The Widow's Season (Paperback)

~ Laura Brodie (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Brodie weaves an engaging tale of grief and loss in her What if? debut. When Sarah McConnell's husband of 17 years dies in a kayaking incident, she is left widowed and childless at the age of 39. But David's body is never recovered, and after three months of seeing glimpses of her husband at the grocery store and her home, Sarah wonders whether she really is a widow. On Halloween night, David shows up at her front door and offers a plausible explanation for his absence, and Sarah is, understandably, relieved yet also distraught—since she's the only person who has seen him, is he real? Or is she going crazy? Brodie expertly walks the line between reality and fantasy, life and death, heartache and love, leaving readers hoping for the best and prepared for the worst—without ever really knowing the truth—until the final five pages. (June)
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Review

"In The Widow's Season, Brodie draws on literary traditions, but hides the academic stuff under the flow of smart dialogue and sharp detail. This is a work of craft and imagination."
-Roanoke Times<br /><br />"In The Widow's Season, Laura Brodie confronts all the twists and turns of grief and loss, love and marriage, and the human heart with honesty, humor, and great intelligence. This novel is spellbinding, right up to its surprising and poignant final page."
-Ann Hood, author of The Knitting Circle

"The Widow's Season is far more than what it seems to be at first - a straightforward story of a woman getting used to a crushing loss. It's smarter, slyer, and more unconventional than that. It's haunting-and haunted too --."
-Elizabeth Benedict, author of Almost and The Practice of Deceit --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade (June 2, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425227650
• ISBN-13: 978-0425227657
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #122,309 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How do you move on when the ghosts come with you?, September 14, 2009

By	Nancy Grisso "Stepfordmomto2" (Tehachapi, CA USA) - See all my reviews

(What's this?)

By the middle of this wonderful book I was forcing myself not to read the last chapter to see where Brodie was going with this tale. Weaving reality and fantasy you find your self hoping and wondering and imagining an even larger tale.

Sarah McConnell is in her late thirties and has been married for a little more then 15 years when her husband in supposedly killed in a kayaking accident. He body has never been recovered, but yet one day three months later she sees him in the grocery store. There he is across the isle from her. After a quick distraction she looks over again and he's gone. Not sure of what she saw or didn't see she returns home even more bewildered then before.

Then the noises and bumps around the house begin, how can David be back, but on Halloween night he knocks on her door with quite a tale to tell. What is she to do. She can't tell anyone that she has seen him, the widow's club tells her that it takes a full season to get over a loss, but yet, David is there. She now must meet him clandestinely at their old cabin, she must move on with her life, but not leave David behind.

By the end of this book you are just mesmerized by the story that Bodie tells. You hope, but you fear to hope, because sometimes it takes a season to heal.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Keeps you wondering, October 28, 2009

By	Cathe Olson "natural foods cookbook author" (In the kitchen) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is about a woman who's husband dies in a flood but the body hasn't been found yet. They hold a memorial service. She gets paid the life insurance. They she starts seeing him.

I like books that kept me questioning and wondering what's true and what isn't. Good book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It was just okay for me, August 30, 2009

By	Shon - See all my reviews

What would you do if you saw your dead husband while grocery shopping? Would you chase after him demanding answers? Would you silently think you're losing your mind due to your grief? Or would you shake off the image as simply wishing it to be your husband, but knowing it is just a complete stranger?

Having read glowing reviews about The Widow's Season, I was eager to read it. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me. As I read Sarah's story, I realized I didn't feel anything for her...nothing. Here's a story about a woman who recently lost her husband and thinks she sees him and I don't feel any sympathy? Compassion?

The characters in The Widow's Season were hard to connect to. Sarah and her brother-in-law, Nate, seemed to be somewhat aloof. Perhaps it was their reaction to losing David and the events (which I won't share to avoid spoilers) that occurred after his death. Or maybe it was Ms. Brodie's intent to write the characters this way. To be honest, this was the third consecutive book I read dealing with the death of a love one. It's possible I just felt numb after reading two previous tragic stories.

I think The Widow's Season would be an excellent selection for a book club. I figured out the ending pretty early in the book and wondered what other readers thought as the story unfolded. I wanted a chance to speak with other readers about my feelings (or lack thereof) for these characters and hear their thoughts as well. Perhaps speaking with other readers would challenge my opinion about the novel. (If you're interested, the author provides a reader guide that could be used for a book club discussion.)

Despite my disappointment with this novel, I would recommend it to other readers. I enjoyed Ms. Brodie's ability to write in such a way that I could instantly see the scenes in my mind. I plan to read Ms. Brodie's future novels.