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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Returning to these characters...,
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This review is from: Returning to Earth: A Novel (Hardcover)
When I opened "Returning to Earth", I was pleasantly surprised to find I knew these characters from Harrison's previous novel "True North". I had not made the connection when reading the book description on Amazon. Upon completing a Harrison story, I immediately miss the company of his characters. When "True North" ended, I very much missed my neurotic friend, David, who thankfully returns in this novel. Finished with "Returning to Earth", I find myself very interested in Lame Deer, Montana.
When reading reviews of Harrison's last few novels, I notice the term "rambling narrative" appears frequently (I guess I just contributed to that trend). I don't know whether to perceive this as a negative or a positive comment. Harrison's narrative takes place in the consciousness of his characters. My own experience with consciousness (I admit there have been a few interruptions along the way) has never been carefully plotted or structured for efficiency. Harrison's characters have thoughts, random, scattered, and yes sometimes rambling thoughts. The narrative carries you along, like only Harrison's prose can, and many of these thoughts become your own by the end of the novel. I will never look at a bear the same way again.
18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Surviving The Dead,
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This review is from: Returning to Earth: A Novel (Hardcover)
"Returning to Earth" has several meanings for its title. Simply put, it is the burial of the first narrator, his family returning from their journey of grieving or a combination of both meanings. The first half of the book asks how do you die a "good" death while the conclusion asks how do you live your life after the "good" life. The family members narrate their portion of their sadness, struggling not to succumb to the overwhelming grieve. The writing is lyrical and haunting in the manner of a storyteller. Mr. Harrison is the author of 8 novels, 5 novellas ("Legends of the Fall" is the best known) & 8 collections of poetry and this is his best tale yet.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Honoring our Dead and Moving On,
By
This review is from: Returning to Earth: A Novel (Hardcover)
Lou Gehrig's disease is such a horrible way to die. While reading this book I kept in mind watching a friend of mine (also 45 years old) find that he had the disease and watching as one muscle after another failed to function. But for more about the disease, read 'Tuesdays With Morrie.'
This instead is a story of Donald, a man slowly dying and realizing that his family history will die with hime. So he begins dictating stories that he has never shared with anyone else. While this is going on, the family around him has to learn to cope with the realization that he is dying and doing so with dignity. After Donald's death, his family struggle through their grief at his passing. In the end, they have to go on, as we all do. But the telling of their stories is masterfully done. It's a story of trying to make sense out of life, while understanding that we honor our dead but move on to the future. It is a tale masterfully told.
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