yet be kept a secret by her, even as a young child.

Realistic yet magical, this is a poignant and moving story with much food for thought.

There is a mystery to being a mother - the crux of which is the depth of undying and unconditional love possessed of your child. Eve Troon lost her mother, Barbara, on the day of her birth, only knowing Barbara through the stories that her father and aunt, who was brought in as a surrogate mother, tell her. She visits the grave almost daily with her father and sees Barbara as an almost mythical figure in her history.

Eva is visited frequently by her "companions" - the ghosts of a woman and girl who orchestrate nearly every eventful moment of her life. They save her life, arrange meetings...and separations...with people she loves, and provide comfort when she is lonely. What Eva doesn't know is why they are with her. As she trains to be a nurse, faces heartbreak, marries and becomes a mother herself, the companions are always around at the times she needs them the most.

When Eva becomes a mother, she finds a sort of closure - she thinks - with Barbara. Her limitless love for her daughter brought me to tears in the last pages, as it will for anyone who loves a child with all their heart and soul.

The first part of the book is a lot of back information, but read on - it's definitely worth it to put the pieces of the puzzle together in finding out exactly who the companions are and their significance in Eva's life. You won't regret the journey.

Eva Moves The Furniture if a very sweet and touching tale that spans many decades into a young woman's life. We start with Eva's birth and her childhood, when she starts to see 'companions' -- beings that others cannot see. These companions are ghosts and they will remain with her throughout her life to help her during times of hardship. They are always there to guide her into the right direction.

Whether it is love, family problems or just personal problems, the companions are always there to comfort her and to reassure her.

The tale is very sweet and touching. The only problem is that I wanted more. The books is short - barely 230 pages - and in it, you get a woman's entire life explained to you. But some of the moment's of Eva's life, moments which were very intersting, are too briefly explained. Maybe way too briefly. You find yourself wanting more, wanting to know more about her relationship with the companions and with her husband and daughter. I would have taken another 100 pages without problems!

I have to admit that this book took me by surprise. I wasn't planning on enjoying it this much. But once I finished reading the last page, I got this warm feeling withing me, a feeling of love for this story. Give this one a chance. It's the perfect holiday read!

I am not the type of person that reads books about "Family", "Coming-of-Age", or "Poignant Romance" - I grew out of those when I was about 13. I found a review for this book in the New Yorker and it sounded very well-written, if nothing else, and the cover art was GORGEOUS, so I got it. Well, this was one thing this year that definitely exceeded expectations.

Eva's mother died in childbirth and Eva is raised in a village in Scotland by her father and a maiden aunt. During her childhood she comes to know two spirits who are decidedly ambiguous in nature toward her. They protect her from danger, but also spoil her friendships and in some form, her happiness. As she grows up, these spirits continue to have tight hold on her life - wrecking a marriage proposal, but also saving her life and introducing her to her future husband. Things wrap up when Eva has a child of her own and she finally figures out who her incorporeal friends are.

One of the main reasons that I fell for this slim book is that it deals with situations in a matter-of-fact, yet magical, way. The gross story has little magic in it, but Livesey's writing has a kind of simple witchcraft in it that makes every scene appear like a Maxfield Parrish painting. It is evocative without being verbose, and lyrical without being flabby. Even the sappiness that must be inherent in a novel in which there are: 2 births, 3 major deaths and many heartbreaks, is toned to a minimum by the writing style. You will not soon forget the ending lines and picture they evoke. I keep refering to how things look - and this is true - you don't read "Eva Moves the Furniture", you watch it. I do so hope that they'll make a movie out of it!

My only complaints are with the length and the amount of character development in the minor characters. In 200+ pages, Livesey spans an entire life, complete with flashbacks - I would GLADLY have spent the extra time reading the extra pages if it meant that I could have understood more about the world and people that swirl around Eva. Although you get a general feel for Eva's friends and lovers, you really can't say you know them as you come to know Eva, her parents, and her guardians.

Its a small price to pay for such a sparkling diamond of a novel. Plus, even if the book doesn't hit you that hard, the cover picture is beautiful and almost disturbing in an ethereal kind of way.

Cheers!

The cover of this book originally caught my attention, and the reputation of the author persuaded me to purchase it. I have to disagree with those who have stated that this is a ghost story. This is not a story about creepy goblins and unseen bumps in the night. Rather, this is a story of love and endearment between the living and the dead. The companions have kept watch over Eva throughout her life, although their real intentions have often puzzled her. Are the companions friends or foes? And what are their true identities?

I enjoyed this book not only for the plot development but also for the descriptions of Scotland during the first half of the 20th century. A pleasurable, yet quick, read.

A wonderful read that slowly pulls you in for Eva's strange, sad, poignant journey through life. Eva's mother dies shortly after childbirth leaving Eva to be raised by her loving father and aunt. From the moment Eva somehow escapes her crib as a newborn, we are certain that her life is not to be ordinary. At the age of six she encounters her two "companions", a woman and girl who are obviously otherwordly. The mystery of why the companions are with Eva goes on throughout her life, are they there to help or harm? This is a beautifully written story that is impossible to put down. I can almost guarantee you will find it difficult to maintain a dry eye at the end of this story.