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Book Review: The Grief of Others by Leah Hager Cohen

October 6, 2011 by Darlene

The Grief of Others by Leah Hager Cohen is a novel that takes us deep into a family’s grief and subsequent breakdown.  How does a family and marriage survive grief or more importantly survive secrets kept that have the ability to tear everyone apart?  Once betrayed, how does a family pull itself together, forgive each other, and try to rebuild their lives.  The Grief of  Others takes us into the the lives of the Ryrie’s and their struggle to rebuild when everything seems to fall apart around them.

The story begins with the loss of John and Ricky’s third child.  He’s born with a serious birth defect and lives only fifty-seven hours after his birth.  The family is devastated and instead of coming together, they each deal with their grief separately and in their own ways.  Ricky throws herself fully into her career at the expense of her family.  John really just seems to drift along whereas the kids, thirteen year old Paul and ten year old Biscuit, not really fully understanding what is happening within their family, begin to act out.

John and Ricky who were already on a bit of a rocky road before the death of their third child basically just passing each other by pretending that everything is ok.  Yet as tensions build so does their realization that things really weren’t all that stable before either.  As the kid’s behavior escalates. so do the issues between John and Ricky.  Into this mess comes John’s first child, Jess, who was born when he was only nineteen.  He’s never had much contact with her as this is what her mother had wanted.  Interesting enough it is Jess who,  while not even trying to do so, sets t his family on the path to taking a closer look at what they are doing to each other.

The Grief of Others is beautifully written.  The author writes in such a descriptive way that she draws you fully into her story.  I truly felt bad for this family and their loss.   While I didn’t really feel connected to any of the characters I still really enjoyed the book.  I think though I connected somewhat with Biscuit, their daughter, in that she was so young and innocent and ultimately so confused by all that was going on around her.  It just really made feel protective towards her.  I think this is a great novel for those who like a family saga or novels dealing with the breakdown of families or marriages.  It was a good read for me and I read through the novel quickly.

I read The Grief of Others by Leah Hager Cohen for her book tour with TLC Book Tours.  You can visit the other tour stops here as well as visiting Leah’s website, blog and finding her on Facebook.  Your own copy of The Grief of Others can be purchased here in the US and here in Canada.

My copy of The Grief of Others by Leah Hager Cohen was received for review from TLC Book Tours and the publisher.

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Filed Under: 2011 Challenges, 2011•100 Books or More Challenge, 2011•ARC Tracking Challenge, TLC Tours

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. blodeuedd says

    October 6, 2011 at 6:17 am

    Grief, no. But excellent review as always 😀

    • admin says

      October 6, 2011 at 6:09 pm

      Thanks Linda.

  2. Ti says

    October 6, 2011 at 8:18 am

    You are the second blogger now to say that you couldn’t really connect with any of the characters. I really feel as if I need to connect with them in some way in order for a story to work for me. I might wait a bit to read this one.

    • admin says

      October 6, 2011 at 6:10 pm

      Ti, this is the second novel I’ve read where I didn’t really connect with the characters yet liked the book. I know it seems odd but the story itself seems to be enough for me in some books.

  3. Mary says

    October 6, 2011 at 8:40 am

    Sounds like a tough read, Dar. I agree with ‘blodeuedd’ – great review.

    • admin says

      October 6, 2011 at 6:11 pm

      Mary, the author has written this novel in such a way that it’s really not depressing. I commend her for that.

  4. Sylvie Sevigny says

    October 6, 2011 at 10:04 am

    I bought this book after recommendations on Oprah, I am glad I read your review, it will not be my next read, however I will be reading it eventually. Connection between the characters is important for a novel to work.

    I have been gone from blogging for a while due to many reasons, but I am back, I am sorry Buddy went over the rainbow bridge, I still have Oliver he turned 12 in September and is doing well except for one back leg which is becoming a bit weak. Welcome to adorable Sammy :))))

    • admin says

      October 6, 2011 at 6:16 pm

      Sylvie, I hope you will get to read it soon. I’d love to know your thoughts on it.

      I’m so happy to see you back blogging. I missed you! Yes it was very hard to lose Buddy and I still miss him terribly but Sam is a sweetheart and I love him dearly. I’m glad Oliver is still doing pretty well. Sammy is sending some Sammy hugs to both of you.

  5. bermudaonion (Kathy) says

    October 6, 2011 at 10:04 am

    This sounds like an emotional book. I’m so glad to see it’s good.

    • admin says

      October 6, 2011 at 6:17 pm

      Kathy, it is an emotional book but it’s not written in such a way to be really upsetting or disturbing which is nice.

  6. Beth(bookaholicmom) says

    October 6, 2011 at 10:50 am

    I was drawn to this book when I read the summary but now am not so sure about it. I like to connect with the a character when I read a book. I do enjoy a good family saga though so I may have to give this a try.

    • admin says

      October 6, 2011 at 6:19 pm

      Beth, you know it depends on the person. Other people may well really connect with the characters. If you do give it a read I’d love to hear your thoughts on it. For me that connection didn’t ultimately take away from the story itself.

  7. Serena says

    October 6, 2011 at 11:01 am

    thanks for an excellent review.

    • admin says

      October 6, 2011 at 6:19 pm

      Thanks Serena 🙂

  8. Sandy says

    October 6, 2011 at 11:49 am

    Very heavy stuff. While the lack of connection with the characters is hard to deal with, there is probably things to be learned here. This type of book scares me because nobody really knows how they would deal with this type of loss unless they actually go through it.

    • admin says

      October 6, 2011 at 6:21 pm

      Sandy, yes it’s a bit of a heavy topic yet the author handles it really well and it doesn’t leave a person upset or depressed which is impressive. One of my best friends had a still birth and I was with her every step of the way and I know how hard that was. I’m not sure how much harder it would be to get to spend that small amount of time with your baby before they pass but I imagine it would be horrible.

  9. Staci says

    October 6, 2011 at 2:08 pm

    Even though the subject matter is ad I enjoy reading these types of books. Loved your review!

    • admin says

      October 6, 2011 at 6:24 pm

      Staci, I’m the same as you. I enjoy books that deal with the tough issues. I guess I just like a book that effects me emotionally somehow.

  10. Nise' says

    October 6, 2011 at 7:46 pm

    This subject matter hits close as I experienced the death of child, so I have to be in the right mood to read books about the subject.

    • admin says

      October 9, 2011 at 3:54 pm

      Nise, I sent you an email as you know but I still wanted to say I’m sorry once again. It is hard to read books when the subject matter hits too close to home.

  11. Diane@BibliophileBytheSea says

    October 7, 2011 at 4:28 am

    Glad u enjoyed this one. I just received a copy yesterday and am looking forward to it, Your review makes me want to read it even more.

    • admin says

      October 9, 2011 at 3:54 pm

      Diane, I’ll be watching for your review. I’m curious what your take on it will be.

  12. Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours says

    October 7, 2011 at 12:12 pm

    It’s such a sad story but it sounds like it was beautifully done. I’m glad you enjoyed reading this one.

    Thank for being a part of the tour.

    • admin says

      October 9, 2011 at 3:55 pm

      Heather, thanks for having me on the tour. It is a really well done novel.

  13. zibilee says

    October 7, 2011 at 1:33 pm

    This does sound sad, but also gorgeously written, which goes a long way with me. I hope that I can eventually read this one for myself at some point. Your review was wonderful and heart-stirring, Dar. Thanks!

    • admin says

      October 9, 2011 at 3:55 pm

      Heather F, I think this book may be one you’d like. You always pick up on so much in a novel so I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on this one if you do ever read it.

  14. Jenners says

    October 8, 2011 at 1:56 pm

    They say that grief will often break a family instead of bringing them together. This sounds like it is reflected in this book. I’m not sure I’m in the mood for it though. Sounds heavy duty.

    • admin says

      October 9, 2011 at 3:57 pm

      Jenners, yes in many cases grief does tear apart a family. Some work their way back to each other and some can’t. The subject is heavy duty but the author really handled it well and she really focused more on the relationships of the people after the tragedy than the tragedy itself.

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