Elegies for the Brokenhearted
By Christie Hodgen
(W. W. Norton & Company, Hardcover, 9780393061406, 271pp.)
Publication Date: July 2010
Other Editions of This Title: Paperback
Categories: General
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Selected by Indie Booksellers for the August 2010 Indie NotablesDescription
Who are the people you'll never forget? For Mary Murphy, there are five: A skirt-chasing, car-racing uncle with whiskey breath and a three-day beard. A "walking joke, a sitting duck, a fish in a barrel" named Elwood LePoer. A dirt-poor college roommate who conceals an unbearable secret. A failed piano prodigy lost in middle age. A beautiful mother haunted by her once-great aspirations. In five quirky elegies to lost friends and relatives, Mary tells us the story of her life. We begin with a restless childhood spent following her mother between multiple homes and husbands. Then comes the disappearance of Mary's rebellious and beloved sister, Malinda. By the time Mary leaves for college, she has no one to write home to, and we follow along on her difficult search for purpose. From a series of miserable jobs to her "reborn" mother's deathbed, Mary finds hope in the most surprising places. With a rhythmically unique voice and pitch-perfect wry humor, Christie Hodgen spins an unconventional and moving story about identity, belonging, and family.
Thursday, Jan 12, 2012
Can a book of elegies rise above maudlin morbidity? Author Stewart O'Nan says yes � and he recommends a great one by Christie Hodgen. It's a book that will break your heart, and warm your soul. More at NPR.org
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