Before Everything
Fiction
Viking
June 27, 2017
Advanced Reader Copy
288
Publisher via Penguin First to Read
Before Everything is a celebration of friendship and love between a group of women who have known each another since they were girls. They've faced everything together, from youthful sprees and scrapes to mid-life turning points. Now, as Anna, the group's trailblazer and brightest spark, enters hospice, they gather to do what they've always done--talk and laugh and help each other make choices and plans, this time in Anna's rural Massachusetts home. Helen, Anna's best friend and a celebrated painter, is about to remarry. The others face their own challenges--Caroline with her sister's mental health crisis; Molly with a teenage daughter's rebellion; Ming with her law practice--dilemmas with kids and work and love. Before Everything is as funny as it is bittersweet, as the friends revel in the hilarious mistakes they've seen each another through, the secrets kept, and adventures shared. But now all sense of time has shifted, and the pattern of their lives together takes on new meaning. The novel offers a brilliant, emotionally charged portrait, deftly conveying the sweep of time over everyday lives, and showing how even in difficult endings, gifts can unfold. Above all it is an ode to friendship, and to how one person shapes the journeys of those around her.
My review:
3.5 stars
An enjoyable story (perhaps not the best use of words since it's about a woman choosing to die), all about friendships and respecting those bonds. The protagonist is foregoing any more treatments for her rare form of cancer, and has chosen to live out her days enjoying the company of those she loves most. Four of her friends, who met in elementary school, show up at her home to spend quality time with her before she passes. There is an ongoing issue between those who want her to continue with her treatment, and those who want to respect her wishes. There is also the interesting aspect of what makes a long time friend? Do those who have known you for twenty years not count, just because you have friends older than that? We do get some background into these people's lives, although had the book been a bit longer, I would have liked a bit more to really flesh out some of the characters. Each of the women was dealing with issues in her life that her life long friends can discuss and advise on. I appreciated the fact that while this book deals with a heavy subject matter, it wasn't depressing, and I felt closure upon its ending. My minor issue with this book was that some of the writing was too choppy. There were small segments of just a few sentences interspersed in the story that I felt were supposed to have meaning, but I didn't get it (like, what was with the dog parts?). I ended up feeling like I was missing some point that the author was trying to convey.
Overall a good story about friends, and the act of letting go of the bonds of friendship created over time, and through the trials of each of their lives.
I received this courtesy of the Penguin First to Read program. Click this link to find out more about them. All opinions are my own.
This is quite a heavy topic, but it seems the author presents things respectfully.