The Coffins of Little Hope

by Timothy Schaffert

Timothy Schaffert has created his most memorable character yet in Essie, an octogenarian obituary writer for her family’s small town newspaper. When a young country girl is reported to be missing, perhaps whisked away by an itinerant aerial photographer, Essie stumbles onto the story of her life. Or, it all could be simply a hoax, or a delusion, the child and child-thief invented from the desperate imagination of a lonely, lovelorn woman. Either way, the story of the girl reaches far and wide, igniting controversy, attracting curiosity-seekers and cult worshippers from all over the country to this dying rural town. And then it is revealed that the long awaited final book of an infamous series of ya gothic novels is being secretly printed on the newspaper’s presses.

The Coffins of Little Hope tells a feisty, energetic story of characters caught in the intricately woven webs of myth, legend and deception even as Schaffert explores with his typical exquisite care and sharp eye the fragility of childhood, the strength of family, the powerful rumor mills of rural America, and the sometimes dramatic effects of pop culture on the way we shape our world.

Genres: Fiction, Adult Fiction, Mystery, Book Club, Literary Fiction, Contemporary, Adult

262 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Author of five novels: The Swan Gondola, The Coffins of Little Hope, Devils in the Sugar Shop, The Singing and Dancing Daughters of God, and The Phantom Limbs of the Rollow Sisters. Director of the (downtown) omaha lit fest. Contributing editor, Fairy Tale Review. Assistant Professor in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln creative writing program.

"The Singing and Dancing Daughters of God" is part of the Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers program, and was the 2007 Omaha Reads one-book-one-city selection. "Devils in the Sugar Shop" was a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice and a Book Sense pick.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this to be a very strange book. I enjoyed it while I was reading it, but never got fully engrossed, and had to remind myself to keep reading it. I skimmed the second half of the book. I really liked the narrative voice of the protagonist, and liked the complex story of intergenerational dynamics within the family. I was completely uninterested in the subplot of Daisy and Lenore, and unless I was missing something, could not for the life of me understand why there would have been any mystery surrounding whether or not Lenore actually existed. It seemed incomprehensible that Lenore (had she existed) would have had no connections to the outside world in 11 years of life - school; medical care; friends, relatives, or neighbors of Daisy; fingerprints in her home, etc. -- and that Daisy would have been taken seriously at all if nobody in this small town actually knew of Lenore's existence. I therefore didn't think the plot made much sense, and think the book would have worked much better had the Lenore/Daisy sub-plot (like Lenore) never existed in the first place.

[Jaclyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Huh. Well. I went into The Coffins of Little Hope intending to really love it, but it just didn't click with me. I didn't invest in any of the characters - even the narrator, obituary writer S Myles, who I fully planned to adore. And it's not that the writing was bad. It wasn't. In fact, the writing was very, very good. But I kept reading, expecting the story to grab me at any moment, or expecting one of the characters to reach out and ensnare my heart, and it just didn't happen for me.

The story appealed to me. An 83-year-old obituary writer tells the tale of a little girl who might have been kidnapped, or might never have existed at all and instead been the figment of a lonely woman's imagination. Meanwhile, the town newspaper secretly (well, not-so-secretly) prints the final book in a hotly anticipated young adult series, and there might be a leak. Or, again, there might not be.

I wanted to like it. I wanted to love it. I tried; I really did. I did think the writing was excellent, so I will probably seek out other books by Timothy Schaffert in hopes that I could still be a big fan. This book just didn't grab me the way I expected it to. Still recommend if writing is what matters most to you (rather than plot or characters) because the writing really was excellent.

[Athira (Reading on a Rainy Day) · Rating 2 out of 5]

In a little town in Nebraska, octogenarian Esther Myles, or Essie or simply S writes obituaries for the town newspaper, the County Paragraph - not unemotional little sentences listing the dead, but very personal notes characterizing the dead person well enough to provide a nice semblance of who or how the person was alive. Her grandson, Doc, owns the newspaper that was originally started by her father. Doc's sister, Ivy, who ran away with her college professor, when her daughter Tiffany was seven, has just returned back to the household. In this sleepy town, around the same time, a girl named Lenore goes missing, or is at least claimed to have gone missing. Lenore's mother, Daisy, stumbles into a church gathering one day and wails that her daughter has been kidnapped by her lover. As news about Lenore going missing grips the town, there is another major event happening - the publishing of the eleventh and last book of the immensely popular Miranda and Desiree series.

I'm going to be in the minority here, but this book just didn't do it for me. I'm guessing it's not because of the book itself but rather related to my reading experience, because the book in itself has elements that I usually enjoy. The Coffins of Little Hope is more a set of stories strung together than a holistic plotline coursing through the pages. I usually enjoy such books - I find them closest to the experience of life, which is never singular but rather several strands merging and veining together. But for some reason, when I started this book, I had the assumption that this is going to be all about Essie and the missing girl, Lenore, so the first diversion in the storyline had me very confused about the relevance of events.

At the core, this book is about a small town and how it responds to suddenly being in the spotlight. There are several micro and macro events happening, and Essie has convenient access to them all. There's the missing girl, the publication of the much-awaited book, and then later, someone reading from a purported copy of the same yet-to-be-released book - a lot of things that suddenly catapult the town to the minds of people across the country. The whole mystery of the missing girl delves around the public confusion over whether the girl really existed or if she was a figment of Daisy's imagination. I'm not sure I managed to figure that out at the end. Daisy didn't seem to want to try and help the police establish Lenore's identity, instead she takes offence at the mistrust and chooses not to beg for help.

There are a lot of flashbacks in this story. Or rather, stories from a time that's not current are being shared as well, in a non-flashback manner. I found that occasionally confusing my timeline. It didn't help that I was reading this book mostly on my phone, and I found it annoying having to go back and recollect when certain events were happening. I wish I could reread this one on print, maybe I will some day. (I have previously read and loved a few books I read on my phone - The Good Daughter: A Memoir of My Mother's Hidden Life, The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe, and Miss Entropia and the Adam Bomb, so this book just wasn't meant for phone reading.)

I thought the author's writing style was wonderful - a very NY Times-worthy writing style. I loved his many descriptions and narrative devices that he used. The Miranda and Desiree books that are often referenced sound very much like the Harry Potter series, in that the whole world is waiting for the last book, the publication of the books is a very controlled and secret affair, the author is slightly reclusive letting the books do the talking, the storm in the fanfiction kingdom where many have attempted to write the events of the last book. The similarities were deliberate and I could actually imagine the author having a quiet chuckle as he wrote those passages. I loved how they were worked into the story. The books' author, Muscatine, is another principle character of the book, as he corresponds with Essie (secretly) through letters. I found him increasingly mysterious, the more I read of him.

There are a lot of quirky characters in this book and several plotlines running. The one I most wanted to keep reading about was Essie's own family troubles. Essie and her great-granddaughter, Tiff, had such a wonderful relationship that it made me wish for someone like Essie in my life. Tiff's struggle with adapting to her "new" life with Ivy was delicately handled. I'm sure there's so much to enjoy in this book, I just felt there was too much happening and in the end I couldn't get much closure. I do recommend this book however, because it really is an interesting read. Just don't do it on your smart phone. It's also not the kind of book you should read snippets at a time. Both could ruin your experience, as it did mine.

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Who is Timothy Schaffert? Does he even exist? Maybe he's just a figment of his parents' imagination and is fraudulently appearing here and there, (like Kilroy on tour) and collecting accolades and kudos under the guise of a mild-mannered, be-spectacled, slightly balding man of a certain age. Maybe he was kidnapped by aliens. Maybe he wasn't. Maybe he's still on the mother ship ... ah, yes, that's it. He's travelling, still ... and not on this plane of existence.

The Coffins of Little Hope seemed to offer every element that I look for in a good book: a fascinating, intriguing mystery, a plot line that pulls you in inexorably and excellent writing. If I give this author nothing else, I concede that he is an accomplished, talented and inventive writer.

But ... BUT ... really, what a waste of paper. Like Vanessa, Muscatine's daughter in the novel, I beg Schaffert to stop writing. After all, "eight million trees! ... have been sacrificed." And for what?

The reader is duped into beginning a tale about an octogenarian obituary-writer who promises to reveal some interesting facts about her life, growing up in small town Nebraska. Quite rapidly, we are pulled into a mystery of a young girl who has disappeared, but find out even more quickly that she may not even have existed, except as a figment of her mother's imagination. The novel is actually full of "peep show" qualities, wherein people enter and disappear, at will. Characters enter, mysteriously, and disappear into a fog, lickety-split. We follow, cautiously, into the fog and are left wandering in a miasma, the thickness of pea soup.

I am angry with myself, the way I haven't been in a very, very long time that I fell for the book, and read it through to the end. (I only kept hoping there was "more" that would eventually redeem it. More fool me!) I knew, about a third of the way through reading this book that this was not going to deliver anything worthwhile. I knew it. And still, I kept reading, subconsciously pulled forward most probably by the niggling thoughts that said, "But he's such a good writer, that surely he will give me something.

I like to be challenged, shaken up, moved, angered, stimulated, confronted, provoked, enlightened by literature, by art. Any one of those things, among many others, and I am in! But I never like to feel that it was all a waste of time.

Pointless. The reading of this was so pointless that it's pointless to discuss it further. It actually re-invents the meaning for pointlessness.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, which is interesting, because usually I am all about a good story--a good old-fashioned plot driven story. This book, however, contains several stories and potential stories and stories about stories intricately woven around one amazing character, Essie Myles, 83 years old and still writing obituaries for the family newspaper. Schaffert has a beautiful way with words and paints such a lovely picture of a life lived and still being lived. He captured that sense in all of us that we are still the person we have always been despite the aging on the outside for all to see.

In one of my favorite scenes, Essie happens upon Bernice a dear friend from her youth. Essie thought she lived with her children now, but Bernice informs her that she kept falling and breaking things and now she's in the home. Essie:

"It did feel as if, even with my weakling's grip I could shatter the bones in her hand with little effort, and maybe that was what made me feel so overcome with affection for her just then. I wanted to take her home with me, where we could live our last days as eccentric relics, doddering and afflicted , our once-a-week curl-and-sets falling apart lock by lock together. We could endlessly reminisce, live in the past to an unhealthy degree, then politely kill each other some winter night before bedtime, stirring poison into our cups of whiskey-spiked chamomile tea, wearing party hats. Then, nervous about our double homicide, we could lie in bed together, holding hands again, frightened and waiting, still wondering, after all these years, if we even believed in our own souls. Bernice pulled her hand away. 'Well, you take care, Essie,' she she said with what I interpreted as a privileged tone of dismissal, and just like that, my fantasy of our last-ditch life together dissolved. Bernice shuffled off, content with how things had gone for her. She had no need for a pact of any kind."

If you want a neat little package all tied up in a bow, you'll be disappointed. But don't miss the beauty in this mess.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an odd little novel -- not little in terms of length, but little in the sense of an intimate novel with a small-town setting. (Although, with the larger print and generous spacing between sections, it isn't as lengthy as it first appears.) The narrator is an obituary writer in her 80s, dealing with a mystery in her small town (whether or not a supposedly missing girl actually existed or was invented by her alleged mother), as well as family drama involving her only surviving offspring: two adult grandchildren and a teenage great-granddaughter.

I read this novel because Schaffert had a short story featured in My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me: Forty New Fairy Tales, which I thought would be included within this novel as a story-within-a-story. It isn't. After reading TCoLH, I think "The Mermaid in the Tree" is supposed to be part of one of the "Miranda and Desiree" series of children's novels that plays a role in the novel. I would have to reread the short story (it's been over a year since I read that anthology) to be sure.

Overall, I liked the novel and I like Schaffert's voice for the most part. He does a surprisingly good job of writing through the eyes of an elderly woman, considering he is neither of those things. His attitude toward small town folk feels a bit patronizing at times. I would have liked to see some of the character back stories developed better, especially those of the of the unpopular, young, hellfire-and-brimstone preacher and his socially inept wife. And there was a strange plot development toward the end of the novel that, while it was sufficiently explained, didn't really fit with the pace and mood of the rest of the story.

I wish I could rate it 3.5 stars, as I'm torn between giving it 3 or 4. Since I was intrigued enough to add two of Schaffert's other novels to my "to-read" list, I'll be generous and give it 4.

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was all set to give this book 4 stars, an elderly obituary writer, her grandson who owns and runs the newspaper but really loves magic, her grandaughter who left home 6 years previously, leaving her 7 year old daughter with her brother and a woman who may or may not be missing a child. Beautiful writng, the ending, however, wasn't. It was so underwhelming I couldn't believe it had ended.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Timothy Schaffert’s latest novel, the Coffins of Little Hope, is simply a delightful read. Narrated by an octogenarian obituary writer, Essie, the novel focuses on the disappearance of a young girl, which may or may not be an elaborate hoax which quickly becomes news story worthy of national attention; and the secret printing of the final installment of a series of young adult novels which have become a worldwide phenomenon. The novel explores myth, popular culture and small town rural life. While it would be easy to merely enjoy the various plot lines of the novel, it’s magic can be found in Schaffert’s sense of joie de vivre; life’s challenges and celebrations as well as it’s quixotic nature. Schaffert proves he is a master of character development, who also ardently captures the rhythms of family familiarity. Essie is a delightfully hip 83 year old who also maintains a health respect for the past. Spending time with her is like sitting with an old friend. The Coffins of Little Hope is a witty novel, both charming and entertaining and not to be missed.

[Darbi Hebrank · Rating 1 out of 5]

I give up. Half way through, way too long after starting it, I am giving up. Boring. Going nowhere. And I am always annoyed when the narrator isn't even present for the events that are being narrated. I wish authors would just collectively agree to only use first-Person narrators when in fact the narrator is experiencing things first-hand. You'd think that would be a given. I was excited at first that the setting was Nebraska, my home state. And the author is from my hometown. But sadly, though he may be a good writer, the plot and tone couldn't have been more confusing or monotonous. I couldn't even tell my husband what the book was about when he'd ask me why I didn't like it. I am even bored writing this review. So I will stop.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book - wonderfully written with endearing characters. I loved the main character and though she is 83 and I'm only going on 50 this year (yikes!!) I shared with her a perspective of growing old and I can only hope to be as interesting, independent, insightful, and quirky in thirty years as dear old Essie Myles.

[Jennie Rosenblum · Rating 1 out of 5]

Book clubs choice - bummer I had to read the whole thing.

[Elaine Nickolan · Rating 1 out of 5]

The pace was too slow, the characters were not ones that you could like/identify with, and the storyline was boring, IMO of course. I tried to read this book for my 50-state challenge and forced myself to get halfway through it, but I just couldn't continue. This is the type of book that would put me into a reading slump, and I didn't want that to happen.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a dedicated reader of obituaries, reading them online first thing every morning, my sun salutation. What engages me are the poignant details family members choose to include and the phrases “devoted husband,” “beloved Nana” applied to so many and yet, believed to be unique to this person. Most are complete strangers to me, and yet, I am saddened by lives lost and the new emptiness I imagine in a family’s life.
That was a much longer than necessary explanation of how drawn I was to Essie Myles, the 83 year old obituary writer for the “County Paragraph,” the newspaper that her family had published in a small Nebraska town for over 85 years. She serves as the narrator for this rich story, almost mythical at times, relating the events of the town over a year’s time. The central plot involves a young girl who goes missing, perhaps kidnapped by her mother’s sometime lover, Elvis, an aerial photographer, who has also charmed many of the ladies of the town. “On this girl we pinned all hopes of our town’s dying salvation.” What follows involves the town’s and then wider interest in the missing girl and her sad mother, interest that becomes intrusive, then obsessive, which is meticulously recorded by Essie’s grandson, Doc, in the newspaper. “People in our county – having been run ragged by debt and bankers and biblically bad weather for years – had come to need not just Daisy and Lenore but also Doc’s gracious portrait of them.”
Essie has outlived many of her family and understands that life is not often fair, often reflected in her edgy but honest words. Her love for family and her unique relationships with her adult grandchildren and a 13 year old great granddaughter stand at the center of this novel…”I wondered if it was too wistful and naïve to hope that Tiff might make it through life neither too fat nor too thin and perhaps entirely undamaged in general.” Much later, Doc realizes whatever the outcome of Daisy and Lenore, he was desperate for the worst possible conclusion to keep his newspaper (and the town) afloat…”this is not…dignity that I have.” When he announces his decision to close the family newspaper down despite provocative news about Daisy and Lenore, which would continue to serve him and the town financially, and open a different business, Essie understands his need to save himself.
Within this story are many other plot lines, all loosely connected and wonderfully entertaining: Ivy, Essie’s grand daughter returning to town after 7 years in Paris, attempting to integrate herself once more within the family; Doc’s life-long interest in magic and illusion; the story of Myrtle Kingsley Finch, a 1918 Pulitzer prize winner who had lived nearby; a successful YA gothic series, which is secretly published on environmentally friendly paper in the town; Daisy reading nightly over a CB radio from an alternative version of “Coffins,” allegedly written by her daughter in anticipation of the long awaited final book; and Wilton Muscatine, the mysterious author of the series who begins a secret correspondence with Essie.
The final sentences were lovely, filled with words that hover behind the obituaries that Essie and I honor…”You were young…not once, but always before, always, always, every day before the day just passed...” Thank you, Nancy Pearl, for recommending this book.

[Jean V. Naggar Literary · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Each of [Schaffert's] books is a quirky little gem, particularly the first one...There’s a lot of plot to The Coffins of Little Hope. But Mr. Schaffert’s style is so gossamer-light that the story elements don’t become cumbersome. His book can accommodate a large cast of characters who bump into one another with an almost screwball regularity...Mr. Schaffert’s sly wit and frank affection for his characters can make him sound like a very American Alexander McCall Smith. ..A faint but important frisson of fear runs all through this seeming lightheartedness, giving the book a spooky undercurrent.” --The New York Times

“Memorably narrated by octogenarian obit writer Essie Myles, this is a witty, sometimes profound story about media, mortality and rash acts undertaken in the name of love.” --People, four stars

“It's small town, big drama in Schaffert's sublime latest...Schaffert spins out the story and its offbeat characters with compassion, spoofing the nation's voracious appetite for "news"... Piercing observations and sharp, subtle wit make this a standout.” --Publishers Weekly, starred review

“[The Coffins of Little Hope's] creepiness scurries along the edges of these heartwarming pages like some furry creature you keep convincing yourself you didn’t see...The strange way in which Muscatine’s books become woven into Lenore’s case makes a chilling statement about our urge to romanticize grief...Alluringly strange to the very last page.” --The Washington Post

“Great summer reading—a lazy river that carries you away and drops you off much farther downstream than you expected to go…Part Fannie Flagg, part Stephen King, Schaffert spins a tale that’s funny, poignant and, at times, macabre.” --St. Louis Dispatch

“A smart, droll and gleefully morbid story of an unsolved small-town mystery.” --Dallas Morning News

“Schaffert is a master at mixing the serious and the absurd.” --Time Out Chicago

“The novel is at its heart an examination of hysteria and the blurry line between fact and belief...In Essie Myles, Schaffert has created a unique and memorable narrator." --Kansas City Star

“Another triumph of storytelling, featuring quirky characters, humor, compassion and insight into human strengths and foibles…This enchanting novel is perfect for readers looking for realism with a heart by an author who cares about his characters and wants you to, too…I don’t want to quote the last lines, because they’re blowing-your-mind perfection.” --NPR Morning Edition, Top 10 Summer Reads

“Schaffert is an expert at writing deeper truths.” --Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Filled with rich characters and written with both charm and wonder, this should be the next book on your nightstand!" --Julia MacDonald, The Yankee Bookshop, Woodstock, VT, Indie Next List pick

“This one is going to be big. Any bookseller who has lived through the Harry Potter craze will laugh out loud.” --Valerie Koehler, Blue Willow Books , Indie Next List pick

[Dide]

this is admittedly beautifully written but precisely because of it, it only gives the appearance of being mysteriously intriguing and wistfully alluring. pleasing highlights peppered here and there and the seemingly omniscient perspective of the first-person narrator is well done but overall lacking in substance or the promised whimsicality that would otherwise be touching. you want to care about these characters but you never quite get there. tragic, sad, heart-rending, agonizing etc etc

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esther Myles has written obituaries for her family owned town paper called the County Paragraph since dropping out of school in the eighth grade, her byline has always been S Myles. At the age of 83 she is years past retirement but is busier than she has ever been. She doesn't let her age bother her, she actually considers herself a part of a group in town she calls the death merchants, the people who are a necessary part of dealing with death, such as the undertaker, who by the way is 78, and the town florist who is 81, and the youngest of the group is the cemetery caretaker who is only 56.
A couple of things propelled the tiny little town into the spotlight. The first was when the County Paragraph's printing press was chosen to print a portion of the wildly popular but also banned series called Miranda and Desiree. Because the books were banned the publisher used tiny obscure printing companies to covertly print the novels., The second big bit of news was when a girl named Lenore went missing. Her mother Daisy worked for the printing press, and had taken up with a drifter she called "Elvis" a man who took ariel pictures of peoples farms. On the day that he up and leaves Lenore comes up missing as well. Because Daisy was such an unreliable person, people began to wonder if Daisy ever really had a daughter. When Daisy finally asks Essie to write Lenore's obituary, the obituary instead becomes a story of a missing girl, who may or may not have existed.

I always enjoy reading books that grasp the real flavor of the small town, and this one does just that. Just like most small towns there are always a few quirky characters who always add a bit of humor to any story.

I loved that the story is told thru the voice of Essie an 83 year old woman, whose first obituary was actually an essay about her mother who died while giving birth to her. There are several secondary story lines going on in the story such as the relationship between Tiffany and her mother Ivy, as well as the relationship between Tiffany and Doc, who stepped in to take care of his niece when her mother left. I found the preacher quite interesting , while he preached against the banned books, his wife secretly read them.

An intricate story, with no real closure at the end allowing the reader to reach their own conclusions.While not a compelling book that had to be read in one sitting, I still found it an enjoyable read.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Cornmaven · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last paragraph of this novel left me breathless, but actually the whole story was Schaffert's clever way to lead the reader to that breathlessness.

A story about life told through a narrator whose job is to write obituaries seems counter-intuitive. But when you think about it, obits are really attempts to bring to life a human who has lived. Added to that is a mystery about a missing girl - is she real, did she really go missing? And add to that the rhythms of a small Nebraska town with its small town newspaper but also its position as the secret printer of a wildly popular Lemony Snicket-type series for kids. With its very short chapters, the book begs to be read aloud on evenings when there's nothing on TV. Or maybe when there is.

Of course the characters are quirky, of course there is a lot of observation and speculation on the part of Essie the narrator. It's all devised to observe and speculate on human nature and the meaning of life: "Happy and sad, happy and sad, over and over and over again. How do you bear it?". Her words, Daisy's words, Doc's words - words, words, words that chronicle all of us. There's the story of a fictional writer that is studied in universities but who died with writer's block, and the story of the Lemony Snicket stand in who is haunted by his drive to write: "If he didn't write, he was certain, he could concentration in his own well being. But when he looked at a sheet of paper, it was as if the words were already written there - he just had to slip his pen into the groove of the cursive." I wanted to go right out and buy myself a journal and start to write myself.

I don't know if non-Midwesterners can appreciate the fact that Nebraska, with its supposed simplicity is the perfect setting for this ode to humanity and relationship. City dwellers might not get the connection to land that the characters have. They might relate more to Ivy, who longs for disconnection and struggles mightily with it, to the point of disconnecting from her daughter. I loved that. I loved the relationship between Tiff and her grandmother - so direct, plain spoken, fearless, and respectful of each other, well beyond Tiff's young years. It was all so Midwestern, and I have missed that so much in my years dwelling in the South.

I won't spoil the last paragraph by quoting it -you'll just have to wander through this novel and get there yourself.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first read about this on the Indie Next list for May, probably like most of you. I hadn't ever read anything by Timothy Schaffert but the story sounded interesting. It's about 83 year old Essie Myles who has written obits for her father's newspaper since she was a teen. It is this and much more. Initially I found myself losing the rhythm and pace of the story but then realized this was due to reading a paragraph or two and then leaving the book as work and other demands interfered. I picked it up once again today and read it straight through. I’m glad I did. I would have done myself and the book a disservice if I had not given The Coffins of Little Hope my undivided attention.

Besides the story-line of Essie's obituary writing there is the story of a young girl gone missing. This is not quite like any other missing persons story you might have read and definitely does not make the book a mystery. The missing girl provides the catalyst to keep Essie's father's paper afloat, now in the hands of her grandson Doc and is a central piece to the book's uniqness. Schaffert writes beautifully and I found myself frequently wanting to jot down passages as I read. Strong story and strong, quirky characters, especially the aging Essie and her great-granddaughter Tiff make for a bittersweet, tragic, and yet compassionate and even funny at times narration.

I found the gap between my age and Essie's closing as she describes the aging around her, trying to keep her own mortality and thoughts of impending doom at bay. Though Essie proclaims she will not be one of those people brought to her hole in the ground kicking and screaming and will bow out gracefully, letting someone else take the reins to write the obituaries, don't believe it for a minute. She is one feisty lady with a lot of living left to do.

Somewhere between a 3 & a 4 star for me.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

See my full review at One Book Shy of a Full Shelf

The unusual narrator of this story is what initially grabbed my attention. An 83 year old obituary writer is not the first to come to mind when looking for a tour guide through a small town mystery.

Unusual characters are actually what drive this book. Essie is our octogenarian storyteller. She's had an extremely full life and does tribute to the dead with her obituaries ~ even still typing them out on a 1953 typewriter. Essie is surrounded by other interesting folks: her grandson Doc who runs the paper, but wants to own a magic shop; her great-granddaughter Tiffany who has lived with Essie and Doc since Doc's sister Ivy dumped her there as a little girl.


One of the most mysterious and confusing characters for me is Daisy. She is the mother of the missing girl Lenore. Essie has the task of writing an obituary for the little girl as she is presumed dead. The question is: was Lenore ever even real or was she a figment of Daisy's imagination? This story is full of twists and turns and unanswered questions such as these.


The author created some fascinating characters that were a lot of fun to follow around Little Hope and the surrounding countryside. They were the highlight of the story. Some of the plot left me a little confused, but the characters made up for it.

[Tim Storm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to Schaffert via "The Mermaid in the Tree," a wonderful short story in the My Mother She Killed Me anthology that stars Miranda and Desiree, the child protagonists at the heart of a series of books in The Coffins of Little Hope. "The Mermaid in the Tree" is a very fantastical tale with sprinkles of the grotesque; I was hoping for the same sort of world in The Coffins of Little Hope. But Coffins is a much different kind of story. Though the glorious weirdness of "The Mermaid" flitters at the edges of Coffins, ultimately it's a much tamer story, set in a quaint, realist rural community. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it. In fact, I really savored the entire first half of it. Schaffert achieves a sort of indirect omniscience with his first person narrator, Essie, who communicates with the other characters enough to be able to report their thoughts and feelings secondhand. It's a sort of a reportorial omniscience, a very interesting approach. As captivating and endearing as Essie is, though, I felt like Schaffert was more excited about the untold Miranda and Desiree stories. He's even created a website, rothgutts.com, where he has fleshed out the Miranda/Desiree world. Ultimately, I, too, was more excited about the fantastical tinges in Coffins of Little Hope, but the novel was still a worthwhile read.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm all in favor of quirky, but this was a tad too much. Somewhere out in the vast, empty Great Plains, a little town is dying, as chronicled by Essie Myles, the local newspaper's octogenarian obituary writer. Then a single woman who lives on a farm claims that her little daughter was abducted by a traveling aerial photographer. The cable TV crews descend, the missing little girl attains a cult status as the town is swamped with followers, and the girl's mother is a celebrity. Except that, privately, many locals are having a hard time recalling that a little girl ever lived on that farm. Throw in the revelation that the town's newspaper is secretly printing a series of super-popular but mysterious YA novels that sound a bit like "A Series of Unfortunate Events" for grownups, and you get...kind of a tangled up mess of narrative. Piles of telltale details that ultimately didn't tell me much. But props for an original plot.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a bit strange for me. I like the tone and the language and that kept me reading, but about half way through the book I realized it wasn't going anywhere. And I was right. Maybe I'm naive and have overly high expectations, but the book comes to literally no conclusions. The reader is given no closure, and while this was probably the intention of the write, it left me feeling dissatisfied and like I'd just wasted my time reading, albeit charming, pointless ranting. The narrator is a darling, spunky old woman who you want to get to know and do...but almost too well. You're left reading her every thought and most often than not there's no thread tying her thoughts together.

I could go on about this but I'll save my breathe. Point is the book seemed pointless. Maybe I'm just not deep enough to appreciate it and understand it, but I wouldn't recommend it and I won't be rereading it.

[Becky C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This litle book is a gem. Set in a small Nebraska town, it's a story about readers, writers, family and the media with a very John Irving-esque feel and more that a touch of Charles Addams. The writing is a joy--crisp, clear prose without a single extra word. The narrator, 83 year old Essie Myles has been an obituary writer for many years (her file of pre-written obits is called "Impending Doom") for the family-owned newspaper and we see the unfolding story through her eyes. I loved her interactions with her extended family and especially her relationship with her great-grand daughter. This multi-layerd book would be great for book discussions.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's strange: this novel had elements of things I usually love in a book (quirky characters, interesting setting, fantastic writing). Despite that, however, this book did not work for me and I had to struggle to finish it. Perhaps because there was really no plot and no resolution? And can someone please explain to me that if this is such an accurate depiction of small-town life (as so many reviewers state), then how could not one single person in this small town substantiate the existence of the maybe-missing young girl Lenore?

Too many questions led to an unsatisfying read.

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story of a dying small town and a missing(?) little girl, the book is more a series of vignettes than a linear work of fiction. I enjoyed the author's excellent writing and found the vignettes to be generally interesting, but the book was ultimately unsatisfying. Halfway through the book I probably would have rated it four stars, but by the end I was frustrated by the author's failure to resolve *any* of the many, many story lines.

[Christina Simons · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd give it 2 1/2 stars if I could. The writing is 5-star, and the characters are wonderful. So is the narrative voice. The plot, however, never resolved. Too many cannons were lugged onstage only to sit there, unfired. Too many questions were the obvious ones to ask, yet no one ever did. The whole of this novel is definitely less than the sum of its parts.

[Scottsdale Public Library]

This is a quirky, quick read of a novel. Our narrator is 83 year old Essie, the obituary writer from a small town in Nebraska. Essie navigates us through the town’s turmoil as events unfold surrounding a lost little girl. There is no way to succinctly explain all of the plot points, so I will just say that this book is charming, quirky, and very enjoyable.

-- Lindsay M. --

[Greymalkin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't connect with any of the characters and found the plot to be uninteresting and muddled. I didn't hate the book, mostly I found it rather boring. There were glimmers of moments of interest and the characters were complex and well thought-out but nothing to really sustain me thorough the book. The central plots were never resolved with any satisfaction.

[KC · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like Essie, Tiff, and Doc and the dynamic between them. I could probably read a whole other book about them. However, the tale at the supposed heart of the novel, the one about Daisy and "Lenore," didn't interest me. I highly enjoyed the Series of Unfortunate Events take-off. Really, I think the whole novel should have been about the struggle of whether to close the County Paragraph.

[Tuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

i just loved this quirky and dialog filled mini-saga of small town iowa freaks. told mostly from the old ass lady obit writer, with a cast of 1000's!, well ok, dozens, of small town believers, skeptics, nuts, and assorted corn farmers and mean s-o-bin' dogs. you'll love it, or you're dead one.