Author: Larry Watson
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publisher: Algonquin
Publication Date: July 21, 2020
Book Description: Edie—beautiful, smart, self-assured—always worked hard. She worked as a teller at a bank, she worked to save her first marriage, and later, she worked to raise her daughter even as her second marriage came apart. Really, Edie just wanted a good life, but everywhere she turned, her looks defined her. Two brothers fought over her. Her second husband became unreasonably possessive and jealous. Her daughter resented her. And now, as a grandmother, Edie finds herself harassed by a younger man. It’s been a lifetime of proving that she is allowed to exist in her own sphere. The Lives of Edie Pritchard tells the story of one woman just trying to be herself, even as multiple men try to categorize and own her.
Triumphant, engaging, and perceptive, Watson’s novel examines a woman both aware of her physical power and constrained by it, and how perceptions of someone in a small town can shape her life through the decades.
Rating: 5 Stars
Review: A sweeping story about Edie Pritchard spanning from the 1960’s through 2007. Edie, is an independent woman who cannot get love right. Told in three parts, Watson tells us the story of Edie Linderman, Edie Dunn, and Edie Pritchard.
Edie Linderman is married to Dean. Dean has a twin brother Roy, which you will quickly figure out there is a love triangle going on. When an incident with Roy, leaves him broken and in the hospital, Edie really begins to evaluate her marriage and life. While she has moments of happiness, she knows in the end this will not last.
Years later Edie is remarried and has a seventeen year old daughter which at times their relationship is strained. Her husband becomes extremely possessive when she tells him she has to go back home to face her past. That incident will forever change her life and she makes the decision to leave her daughter with her husband to restart again.
We come to part 3 where we meet Lauren, Edie’s eighteen year old granddaughter. Lauren is coming for a visit with her boyfriend. She get’s a surprise visitor with them, the boyfriend’s brother. Instantly she sees a resemblance to her past and will do anything to save her granddaughter the heartache. What ensues is a bit of an adventure with an old friend.
Edie is such a rich character and when the book ended, I just wanted to spend more time with her. Larry Watson is such a brilliant writer, it is hard to believe that he did Edie such justice. The story was easy to read and Edie was just so interesting and simple to read about. It was like I was spending time with an old friend.
I would recommend this book who loves strong character driven narratives. I think you will find Edie will become a friend to you too.
In honor of this new release, I am giving away two copies of this book. If you are interested please leave a comment to enter and I will pick winners at random. Please residents of the US only.
Thank you NetGalley and Algonquin for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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