We had a small book club this month, most members were on vacation. Our book was “The Beginner’s Goodbye,” by Anne Tyler (see my review under Reviews on right-side of website under author).
I had read “The Beginner’s Goodbye,” and “A Year of Magical Thinking,” by Joan Didion within a few weeks of each other. Both books dealt with death. Didion’s book is nonfiction, and chronicles her life after her husband unexpectedly died, and her daughter was gravely ill. Tyler’s book is a work of fiction (although Tyler also lost her husband).
There’s a subtly to Tyler’s writing, and we as readers need to slow down and breathe when reading her work. There is no wave after wave of unbelievable tension in her stories, just normal lives under normal circumstances.
Didion’s book is raw and you see the love she had for her husband in every paragraph and every word. I don’t feel that Tyler’s protagonist had that kind of passion for his wife.
I do think that “The Beginner’s Goodbye,” is a good book for book clubs because it allows you to discuss death without the immense heaviness that some other books have. It will also lead to discussions on marriage.
Enjoy the rest of summer.
Coben starts off with his protagonist, Kat Donovan, a New York detective, looking through an online dating website that her friend signed her up for. Dating is sure different from the last time I had a date.
