A Reckoning: A Novel [Paperback]

May Sarton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 17, 1997

When Laura Spelman learns that she will not get well, she looks on this last illness as a journey during which she must reckon up her life, give up the nonessential, and concentrate on what she calls "the real connections."

The heart of the story is Laura's realization that for her the real connections have been with women: her brilliant and devastating mother, a difficult daughter, and most of all a woman she knew when she was young.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

May Sarton (1912-1995) was an acclaimed poet, novelist, and memoirist.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (May 17, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393316211
• ISBN-13: 978-0393316216
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #659,423 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

May Sarton is the pen name of Eleanore Marie Sarton (May 3, 1912 - July 16, 1995), an American poet, novelist, and memoirist. Her parents were science historian George Sarton and his wife, the English artist Mabel Eleanor Elwes. In 1915, her family moved to Boston, Massachusetts. She went to school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and started theatre lessons in her late teens. In 1945 she met her partner for the next thirteen years, Judy Matlack, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. They separated in 1956, when Sarton's father died and Sarton moved to Nelson, New Hampshire. Honey in the Hive (1988) is about their relationship. Sarton later moved to York, Maine. She died of breast cancer on July 16, 1995. She is buried in Nelson, New Hampshire.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dying woman must reflect on her past, family life, and self., September 6, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Reckoning: A Novel (Paperback)

Laura is dying of terminal cancer. From the moment her doctor tells her she has less than 2 years to live, Laura is determined so see her death as a journey, and she intends to make the journey on her own terms. She quickly realizes that she must come to some sort of "reckoning" with her past, her relationship with her mother, her relationship with her own children, and more curiously, her relationship with a childhood friend, Ella. Although she and Ella have not seen each other in over 40 years, memories of Ella haunt her, and fill her with a sense of peace.

Laura is determined to die her way, with her animals, her memories, her thoughts, her music, her books, and a dear old aunt to read to her in the winter afternoons. These are what she believes to be the "real connections" in life. She does not want to engage in conversation with people who cause her stress (such as her sisters and her children). Laura learns during her journey, that it is through these last conversations and moments with the persons she least wanted to see, that she gains her most valuable insights.

The book has a happy ending. But beware! Sarton's writing is witty, passionate and sophisticated. She uses her psychological knowledge of the human psyche with poignant accuracy.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Discovery, July 7, 2007

By 

Barbara H. (Arizona USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Reckoning: A Novel (Paperback)

I just finished reading A Reckoning, which I discovered accidentally while reading another book, The Feminine Side of God. (May Sarton's book was mentioned.) What a joy to read/to discover her and her writing!!!! Sarton has tremendous insight, not only into women's inner thoughts/life, but into the mind and heart of a woman who has been told she does not have long to live. Her choice is to live in her dying. To her it is an unknown experience, similar to being born. No one knows what the journey will be like. It is a poignant experience the reader shares with the protagonist. On another level, a mother who reflects on her relationships with her grown children can relate perfectly.

I intend to read her other novels, but for now I am recommending it to all my elderly women friends.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learning About Life, May 12, 2007

By 

Ann M. Coleman - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Reckoning: A Novel (Paperback)

May Sarton has a way of explaining what life is all about through her fiction. When I read any of her work I make notations of sentences I want to refer to again after I am done reading the book. She has a powerful voice in her writing. A Reckoning is another one of my favorite books by this author.