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What Is Left The Daughter (2010)

by Howard Norman(Favorite Author)

3.42 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0618735437 (ISBN13: 9780618735433)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

review 1: Picked up this Howard Norman book (rather, a friend picked it up for me!) rather at random on a recommendation that Norman is a worthy author....but one I had never yet read. He now has my endorsement, as well. Set in and near Halifax, Nova Scotia, in the heart of WWII, the plot centers on young Wyatt Hillyer, who is suddenly orphaned when both his mother and father commit suicide within an hour of each other by jumping from separate bridges--agonizing over their illicit love for the same woman, who happens to be one of the family's neighbors. Wyatt then leaves the city to live with his aunt and uncle in Middle Economy, but his life is complicated by his love for their daughter Tilda (his cousin, but--she is adopted). When a 21-year-old German student, Hans Mohring (who ha... mores inexplicably found his way from Europe during the war to study philology at Dalhousie University in Halifax), meets Tilda on a bus, the pair instantly falls in love--and lives will never again be the same. Using spare but effective language, Norman draws us into this story of love, water, war, insanity, murder and...well, the unexpected twists and turns of life. I enjoyed Norman's writing very much and hope to seek out more of it in the future. By the way, I think this book would make an excellent movie, but to date I've heard nothing about its prospects for becoming one.
review 2: An interesting, quick read...page-turning plot featuring a love triangle and a murder. Characters were quirky and their dialogue was fun to read -- seemed very accurate to the time and place -- although I am not of that time or place, so I could be wrong on this. Still, their mannerisms and discussions felt very realistic to me. A sad story about love and loss, but a good one, with a satisfying ending. I recommend it. less

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