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The Why Of Things: A Novel (2013)

by Elizabeth Hartley Winthrop(Favorite Author)

3.4 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1451695756 (ISBN13: 9781451695755)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Simon & Schuster

review 1: This book is a quiet gut punch I wasn’t expecting. It’s a novel about a family—father, mother, two daughters—going back to their summer house in Massachusetts to try and put their lives back to normal. Their oldest daughter died tragically about a year prior and the family is still uncertain about how to move forward and interact with one another. The book follows each family member in different ways, but it mostly shows each of them reacting to the death of a man in the quarry behind their summer house just after they arrive for the summer. After spotting tire tracks leading into the quarry, they call the authorities and a truck—and the dead driver, James Favazza—are pulled from the water. Each family member uses this event as a catalyst for examining their ow... moren feelings about their personal family tragedy. There are a few moments that were really raw and beautiful—the writing is fantastic. One part made me cry. If you read it, we’ll compare notes.
review 2: Joan, Eve, Anders and Eloise are a family that is grieving after the suicide of the eldest daughter in the family. At the same time, a young man seemingly has also taken his life at the family's summer home. This novel is about grief and how different people deal with it. I really did think it had excellent writing, but the plot itself didn't have a lot of sparkles to it, and it was slow moving at time. All in all though, it was a good read and I enjoyed it. less

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