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on August 29, 2015
They say tragedies often happen in threes, and that's precisely what has happened to Isabel Moore. Following her best friend Josie's tragic death in a car accident, Isabel's life has been further turned upside down by the imminent demise of her marriage, and the fact that her preteen daughter Hannah is starting to hate her.
"Death smashes a crater into your life, and you're left alone to sort through the rubble."
In Days of Awe, Lauren Fox examines the life of a woman who thought she had everything—a best friend who "got" her, a teaching job she loved for the most part, a family she cherished—only to discover things are not as she imagined, and in fact, things seem to be rapidly slipping from her grasp. Isabel tries to figure out where Josie's life went wrong and tries to understand what was happening in the months before her death. Were there signs she missed? Who was to blame? And shouldn't everyone's lives remain in flux until she's had the time to process the loss of Josie?
But recovering from this loss isn't all she has to deal with. She needs to figure out whether her marriage is worth fighting for, if there is a way to get her daughter to like her again, and consider whether to let someone else into her heart. But beyond that, she needs to find a way out of the rut she is in, and whether she can prevent herself from the same behavior patterns and same choices that have caused her problems in the past.
"What if you make the right choices? What if you shelve those immature and solipsistic pursuits in favor of the grown-up occupations of family and career—happily, you do it without regret, in love, looking forward—then those fall apart? You turn around and you're staring at the moonscape that used to be your life."
I found this book tremendously engaging and enjoyable, and read most of it in one day while sitting at the pool. While I didn't necessarily agree with all of Isabel's choices, I really like characters that try to diffuse difficult situations with sarcasm and humor and yet don't always correctly gauge the moods and tolerance of those around them, mainly because I do the same thing more often than I should. Even if not everything that happens is surprising, I still found myself wanting to know what happened next. These are complex, fascinating characters.
Fox is a very talented writer. How many of us have struggled with grief and chaos in our lives, wondering whether the choices we are making are the right ones, or whether we even have the capacity to change the path we're heading down? Days of Awe is moving, amusing, thought provoking, and very well written. That's a pretty great combination.
"Death smashes a crater into your life, and you're left alone to sort through the rubble."
In Days of Awe, Lauren Fox examines the life of a woman who thought she had everything—a best friend who "got" her, a teaching job she loved for the most part, a family she cherished—only to discover things are not as she imagined, and in fact, things seem to be rapidly slipping from her grasp. Isabel tries to figure out where Josie's life went wrong and tries to understand what was happening in the months before her death. Were there signs she missed? Who was to blame? And shouldn't everyone's lives remain in flux until she's had the time to process the loss of Josie?
But recovering from this loss isn't all she has to deal with. She needs to figure out whether her marriage is worth fighting for, if there is a way to get her daughter to like her again, and consider whether to let someone else into her heart. But beyond that, she needs to find a way out of the rut she is in, and whether she can prevent herself from the same behavior patterns and same choices that have caused her problems in the past.
"What if you make the right choices? What if you shelve those immature and solipsistic pursuits in favor of the grown-up occupations of family and career—happily, you do it without regret, in love, looking forward—then those fall apart? You turn around and you're staring at the moonscape that used to be your life."
I found this book tremendously engaging and enjoyable, and read most of it in one day while sitting at the pool. While I didn't necessarily agree with all of Isabel's choices, I really like characters that try to diffuse difficult situations with sarcasm and humor and yet don't always correctly gauge the moods and tolerance of those around them, mainly because I do the same thing more often than I should. Even if not everything that happens is surprising, I still found myself wanting to know what happened next. These are complex, fascinating characters.
Fox is a very talented writer. How many of us have struggled with grief and chaos in our lives, wondering whether the choices we are making are the right ones, or whether we even have the capacity to change the path we're heading down? Days of Awe is moving, amusing, thought provoking, and very well written. That's a pretty great combination.
on August 20, 2015
This book is well written and has moments of dazzling insight about the nature of grief and loss. I read it quickly, so it clearly held my interest, but I find myself relieved to have finished it. The story and characters are so bleak. Isabel's best friend, Josie, dies suddenly, then Isabel's already-troubled marriage disintegrates, and she and her husband Chris decide to separate. Isabel is mired in grief that manifests as anger. Josie's husband, Mark, finds a new relationship within two years, and Isabel's husband dates despite not yet being divorced. Both men seem to move on quickly. Additionally, Isabel's mother encourages her still-married daughter to date, Cal, who is 16 years older than Isabel. Cal is repeatedly described as kind, but as a love interest, he seems tacked onto the story, like a consolation prize. I sometimes liked Isabel, and at other times, cringed at her odd behavior. Josie too, exhibited many self destructive behaviors that made her less likable. I did like the book, and the writing was strong, but I felt I was being told a story without feeling the emotional weight and complexity of the characters and their relationships with each other. Isabel's pre-teen daughter, Hannah, is the warmest most expressive character. She is depicted as a moody tween, but she is open, engaging and wise. She is surrounded by weary adults who appear to be stumbling through life. We do not get to see the hope and happiness that the future might hold for all of them. We see only varying degrees of despair.
on February 11, 2016
I loved this book so much! Left much of my own life to fend for itself while I devoted myself to reading it. The story of a complex, imperfect, and compelling friendship between two women is so realistically told, foibles and missteps and all. Isabel, the protagonist, is having the worst year of her life--having lost her best friend to a car accident, and being in the process of losing her marriage and also becoming less than adored by her teenage daughter. Yet she is funny and real, even as she makes mistakes and fails in trying to make things right again. I loved her! Who wants to read about somebody navigating life's worst tragedies in a perfect, surfacey way? I certainly don't. I was rooting for Isabel and her deeper understanding of the forces around her. Admittedly, I was reluctant to read this book because I thought it was going to be unremittingly sad--but it was far from that. I loved how Lauren Fox slowly unfolded the story, through a patchwork of the present story line and then lovely, well-rendered flashbacks. The writing is beautiful, and her imagery can stop your heart. I am so happy I read this book, my first by Lauren Fox--and now I want to read everything she's written!
on April 1, 2016
I loved the writing. It was so clever and witty at times, it made me laugh out loud. Then at other times it was so raw and painful. If I could just review the writing I would have given this book 5 stars, but we must consider the plot. Half way through the book I was so sick of Isabel's self indulgent winning, if I had been her husband I would have left her several chapters ago. And then If you manage to stick with her monotonous, obsessive, caterwauling over best friend's death--ignoring her living husband and child--you get through the book and find out the ending sucks! That is why I had to give this amazingly written book only 3 stars.
on September 27, 2015
Lauren Fox obviously has talent. She handles the English language deftly and creatively and is sometimes humorous. But Days of Awe takes the death of her friend and beats it to death and bored me to death. I would definitely read something of hers if she had a real subject. It's not that her friend's death wasn't important, because it was, and it's not that the break-up with her husband wasn't important, but Lauren sleep-walked through the story. She wrote well enough to keep me reading, but truly, I was glad when it was over. Lauren, you can do better than this, I'm sure!
on August 16, 2015
I enjoyed this novel far more than those of Emily Griffin or Jennifer Weiner. I'm not a fan of Danielle Steele, I prefer a deeper, richer story line and more well developed characters and this novel truly delivered. I won't bother to give you the plot synopsis since that has already been done, but I will tell you that the writing here is fabulous, not just a fill in the blanks of the same old theme. I am definitely going to read more of this author's work.
on November 24, 2015
Boring story of characters with whom I couldn't relate.
... stars due to the content-depressing and difficult character to like. I did enjoy the novel-a tragic event and ...
on September 7, 2015
Although I gave it only 3 stars due to the content-depressing and difficult character to like. I did enjoy the novel-a tragic event and how a friend is overcoming the death of her best friend. I still wonder if it was an accident or intentional. Having said that, the author's writing was good and the plot was better.
on March 2, 2016
I wanted great things from this book but it never happened.
