2011 April 18

Book Review: The Coffins of Little Hope by Timothy Schaffert

Title: The Coffins of Little Hope
Author: Timothy Schaffert
Publisher: Unbridled Books
Publication Date: April 19, 2011
Hardcover: 272 pages
ISBN: 978-1609530402
Genre: Fiction

From the Publisher:

Timothy Schaffert has created his most memorable character yet in Essie, an octogenarian obituary writer for her family’s small town newspaper. When a young country girl is reported to be missing, perhaps whisked away by an itinerant aerial photographer, Essie stumbles onto the story of her life. Or, it all could be simply a hoax, or a delusion, the child and child-thief invented from the desperate imagination of a lonely, lovelorn woman. Either way, the story of the girl reaches far and wide, igniting controversy, attracting curiosity-seekers and cult worshippers from all over the country to this dying rural town. And then it is revealed that the long awaited final book of an infamous series of ya gothic novels is being secretly printed on the newspaper’s presses.

The Coffins of Little Hope tells a feisty, energetic story of characters caught in the intricately woven webs of myth, legend and deception even as Schaffert explores with his typical exquisite care and sharp eye the fragility of childhood, the strength of family, the powerful rumor mills of rural America, and the sometimes dramatic effects of pop culture on the way we shape our world.

My Review:

I have enjoyed every book I have read by Timothy Schaffert and after reading The Coffins of Little Hope I realised this is, in my opinion, his best book to date. Schaffert has a beautiful, subtle and unassuming writing style, which easily draws the reader into the story. In this instance there are four stories occurring at once and Schaffert expertly weaves them together and gives them life through the voice of 83-year-old Essie, the obituary writer for the County Paragraph, a small town paper which was begun by her father and her grandson is now shutting down. The characters, real or imagined, as one will learn, are expertly crafted and their lives are told to the reader through Essie, an unpretentious, sharp and intelligent woman, who if truly listened to, has plenty of advise to offer. I was not able to set The Coffins of Little Hope down and was sorry to see it end, as all books must. I became accustomed to Essie and I shall miss her, and while it may sound odd, she is a character that one will not easily dismiss or forget. The Coffins of Little Hope speaks of the past and present cultures while hinting at what may lie ahead, not always easy topics to hear, yet these topics are not isolated to this delightful, quaint, and dying town in Nebraska, rather, through Essie, Schaffert speaks of topics universal and worth remembering. I would recommend The Coffins of Little Hope to all readers and book discussion groups.

About the Author:

Timothy Schaffert grew up on a farm in Nebraska and currently lives in Omaha. His short fiction has been published in several literary journals and he’s won numerous awards, including the Mary Roberts Rinehart Award and the Nebraska Book Award.
He is the author of two other critically-acclaimed novels, The Singing and Dancing Daughters of God and Devils in the Sugar Shop.

Learn more about Timothy Schaffert and his books by visiting his website or following him on Twitter.

I received a complimentary ARC of The Coffin of Little Hope by Timothy Schaffert from Unbridled Books to offer my honest review of the book. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned book.

Book Review: The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer

Title: The Uncoupling
Author: Meg Wolitzer
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover
Publication Date: April 5, 2011
Hardcover: 288 pages
ISBN: 978-1594487880
Genre: Fiction

From the Publisher:

When the elliptical new drama teacher at Stellar Plains High School chooses for the school play Lysistrata-the comedy by Aristophanes in which women stop having sex with men in order to end a war-a strange spell seems to be cast over the school. Or, at least, over the women. One by one throughout the high school community, perfectly healthy, normal women and teenage girls turn away from their husbands and boyfriends in the bedroom, for reasons they don’t really understand. As the women worry over their loss of passion, and the men become by turns unhappy, offended, and above all, confused, both sides are forced to look at their shared history, and at their sexual selves in a new light.

As she did to such acclaim with the New York Times bestseller The Ten-Year Nap, Wolitzer tackles an issue that has deep ramifications for women’s lives, in a way that makes it funny, riveting, and totally fresh-allowing us to see our own lives through her insightful lens.

My Review:

I will admit I struggled through The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer and still am uncertain about my feelings about this book. Did I enjoy the book? Apparently enough so that I was able to complete the book, however while reading The Uncoupling I could not help wishing it was shorter. The Uncoupling takes place in Stellar Plains, New Jersey, the year Fran Heller is hired as the drama teacher at Eleanor Roosevelt High School and chooses Lysistrata, an excellent play but in my opinion, not one a high school would allow as the next school production, but I digress. That winter, a spell is cast over the entire population of women in the town where none of them want sexual relations and none of them know why. While this could make for an intriguing and unique premise to a book, it fell flat with me, possibly because I was hoping for more. The book assumes that all healthy relationships between a husband and wife must include an enthusiastic sexual component. And really, this is the fundamental core of the book; how a person is defined, or that was my impression. Wolitzer has created a thought-provoking book through the use of wit, a quirky cast of characters, which at times are overly simplified, quite possibly so the reader may extrapolate the information and look inward, and at times I did give pause, but not about sexuality, rather about my 20-year marriage and how well we treat each other. The Uncoupling takes a rather unusual approach to looking at society and the importance of sex throughout the generations, I did not agree with many of Wolitzer’s generalizations and the heavy emphasis placed on sexual relations, which is a main component of the book, but one the author wrote well about. Wolitzer tells the story in three parts, much like a play, and the second act was probably the most interesting to me, however, I have ultimately concluded that I would have rather read Lysistrata. I had very much wanted to enjoy The Uncoupling and yet, it just did not work well for me, even though it was well written, witty, quirky and tackling a very deep topic, the heavy emphasis on sexual relations was not a topic I enjoyed. I do think The Uncoupling would make for an intriguing discussion group choice.

About the Author:

Meg Wolitzer is the author of eight previous novels, including The Ten-Year Nap, The Position, and The Wife. Her short fiction has appeared in The Best American Short Stories and The Pushcart Prize. She lives in New York City.

Further information can be found on Meg Wolitzer’s website and her Facebook page.

For more reviews of the book, please follow the book tour.

I received an ARC copy of The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer from TLC Book Tours to be a part of this tour and offer my honest review of the book. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned book.