Review: Waiting for Joe
Waiting for Joe by Sandra Birdsell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I started to read this novel to break up my slog through Henry Miller’s Tropic of Capricorn. But ultimately this novel was way more interesting, so I got hooked and powered right through it.
Joe and Laurie are facing bankruptcy. Neither is entirely honest with the other – both have had affairs, and both hide other things (Laurie her spending, Joe the direness of their financial situation). You really get the sense that that lack of communication has made their situation much worse.
There is also a sense of fate, or destiny, almost, in this novel. Joe’s mother drowns trying to save Laurie’s mother, and so they seem like star-crossed lovers. And there is an accident scene on the Trans-Canada highway, between Calgary and Brooks, that had me contemplating the idea of destiny.
Despite their flaws, I found myself rooting for Joe and Laurie. They were good people who just didn’t seem able to work through their own complex histories.And Joe’s father, Albert, is a really fine character. You’ll love him.
