review 1: What a marvelous, mature debut about 85-year-old Esther Lustig. I appreciate how well we get to know Esther through snippets of her life as a widow in Chicago. As she hosts dinner for her granddaughter Sophie or attends a community class with her neighbor Lorraine, we grow close to Esther because she never leaves us; rather than using flashbacks to convey information, Karmel simply makes us privy to Esther's thoughts, memories, and opinions as she navigates a world diminished by age. We experience the loss of friends and physical ability right along with her, making our relationship with Esther sweeter and the loss of her sharper than one might expect from such a slim, restrained novel. Bravo! review 2: Being Esther is a quiet book about an "ordinary" woman. Ye... moret 85 year old Esther, like most people, has a unique, but relatable, story to tell. If you enjoy character studies and novels like those of Barbara Pym, Being Esther will be a good read for you. I almost gave it 5 stars, but that I wanted to know more about Esther as she was, rather than so much about her younger self. A beautifully rendered characterization. less
