Amazon.com: A Life Less Convenient: Letters To My Ex (9780978830908): Jennifer Clare Burke: Books

"You keep thinking that you get to keep your body. That your body stays with you just because you're stuck inside it," I said. "You don't get to keep anything, not really. Nothing's a given."

So says the narrator to her lover in Jennifer Burke's A Life Less Convenient. A novel of short stories that function rather like mediations, I was drawn in by the dispassionate voice of the narrator as she navigates through the cumulative effects of both an auto-immune disorder and love on her body.

Writes Burke in her Afterwards:

"I suspect that relationship demons constitute another type of chronic illness that is managed day to day with varying levels of commitment and different definitions of "problem," "success," and "cure.""

Indeed, what becomes "normal" in these stories is the every changing body of the narrator, and the choices she must make in order to care for herself: the train she misses because she will not run over the parking lot for fear of falling and inflicting more pain on her body; the hair that she gives as a gift to her lover; the food she refuses to eat in order to stall severe stomach pains.

Love is often calculated in terms of the cost of the psyche. Rarely I have read the costs it can exact on flesh and bones.

This book caused me to rethink how I move through the world. How I eat. What it means to run. Burke's haunting writing made me examine so many unacknowledged assessments I have made about myself in this world, my world of love and shrimp and hair.

If you have but little time - or a lot - read this book. It might just change your life.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Truly Unique Book, October 16, 2006

By	Jennifer K. Schwam (NYC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I absolutely cannot begin to explain how deeply I enjoyed this book. I could not put it down. I carried it everywhere and finished it quickly. I wished that the stories would not end. The details are just
beautiful. The book addressed some very universal issues about romantic relationships and about ways in which we are alone, whether it is illness or some other defining characteristic(s). When I finished it, I had that rare feeling of loss, of craving more pages. I will pass the word around about this fabulous book, and the book itself. It is a true work of art. The author's writing is incredibly beautiful and powerful, as are the color photographs. There was not one story that could not stand
on its own as a masterpiece. I've been wanting to write a review about
it but have felt so overwhelmingly in awe of it, that I have been hesitant to sum it up.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Stunning Work!, October 22, 2006

By	Stephanie (Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews

Burke's prose is utterly fantastic. I devoured the novel within hours and found myself underlining random sentences that were just too brilliant to forget. Photos are sprinkled throughout the text, giving the reader even more sensory delight.

Burke's stories are woven together and defined by love, loss, and hope. It is this combination which leaves the reader yearning for more. After turning the last page of the novel, I immediately hoped for a sequel.

This novel is one not to be missed. Burke's story-telling genius and the fabulous photos make this novel one-of-a-kind.