The Number We End Up With

by Beth Goldner

Anjou Lovett was conceived under a pear tree one half-moon night late in August. Not much in her life has been quite as poetic since. Her father left just weeks before sister Stella was born, and he returns only to set in motion a pattern of coming and going that would define their family for decades to come. With this sad, sordid history behind her, at the age of thirty-two Anjou is unprepared for the entrance of handsome, successful Quinn into her life. But after three years together, he leaves too--and in tragic fashion.

In the watershed spring that follows, Anjou starts to seek answers to questions that have been building for years--and she seeks these answers in the most unlikely places. While working as a U.S. Census enumerator during the month of April, still wracked with grief, Anjou will ask the people of her town questions that are far, far off the Census form list. Questions that are deeply personal, off-the-wall, and relevant not just to her, but to the people she poses them to. Their responses will help her face the choices of her past, the decisions of her loved ones, and give her the strength to move toward redemption.

Genres: Fiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published June 15, 2005

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

. beth is a friend/professor of mine, so i admit i'm biased. but even before i knew her very well, i picked up her collection of short stories, wake, and loved it. i love her writing and the ways she includes details that we see, but never pay attention to, in life. i love how she picks up on things that we probably all think or do, but rarely talk about. who doesn't wonder what those bells mean when you're flying? a theory is put forth in wake. and who the heck becomes a census enumerator? obviously, people do, but they're not they written about types of people. beth writes about them (in number). for a few chapters of the book i was a little disappointed. i was annoyed with the main character and didn't see why i should continue reading because this woman wasn't gonna do anything interesting. but i kept reading, because it was beth's book, and it got a lot better. the main characters started doing and thinking interesting things. and the book kept getting better as it went on (the beginning was really good too). there is no killer to try and weed out, the main character does not come to any huge, life altering, society altering decisions, nothing blows up and there are no sex scenes. but those things aren't what this book is about. i think the story is unique and well-crafted, and i think the writing is excellent.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I hate math, I loved the continued themes of counting and numbers. Also loved the beautiful names. The writing is very good although at times she becomes too flowery, too mushy, too making-a-big-deal-out-of-something - pushing you to see the significance. I want to realize the weight of something on my own, not have it dropped on top of me. (I'm imagining an anvil in a cartoon.)

She is a writer who knows what it is to be reader, who knows what it is to love books. And that only makes her book better.

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five Question Book Review:

Describe this book in one word: haunting

Makes you want to (i.e. sleep, eat, run, screw)?: write

Should be read with: kleenex

Famous person you'd recommend this book to?: marilyn monroe

Would you read this book again?: absolutely

[Brigid · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I thought the main character's journey in the growing and grieving process was very real. I was disappointed by the ending. It's seemed the writer got tired. But it is worth reading.

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book a few years ago (my to-read pile is basically an entire room at this point...) after reading and really enjoying her short story collection "Wake." (Novels on the whole have been hit or miss for me lately and I have been enjoying shorter reads so I have been buying less of them but I had to have this.)

Much like Wake, this book deals with loss, with grief and how we oh so slowly grow beyond it. I loved the main character, really liked most of the supporting case and absolutely adored Goldner's style of writing. It's a slow paced, thoughtful read and I really enjoyed that. Your mileage may vary.

I only wish that there were more books by Beth Goldner out there that I could buy.

[Rachel Vargeletis-Peguero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully poetic. Slightly anti-climactic. But a profound read in that the words are chosen each so carefully, thoughtfully, and wonderfully to describe both experiences and observations in pain, loss, grief, and the roles everyone plays in life. I recommend reading it slowly, ensuring you really soak up each word and sentence.

Needless to say, I really enjoyed the metaphors, the imagery, and the lyricism to very common happenings.

I marked so many sentences and short paragraphs- 22 to be exact- that stuck with me that I knew I had to come back to.

But again, only 4 stars because although it comes to a resolution of sorts, it is anti-climactic. The ending could have packed a better punch to wrap everything up. I feel like it was a small let down.

However, maybe this was intentional.

I think there is a lot in this book that is left unsaid and supposed to be read between the lines on a grand scale. It is deeply vague yet utterly specific. 😉 iykyk

[Maria Mcclain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. It deals much with loss and grief. Growing up in Phila, I related to the specific locations through out the book.

[Shelley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Docked a star because the ending sucks. I'm all for a good open ending, but this was a phoned in attempt at an open ending. Really important main characters needed their stories finished and not just in the minds of readers. There isn't enough in the ending to imagine what happens to those characters. Some characters were just getting started too and never got a chance to tell their full stories let alone end them. It's also 284 pages of unsettling sadness. If you have Daddy issues, skip this book. It won't help fix any of those issues and will likely only make them more painful and pronounced. The writing was pretty but at times too pretty. I get it, you can write well just don't beat me over the head with overly pretty prose. It doesn't fit the depressing tone of the story. Grief is an ugly process and making it overly pretty with prose doesn't work. The main character is miserable to read and made the book a longer read than it should have been. The best parts of the book were the secondary characters who were so much more likable than the main character who is named after a pear. Her name didn't fit her. Naming a character Anjou and making her a neurotic mess doesn't work either. If the secondary characters got their endings and some even their stories told this would have been a much better read.

[Kishwar Jaffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was a quick read and enjoyable enough though not very memorable. The central character is quirky and interesting.

[Rich Sirken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really about the US Census, the heroine could only survive living in New England

[Camille · Rating 4 out of 5]

A poignant and perceptive novel with an endearing narrator.

[Meadow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Makes me wish I hadn't turned in my census form.

[Morghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked I thought it made sense for the most part.