The Basic Story: The opening line of the novel sets the scene perfectly: “Sarah McConnell’s husband had been dead three months when she saw him in the grocery story.” Right away, we are thrust into Sarah’s confusing world—where her grief and mourning play tricks on her mind. When she confesses her “vision” at a widow’s group, she finds support and empathy. After all, it is normal to “see” your loved ones when the loss is fresh and new. (I remember “seeing” my dad everywhere after he died. I’d glimpse a man with his build across the room and it would take my breath away. Of course, they always turned around and the illusion would be broken.) Complicating Sarah’s loss is that her husband David’s body was never recovered after his kayak was swept away in a flash flood. As Sarah attempts to create a life without David, she is forced to confront the realities of their marriage and some of her long-buried feelings. And as she continues to sense and feel David’s presence, she begins to wonder if the fact that David’s body was never found means something different after all.My Thoughts: Oooohhh…this was so good! It had everything a good ghost story should—unease, dread, longing, hope, uncertainty and (finally) closure. Brodie does such a brilliant job of keeping you guessing about what is actually happening that you’ll be captivated until the very last page. I thought Sarah’s journey felt authentic and fully lived in. Sarah realizes that her marriage to David was flawed and possibly doomed. Their inability to have a child had created a wedge between them, and Sarah is forced to confront the reality that she wasn’t the best wife. Complicating things further is the presence of Nate—David’s younger and very handsome brother. Although Sarah doesn’t want to admit it, she’s always felt attracted to Nate and now she has the opportunity to pursue that feeling. Yet guilt and David’s presence make things tricky. I got very involved in Sarah’s story—and found myself conflicted about where I was hoping it would go. In the end, I think Brodie handled things fabulously and made all the right choices. If you’re looking for an emotionally involving novel that deals intelligently with the issues of grief, mourning, marriage and love, this would be an excellent choice. Highly recommended! This is a good beach/pool read. I found myself getting distracted by trying to decide whether her husband was dead or alive.Once I satisfied myself that he was a ghost in her mind I enjoyed the book. A friend is trying to help Sarah through the seasons after her husband's death; we could all use a friend like Margaret. Margaret was a widow as well.They have a conversation in the car regarding a red party dress that Sarah had bought but never wore. She decides to take the dress off even though she really had liked how she looked and felt in the dress. "She thought that the colors complemented her dark hair; when she smiled in the mirror she was a woman on fire." "David entered the bedroom just as she was putting on her gold earrings. "What do you think?" she asked, spinning around so that the dress floated above her knees. David hesitated for one second too long. "YOu look great in whatever you wear." He might as well have said that she looked like the whore of Babylon; diplomacy was wasted on her paper-thin ego. "I guess the dress is a bit much?" She forced a smile. "Yes," said David, clearly pleased that they were in accord. "That's what I thought too. But what do I know about ? You should wear whatever you like." When Sarah glanced back into the mirror she saw that she resembled a fire truck more than a flame. Her lips were carnivorous, her fingers bloody. "Maybe on another occasion." She had retreated to the bathroom in search of nail-polish remover."Sarah tells her friend Margaret that she gave the dress away to Goodwill a couple of days later. "Margaret sighed. "I figured it was something like that." She flexed her fingers on the steering wheel. "YOu know I liked David a lot. I admired him; everyone did. But it must have been hard to be married to a man with a strong personality." "You think that I deferred to him too much?" Sarah smiled faintly. "I think you are deferring to him still." "The last stage of mourning is separation." Margaret spoke quietly, as if she were talking to herself. Sarah nodded. "Same as the last stage of marriage.
What do You think about The Widow's Season (2009)?
seldom does a book make me gasp out loud!!Sure didn't turn out the way I expected it to!!
—Kasper172
This was a pretty good summer read, but in the end I was left not totally satisfied.
—hedjacks
This book made me bawl! Odd book though.
—bradleyb8496
