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25 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beyond a Crack in the Foundation Lies the Life She Might Have Lived, February 17, 2011
This review is from: The Other Life (Hardcover)
The Other Life is fascinating, original and intriguing. Exploring the complexities of mother/daughter dynamics, the book examines the consequences when that love is put to the ultimate test. If you are longing for invigorating, relevant writing over a broad emotional plane, you will love this book. Be prepared to be touched deeply. What would you do if you had the option of escaping from today into a life that might have been yours had you made different choices? Quinn Braverman finds portals to the life she might have led to be irresistible lures. She vacillates between her present-day life and the road not taken throughout the novel. We find ourselves relating to Quinn and her family in one time frame and then, just as our comfort zone is set, we are drawn into Quinn's alternate life. Grieving over an abnormality in her unborn baby, Quinn desperately seeks comfort from her dead mother, Nan. However, in that alternate life, Nan had tormented her daughter with unpredictable episodes of depression. Complicated? Yes. Grief, emotional chaos and the difficulty of making the right choices abound. Ms. Meister handles all of this tricky business with ease. Some descriptions of sexual encounters are included, but they do not overwhelm the book. Author, wife, mother, curator, and lecturer on literary issues, Ellen Meister created a masterpiece in her new novel, The Other Life. A departure from her earlier light, hilarious books, The Other Life not only explores mother/daughter love but is also a tribute both to its blessings and curses. In an interview, Ms. Meister stated that book clubs enjoy novels with fresh writing, complex characters and emotional dilemmas to which readers can relate. She met that challenge with this creative tour de force. The book is interspersed with metaphorically brilliant vignettes called "Quinn Deconstructed," a series of paintings done by Nan. Each depicts Nan's perceptions of Quinn's earlier life. There are other stunning touches. A suicide note in the form of a painting. A house not put on the market for seventeen years to preserve a child's memories. A pink infant's outfit kept by a mother in anticipation of her granddaughter's birth. The Other Life is a riveting read for thoughtful women. Recommended for book clubs, mothers, daughters, and anyone who longs for the listening ear of a deceased, loving parent. I thank G. P. Putnam's Sons for supplying me with a review copy. The opinions expressed in my review are unbiased and wholly my own. Reviewed by Holly Weiss, author of Crestmont
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Surrealism Done Right, March 21, 2011
This review is from: The Other Life (Hardcover)
For anyone who has ever stood at the crossroads, for those of us who have had moments of self-doubt, or pinpricks of longing for what could have been, this book is especially for you. Although extremely intrigued by the premise, I began reading Ellen Meister's wonderful novel, "The Other Life" with a bit of trepidation, as I thought I was, via reviews and word-of-mouth, already familiar with the possible scenario, thought I knew what to expect, e.g., woman is going through life-changing, difficult time in her life, woman is faced with a dilemma that could be heart-breaking no matter which path she took... I am, in a roundabout way, that woman, and I feared emotional overload, a reading experience too close to home to be comfortable. Yet read I did, and how glad I am that I ignored any niggling "Oh, it will depress you," and "Do you REALLY want to go there?" thoughts. This book is anything but depressing, and is, in fact, everything that contemporary fiction should be: Thought-provoking, intelligent, unique, and unforgettable. Meister deftly leads the reader from a world of domestic conventionality into one of surrealistic normalcy (for lack of a better term), and does so with careful pacing and subtle whispers as opposed to a heavy-handed dose of "weirdifying for the sake of being weird" a lesser author might employ. The cast of robust, three-dimensional characters -- all of whom seemed so real to me, I could picture their laugh lines, hear their voices -- are a delight to know, and beautifully wrought with endearing quirks, witticisms, compassion, and an imperfect humanness that touches the soul. And the last paragraph in the book is killer. Killer.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
interesting premise but loses its touch, March 2, 2011
This review is from: The Other Life (Hardcover)
I found the plot to be quite intriguing, but once I got towards the end, I found myself wanting to skim and just get it over with since the ending is quite predictable. For some reason, I had a hard time warming up to the main character, Quinn. As much as the author mentioned that Quinn was so giving and wanted to be needed, I didn't really get that sense. She mainly seemed a little self-centered. I think the storyline would have been more compelling if she visited the other side more and if the other side actually seemed compelling. Aside from being able to see her mother, the thought of Quinn with Eugene was enough for me to actively cheer against her choosing that world. Overall, though, "The Other Life" is an enjoyable read -- it could just be my own nitpicks that kept me from truly liking this book.
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