Imagine a woman who is so in control of her life, even as she is dying of cancer, that she makes a list of suitable candidates to take over the care and feeding of her husband after she's gone. This is the premise of Lillian's List, and the author delivers on it.
Before she dies, Lillian has to show her doting husband Jerry how to work the coffee machine, how to make her special macaroni and cheese recipe, and how to clean the kitchen floor, among many other things. At first, I was thinking, how could any man be as helpless as Jerry? But after all, these people grew up in an age where men's and women's roles in the household and in life were more clearly defined.
One thing I loved about Lillian's List is that it continually surprised me. First we are treated to flashbacks Lillian is having in her final weeks, and these are portraits of the five women on her list for Jerry. The five women are just as different as five women can be, ranging from the warmhearted church pastor to the spinster librarian to the perpetual second place finisher in the local pie contest (Lillian always places first herself).
Once Lillian dies, Jerry is on his own, and the book takes on an entirely new dimension. Of course this is the story of Jerry choosing one of the women on the list, but he doesn't even read the list for months and months after Lillian dies. The author has created an entirely credible grief phase for Jerry, and the book becomes, rightly, Jerry's story. And I found myself getting more and more interested in how this old fellow who is so helpless without Lillian will cope with life on his own, with or without her famous list.
This book has a down-home flavor that reminded me of the best old Prairie Home Companion episodes. Church and faith and prayer plays a strong role in these characters' lives. Jerry's family is drawn with stark realism, as are all the characters in Lillian's List. I can only say I loved this book.
