After Annie
Fiction
Random House
February 27, 2024
Advance reader copy
304
Free from publisher
When Annie Brown dies suddenly, her husband, her four young children and her closest friend are left to struggle without the woman who centered their lives. Bill Brown finds himself overwhelmed, and Annie’s best friend Annemarie is lost to old bad habits without Annie’s support. It is Annie’s daughter, Ali, forced to try to care for her younger brothers and even her father, who manages to maintain some semblance of their former lives for them all, and who confronts the complicated truths of adulthood.
Yet over the course of the next year, while Annie looms large in their memories, all three are able to grow, to change, even to become stronger and more sure of themselves. The enduring power Annie gave to those who loved her is the power to love, and to go on without her.
My review:
It comes as no surprise that I loved this novel. I've read many by this author, and her way of writing believable and loveable characters is matched by only a small few novelists. I also love that she writes about characters of all ages (from children to the elderly) with the same impeccable style. In this novel she focuses on a man whose wife has suddenly died, the woman's best friend, and the children (particularly the older two)that she leaves behind. All were spectacularly characterized, and you followed their grief as though Annie was someone that you knew, not a book character. While the story does focus a lot on their grief, it is also uplifting as we see how that grief manifests into love and the ability to go on because of that love (of Annie as well as each other). The school counselor was a lovely addition to the cast, you never know when someone will step in to help a person in need. This book focuses on the day to day living of these characters, and the author does a fabulous job of making ordinary living interesting. The end is hopeful and highly satisfying, and showcases everything that Annie would have wanted for those she loved. Trigger warnings for addiction and death.
A beautifully written story of how a person can leave a legacy of love after they are gone. Read this for the wonderful writing and characterization this author is known for.
