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Emily Maxwell #3
Evensong
“Stewart O’Nan has been one of the best chroniclers of the lives of American women.” – Susan Straight
An intimate, moving novel that follows The Humpty Dumpty Club, a group of women of a certain age who band together to help one another and their circle of friends in Pittsburgh as they face the challenges of their golden years
The Humpty Dumpty Club is distraught when their powerhouse leader, Joan Hargrove, takes a bad fall down her stairs, knocking her out of commission. Now, as well as running errands and shepherding those less able to their doctors’ appointments, they have to pick up the slack.
Between navigating their own relationships and aging bodies and attending choir practice, these invisible yet indomitable women help where they can. They bake cookies, they care for pets, they pick up prescriptions, they sit vigil by the sick, and most of all, they show up for the people they’ve pledged to help. In the face of death, divorce, and the myriad directions our lives can take, the Humpty Dumpty club represents the power of community and chosen family.
Weaving together the perspectives of the four cardinal members as they tend to those in need, Stewart O’Nan revisits beloved characters from his past work -- most notably Emily Maxwell -- to fashion a rich and moving novel that celebrates our capacity for patience and care. Vivid, warm, and often wryly funny, Evensong reminds us that life is made up of moments both climactic and quotidian, and we weather those moments with the people we choose to keep close.
An intimate, moving novel that follows The Humpty Dumpty Club, a group of women of a certain age who band together to help one another and their circle of friends in Pittsburgh as they face the challenges of their golden years
The Humpty Dumpty Club is distraught when their powerhouse leader, Joan Hargrove, takes a bad fall down her stairs, knocking her out of commission. Now, as well as running errands and shepherding those less able to their doctors’ appointments, they have to pick up the slack.
Between navigating their own relationships and aging bodies and attending choir practice, these invisible yet indomitable women help where they can. They bake cookies, they care for pets, they pick up prescriptions, they sit vigil by the sick, and most of all, they show up for the people they’ve pledged to help. In the face of death, divorce, and the myriad directions our lives can take, the Humpty Dumpty club represents the power of community and chosen family.
Weaving together the perspectives of the four cardinal members as they tend to those in need, Stewart O’Nan revisits beloved characters from his past work -- most notably Emily Maxwell -- to fashion a rich and moving novel that celebrates our capacity for patience and care. Vivid, warm, and often wryly funny, Evensong reminds us that life is made up of moments both climactic and quotidian, and we weather those moments with the people we choose to keep close.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published November 10, 2025
285 people are currently reading
7637 people want to read
About the author
Stewart O'Nan
70 books1,375 followersStewart O'Nan is the author of eighteen novels, including Emily, Alone; Last Night at the Lobster; A Prayer for the Dying; Snow Angels; and the forthcoming Ocean State, due out from Grove/Atlantic on March 8th, 2022.
With Stephen King, I’ve also co-written Faithful, a nonfiction account of the 2004 Boston Red Sox, and the e-story “A Face in the Crowd.”
You can catch me at stewart-onan.com, on Twitter @stewartonan and on Facebook @stewartONanAuthor
With Stephen King, I’ve also co-written Faithful, a nonfiction account of the 2004 Boston Red Sox, and the e-story “A Face in the Crowd.”
You can catch me at stewart-onan.com, on Twitter @stewartonan and on Facebook @stewartONanAuthor
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October 12, 2025
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I love Stewart O'Nan's writing; it's always so down-to-earth. This title is about the Humpty Dumpty Club in Pittsburgh. The club is a group of older ladies who have bonded because of their church. They are all dealing with the challenges that come with aging. When the head of the group, Joan Hargrove, has a bad fall, the rest of them take over to support each other and the community. They care for pets, run errands, and visit and help the ill. Through their different perspectives, O'Nan writes a very poignant and funny story that celebrates chosen family.
This was such a heartfelt book and beautifully written to boot. It shines a light on how community can be such a blessing for both young and old. I especially liked that the story involved ordinary life, but it wasn't ordinary at all. It was very moving, and fans of the author's other books will recognise a familiar character in Emily Maxwell. I am not a religious person in any sense of the word, but I did enjoy this story of faith, friendship, and chosen family. Even though the pace is a tad slower than I usually like, the characters make up for it in spades, and O'Nan's realistic storytelling, dry humour, and compassion have won me over once again.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
The Book Review Crew Blog
I love Stewart O'Nan's writing; it's always so down-to-earth. This title is about the Humpty Dumpty Club in Pittsburgh. The club is a group of older ladies who have bonded because of their church. They are all dealing with the challenges that come with aging. When the head of the group, Joan Hargrove, has a bad fall, the rest of them take over to support each other and the community. They care for pets, run errands, and visit and help the ill. Through their different perspectives, O'Nan writes a very poignant and funny story that celebrates chosen family.
This was such a heartfelt book and beautifully written to boot. It shines a light on how community can be such a blessing for both young and old. I especially liked that the story involved ordinary life, but it wasn't ordinary at all. It was very moving, and fans of the author's other books will recognise a familiar character in Emily Maxwell. I am not a religious person in any sense of the word, but I did enjoy this story of faith, friendship, and chosen family. Even though the pace is a tad slower than I usually like, the characters make up for it in spades, and O'Nan's realistic storytelling, dry humour, and compassion have won me over once again.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
August 17, 2025
This novel is mostly uplifting and at its heart it’s about the kindness of a group of women, members of a church choir, who help those who can no longer do the things for themselves. The Humpty Dumpty Club drive others to medical appointments or pick up prescriptions. They care for women without family near . They visit those in a the hospital, provide company to those who are lonely, and comfort to those who suffer the loss of a loved one while they themselves are aging and dealing with their own issues. Heartwarming - yes, but I also found it depressing. Maybe it’s because I’m in an advanced age group and it’s frightening to think about ever being in this place of need. Fortunately, it was a quick read .
I have mixed feelings on this one, liked it but didn’t love it. I have not read O’Nan’s earlier books with some of the characters here . Maybe if I had I would have enjoyed it more . Having enjoyed O’Nan’s writing previously, though, I still hope to read some of his earlier books.
I received a copy of this book Atlantic Monthly Press through Edelweiss
I have mixed feelings on this one, liked it but didn’t love it. I have not read O’Nan’s earlier books with some of the characters here . Maybe if I had I would have enjoyed it more . Having enjoyed O’Nan’s writing previously, though, I still hope to read some of his earlier books.
I received a copy of this book Atlantic Monthly Press through Edelweiss
January 5, 2026
The Humpty Dumpty Club is not really a club. It’s a group of long time friends who are there for each other through thick and thin. As they age, it’s more thin than thick. Yet they still have so much life in them, so much enjoyment, so much rich history. They just need a helping hand once in a while.
They pick up prescriptions for one another, drive to Dr appts, take care of pets during unexpected hospital stays, and provide comfort to the grieving.
Basically they show up when needed, even when inconvenient. They are each other’s village. I can only hope to have such a village when I’m in need.
Stewart O’Nan belongs in the small group of authors who can write about the ordinary in an extraordinary way. Heartfelt, poignant, and often humorous, the author portrays the quiet meaningful moments that make up a life, and what it means to be there for one another.
(As an aside, I picked this up when sick with the flu, right before Christmas and found it a little depressing. Maybe it hit too close to home. Timing is everything. I set it aside but picked it up again after the holidays and flew through it.)
I’ve been there for my parents and in-laws as they navigated these years, but thankfully haven’t reached a point where I need a village of women. As hard as it was, I regret nothing, and feel so blessed I could be there for them.
I’m a super fan of the author, and especially loved seeing a continuation of the characters I grew to love in EMILY, ALONE, and HENRY, HIMSELF. It’s not necessary to read the previous books in order to enjoy this one, but it’s nice.
They pick up prescriptions for one another, drive to Dr appts, take care of pets during unexpected hospital stays, and provide comfort to the grieving.
Basically they show up when needed, even when inconvenient. They are each other’s village. I can only hope to have such a village when I’m in need.
Stewart O’Nan belongs in the small group of authors who can write about the ordinary in an extraordinary way. Heartfelt, poignant, and often humorous, the author portrays the quiet meaningful moments that make up a life, and what it means to be there for one another.
(As an aside, I picked this up when sick with the flu, right before Christmas and found it a little depressing. Maybe it hit too close to home. Timing is everything. I set it aside but picked it up again after the holidays and flew through it.)
I’ve been there for my parents and in-laws as they navigated these years, but thankfully haven’t reached a point where I need a village of women. As hard as it was, I regret nothing, and feel so blessed I could be there for them.
I’m a super fan of the author, and especially loved seeing a continuation of the characters I grew to love in EMILY, ALONE, and HENRY, HIMSELF. It’s not necessary to read the previous books in order to enjoy this one, but it’s nice.
November 11, 2025
EXCERPT: 'I've always liked this one,' Arlene whispered, and, when Emily didn't respond, added, 'And not just because it's by Henry,' making her shake her head.
Kitzi glanced at the two of them, left out, as always, of their little in-jokes. Lillian had been a major donor, and Kitzi would be expected to represent the club at the funeral, whenever that would be. Who knew how close she was? The uncertainty was paralyzing.
Next week was already a mess, and again she marveled at how easy Joan had made the job look. Fay Dudley and Marion Gill weren't far behind Lillian. She'd need to wear a different outfit for each, a problem so confounding she couldn't begin to think of it, and sang with the others: And HE shall JUDGE the PEOPLE RIGHT-eous-LYYYYY.
Now that the choir was in place, they could relax and enjoy the concert. The trio of Chatham Baroque took center stage with their instruments, and, with an exaggerated nod, launched into Byrd's "Have Mercy upon Me, O God."
'It really is like a greatest hits,' Emily whispered to Kitzi, who, not wanting to be rude, could only shrug. Normally she was a snob about music too, but today, especially, she could appreciate the dependable pleasures of the familiar.
ABOUT 'EVENSONG': An intimate, moving novel that follows The Humpty Dumpty Club, a group of women of a certain age who band together to help one another and their circle of friends in Pittsburgh as they face the challenges of their golden years
The Humpty Dumpty Club is distraught when their powerhouse leader, Joan Hargrove, takes a bad fall down her stairs, knocking her out of commission. Now, as well as running errands and shepherding those less able to their doctors’ appointments, they have to pick up the slack.
Between navigating their own relationships and aging bodies and attending choir practice, these invisible yet indomitable women help where they can. They bake cookies, they care for pets, they pick up prescriptions, they sit vigil by the sick, and most of all, they show up for the people they’ve pledged to help. In the face of death, divorce, and the myriad directions our lives can take, the Humpty Dumpty club represents the power of community and chosen family.
Weaving together the perspectives of the four cardinal members as they tend to those in need, Stewart O’Nan revisits beloved characters from his past work -- most notably Emily Maxwell -- to fashion a rich and moving novel that celebrates our capacity for patience and care. Vivid, warm, and often wryly funny, Evensong reminds us that life is made up of moments both climactic and quotidian, and we weather those moments with the people we choose to keep close.
MY THOUGHTS: Joan, Emily, Kitzi, Susie and Arlene are women of that age who attend funerals more often than anything else. Their lives are in a period of great change: losing friends, downsizing, caring for friends who are ill or otherwise indisposed, and moving into retirement villages from their homes.
I liked all of these women in different ways. I liked their caring attitudes, their sense of community. I liked that they weren't portrayed as saints, but as ordinary people with grievances and dislikes, petty squabbles and jealousies, but that they didn't let these get in the way of what they set out to do - help those who can't help themselves.
I liked that we are reminded not to judge others until all the information is in. I'm sure many of us miss out on interesting relationships with other people because we believe we have nothing in common and so back off when sometimes having nothing in common is just what we need.
Evensong is a gentle exploration of the changing landscape of old age. If we are lucky, it is coming to all of us in one form or another. It is also a reminder not to be old before our time, to be kind, not to judge, to do unto others . . .
A warm, gentle and comforting read.
⭐⭐⭐.6
#Evensong #NetGalley
MEET THE AUTHOR: STEWART O'NAN is the author of numerous books. He was born and raised in Pittsburgh, where he lives with his family.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Grove Atlantic for providing an e-ARC of Evensong by Stewart O'Nan for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
Kitzi glanced at the two of them, left out, as always, of their little in-jokes. Lillian had been a major donor, and Kitzi would be expected to represent the club at the funeral, whenever that would be. Who knew how close she was? The uncertainty was paralyzing.
Next week was already a mess, and again she marveled at how easy Joan had made the job look. Fay Dudley and Marion Gill weren't far behind Lillian. She'd need to wear a different outfit for each, a problem so confounding she couldn't begin to think of it, and sang with the others: And HE shall JUDGE the PEOPLE RIGHT-eous-LYYYYY.
Now that the choir was in place, they could relax and enjoy the concert. The trio of Chatham Baroque took center stage with their instruments, and, with an exaggerated nod, launched into Byrd's "Have Mercy upon Me, O God."
'It really is like a greatest hits,' Emily whispered to Kitzi, who, not wanting to be rude, could only shrug. Normally she was a snob about music too, but today, especially, she could appreciate the dependable pleasures of the familiar.
ABOUT 'EVENSONG': An intimate, moving novel that follows The Humpty Dumpty Club, a group of women of a certain age who band together to help one another and their circle of friends in Pittsburgh as they face the challenges of their golden years
The Humpty Dumpty Club is distraught when their powerhouse leader, Joan Hargrove, takes a bad fall down her stairs, knocking her out of commission. Now, as well as running errands and shepherding those less able to their doctors’ appointments, they have to pick up the slack.
Between navigating their own relationships and aging bodies and attending choir practice, these invisible yet indomitable women help where they can. They bake cookies, they care for pets, they pick up prescriptions, they sit vigil by the sick, and most of all, they show up for the people they’ve pledged to help. In the face of death, divorce, and the myriad directions our lives can take, the Humpty Dumpty club represents the power of community and chosen family.
Weaving together the perspectives of the four cardinal members as they tend to those in need, Stewart O’Nan revisits beloved characters from his past work -- most notably Emily Maxwell -- to fashion a rich and moving novel that celebrates our capacity for patience and care. Vivid, warm, and often wryly funny, Evensong reminds us that life is made up of moments both climactic and quotidian, and we weather those moments with the people we choose to keep close.
MY THOUGHTS: Joan, Emily, Kitzi, Susie and Arlene are women of that age who attend funerals more often than anything else. Their lives are in a period of great change: losing friends, downsizing, caring for friends who are ill or otherwise indisposed, and moving into retirement villages from their homes.
I liked all of these women in different ways. I liked their caring attitudes, their sense of community. I liked that they weren't portrayed as saints, but as ordinary people with grievances and dislikes, petty squabbles and jealousies, but that they didn't let these get in the way of what they set out to do - help those who can't help themselves.
I liked that we are reminded not to judge others until all the information is in. I'm sure many of us miss out on interesting relationships with other people because we believe we have nothing in common and so back off when sometimes having nothing in common is just what we need.
Evensong is a gentle exploration of the changing landscape of old age. If we are lucky, it is coming to all of us in one form or another. It is also a reminder not to be old before our time, to be kind, not to judge, to do unto others . . .
A warm, gentle and comforting read.
⭐⭐⭐.6
#Evensong #NetGalley
MEET THE AUTHOR: STEWART O'NAN is the author of numerous books. He was born and raised in Pittsburgh, where he lives with his family.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Grove Atlantic for providing an e-ARC of Evensong by Stewart O'Nan for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
December 22, 2025
I think it's me as this is a serviceable book featuring a wonderful writing style and heartfelt premise. I believe that many readers will enjoy this look at women forming a club to help their aging friends in need, but for me there was a disconnect. The chapters went back and forth through POVs without the chapters being labeled with the characters' names which was problematic as they didn't have enough development to come across fully formed, this caused the momentum to flag. I liked the characters and found some of their situations thought provoking. If you have ever experienced helping an aging friend or family member the truth the story delivers is spot on. There is nothing easy about aging.
The ladies of The Humpy Dumpty Club must rally when their leader Joan takes a fall that puts her in the hospital. The other members come together to help each other and other friends in need in their community. They each face challenges while being of service to others.
There is a discussion of Covid and politics which will cause the eventual dating of the book. It doesn't affect the readability of it now but many years down the road I can see it being frustrating. I read to get a break from the negativity. There is a balance between this and uplifting scenes which I was grateful to come across.
Overall, I liked the writing style more than the novel itself.
*Please check out the glowing reviews this has received from other reviewers. *
*Now Available*
Thank you to Grove Atlantic to providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The ladies of The Humpy Dumpty Club must rally when their leader Joan takes a fall that puts her in the hospital. The other members come together to help each other and other friends in need in their community. They each face challenges while being of service to others.
There is a discussion of Covid and politics which will cause the eventual dating of the book. It doesn't affect the readability of it now but many years down the road I can see it being frustrating. I read to get a break from the negativity. There is a balance between this and uplifting scenes which I was grateful to come across.
Overall, I liked the writing style more than the novel itself.
*Please check out the glowing reviews this has received from other reviewers. *
*Now Available*
Thank you to Grove Atlantic to providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
April 12, 2025
ARC for review. To be published November 11, 2025.
4 stars
Joan Hargrove, the inimitable leader of the Humpty Dumpty Club of the Shadyside area of Pittsburgh, takes a bad fall, so the other members band together to help out, driving others to appointments, running errands and the like. This chosen family is always there for each other and O’Nan focuses on four women, Susie, Kitzi, Arlene and Emily, as they move into the last chapters of their lives.
This was a lovely book that I really liked and I would have enjoyed even more had I read some of O’Nan’s Emily books. But even missing some of the back stories I really enjoyed this. Especially poignant was the sorrow expressed, even four years later, over the Tree of Life shooting which happened in the neighborhood. My husband is from Pittsburgh, so I love the way the city is portrayed. Very nice read.
4 stars
Joan Hargrove, the inimitable leader of the Humpty Dumpty Club of the Shadyside area of Pittsburgh, takes a bad fall, so the other members band together to help out, driving others to appointments, running errands and the like. This chosen family is always there for each other and O’Nan focuses on four women, Susie, Kitzi, Arlene and Emily, as they move into the last chapters of their lives.
This was a lovely book that I really liked and I would have enjoyed even more had I read some of O’Nan’s Emily books. But even missing some of the back stories I really enjoyed this. Especially poignant was the sorrow expressed, even four years later, over the Tree of Life shooting which happened in the neighborhood. My husband is from Pittsburgh, so I love the way the city is portrayed. Very nice read.
October 18, 2025
⭐⭐⭐.5
Pre-Read Notes:
I just heard so many good things about this from reviewers whose taste I respect. I got lucky! The publisher granted my request just a week before it archived on NetGalley. Happy Day!
"“This was nice,” Emily said. “It was,” Kitzi said, and whether it was the wine or the lateness of the hour or how chilly the wind was, Susie wrapped her in a boozy embrace , and soon they were all hugging like old friends who might never see each other again, though they were all getting in the same car." p112
Final Review
(thoughts & recs) So this one is kind of a mixed bag for me. I encourage you to look at my reading notes, because I think they really get at my true experience with this book. I really felt lost most of the time, drowning in beautifully wrought detail. At the same time, I loved those details for themselves -- the wonderful character traits and tiny back stories, the significance of the single moments in time, the gorgeous prose. And high five for realistic and empathetic mental health rep for people with age-related neurological disorders.
But I'm a plot girl. That is the element I seek every second I am reading and if I can't find it -- I feel lost. O'Nan very well may have intended this reaction, given some of the themes at hand.
I don't think this is an actual fault in the book, just a clash in taste, which is why I thought this one deserved a round up to 4 stars. I'm wondering if I'm the only one like this? Does anyone else have a specific element that you really want and need in your books? Please share!
I recommend EVENSONG to fans of stories about retired and elderly characters, bridging family differences, and getting old (we all do it, it's a great trope!). If you liked My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout, this one will probably appeal to you.
My 3 Favorite Things:
✔️ O'Nan brilliantly captures human nature in this book. This from a character after voting the wrong way on an issue because she didn't understand the ballot: "“How old is too old?” Emily asked, and dealt. They all recognized the question as rhetorical and fell back into the game, yet Arlene kept fretting over it and her vote on the referendum— not only then but for days afterward, the memory tweaking her at random, nagging as a forgotten password , as if it were further evidence of her decline , until it, too, disappeared." p102
✔️ Going to have to read more from O'Nan. Holy crap this is wonderful writing! "She took off her shoes and lay on top of the covers, curled away from the gray light of the window, her pillow cool on her cheek, and soon she was in the pottery studio at Allegheny, and Joan was there, baking something in the big kiln, except it wasn’t ready yet, and then she was in a canoe by herself on Lake Chautauqua, the water absolutely still around her as if it were morning, the shore an unbroken forest, no sign of their cottage, no docks or other boats, and then she was in a jungle, following her fellow explorers along an overgrown path, hacking at vines with machetes, though she had no idea where they were going." p147
✔️ I adore the animal characters in this book. It doesn't anthropomorphize them, but it does show how connected animals and humans are, and that's important in an age of decreasing planetary biodiversity.
✔️ O'Nan builds the story-- the setting, the characters, the situation-- out of tiny details, like the one I share just below. To me, this element brings the book to life. But all the details also obfuscate the plot and I felt really lost reading this book. "New Year’s Eve had been important, a night for dining and dancing and romance. Like courtship back then, it was a formal ritual. There was nothing casual about it. As the song said, you were supposed to spend it with the one you’d chosen above all others, your appearance together in your very best signaling to the world that you were a couple, the kiss at midnight a public declaration of love. Finding the right date might take months, and if the boy you yearned for asked another, you went out with your friends or, in the most painful cases, stayed home." p239 I had to backtrack often because I just didn't know how all the details on the page were connecting to one another.
✔️ D*mn. He's right about this. Unstable mental health destabilizes social health. "“That must be frustrating,” Susie said, and for the first time , instead of merely agreeing, Arlene told the truth. “Oh,” she said, “it’s terrifying. You know how people say ‘I’m losing my mind’? I am.” Admitting it so openly may have been a mistake. Since then, they’d treated her differently, as if she were slow rather than momentarily scrambled. ... Even now Emily was regarding her with concern, trying to decide whether she was all there or not." p242
I found an audiobook copy of THE REPORT CARD by Andrew Clements in Libby.
Notes: Covid, drug use, addiction, Tr*mp, politics (didactic), memory loss, dementia, disorientation
Thank you to the author Stewart O'Nan, Atlantic Monthly Press, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of EVENSONG. All views are mine.
Pre-Read Notes:
I just heard so many good things about this from reviewers whose taste I respect. I got lucky! The publisher granted my request just a week before it archived on NetGalley. Happy Day!
"“This was nice,” Emily said. “It was,” Kitzi said, and whether it was the wine or the lateness of the hour or how chilly the wind was, Susie wrapped her in a boozy embrace , and soon they were all hugging like old friends who might never see each other again, though they were all getting in the same car." p112
Final Review
(thoughts & recs) So this one is kind of a mixed bag for me. I encourage you to look at my reading notes, because I think they really get at my true experience with this book. I really felt lost most of the time, drowning in beautifully wrought detail. At the same time, I loved those details for themselves -- the wonderful character traits and tiny back stories, the significance of the single moments in time, the gorgeous prose. And high five for realistic and empathetic mental health rep for people with age-related neurological disorders.
But I'm a plot girl. That is the element I seek every second I am reading and if I can't find it -- I feel lost. O'Nan very well may have intended this reaction, given some of the themes at hand.
I don't think this is an actual fault in the book, just a clash in taste, which is why I thought this one deserved a round up to 4 stars. I'm wondering if I'm the only one like this? Does anyone else have a specific element that you really want and need in your books? Please share!
I recommend EVENSONG to fans of stories about retired and elderly characters, bridging family differences, and getting old (we all do it, it's a great trope!). If you liked My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout, this one will probably appeal to you.
My 3 Favorite Things:
✔️ O'Nan brilliantly captures human nature in this book. This from a character after voting the wrong way on an issue because she didn't understand the ballot: "“How old is too old?” Emily asked, and dealt. They all recognized the question as rhetorical and fell back into the game, yet Arlene kept fretting over it and her vote on the referendum— not only then but for days afterward, the memory tweaking her at random, nagging as a forgotten password , as if it were further evidence of her decline , until it, too, disappeared." p102
✔️ Going to have to read more from O'Nan. Holy crap this is wonderful writing! "She took off her shoes and lay on top of the covers, curled away from the gray light of the window, her pillow cool on her cheek, and soon she was in the pottery studio at Allegheny, and Joan was there, baking something in the big kiln, except it wasn’t ready yet, and then she was in a canoe by herself on Lake Chautauqua, the water absolutely still around her as if it were morning, the shore an unbroken forest, no sign of their cottage, no docks or other boats, and then she was in a jungle, following her fellow explorers along an overgrown path, hacking at vines with machetes, though she had no idea where they were going." p147
✔️ I adore the animal characters in this book. It doesn't anthropomorphize them, but it does show how connected animals and humans are, and that's important in an age of decreasing planetary biodiversity.
✔️ O'Nan builds the story-- the setting, the characters, the situation-- out of tiny details, like the one I share just below. To me, this element brings the book to life. But all the details also obfuscate the plot and I felt really lost reading this book. "New Year’s Eve had been important, a night for dining and dancing and romance. Like courtship back then, it was a formal ritual. There was nothing casual about it. As the song said, you were supposed to spend it with the one you’d chosen above all others, your appearance together in your very best signaling to the world that you were a couple, the kiss at midnight a public declaration of love. Finding the right date might take months, and if the boy you yearned for asked another, you went out with your friends or, in the most painful cases, stayed home." p239 I had to backtrack often because I just didn't know how all the details on the page were connecting to one another.
✔️ D*mn. He's right about this. Unstable mental health destabilizes social health. "“That must be frustrating,” Susie said, and for the first time , instead of merely agreeing, Arlene told the truth. “Oh,” she said, “it’s terrifying. You know how people say ‘I’m losing my mind’? I am.” Admitting it so openly may have been a mistake. Since then, they’d treated her differently, as if she were slow rather than momentarily scrambled. ... Even now Emily was regarding her with concern, trying to decide whether she was all there or not." p242
I found an audiobook copy of THE REPORT CARD by Andrew Clements in Libby.
Notes: Covid, drug use, addiction, Tr*mp, politics (didactic), memory loss, dementia, disorientation
Thank you to the author Stewart O'Nan, Atlantic Monthly Press, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of EVENSONG. All views are mine.
December 19, 2025
O’Nan has a gift for writing about women’s lives, and this time around he’s looking in on a pack of older Pittsburgh ladies (most in their 80s) who are church-goers and choir members and belong to a helping group called the Humpty Dumpty club, in which those who are able look after those who are less so: getting them to medical appointments, picking up prescriptions, petsitting and the like. If that sounds like it would make for a pretty unexciting novel, I’m here to say you’d be mistaken. Well, okay, “exciting” is maybe the wrong word, but the profound empathy with which O’Nan writes these women’s lives seemed just thrilling to me. He invokes the quotidian with its relatable pleasures and irritations and worries, and without a lick of the sentimental has the women facing their own growing physical frailties and those of friends and loved ones.
If you’re familiar with O’Nan’s excellent earlier novels featuring the Maxwell family—Wish You Were Here; Henry, Himself; Emily Alone—you’ll be delighted to learn that this is a continuation, though you needn’t have read the earlier books to enjoy this one.
If you’re familiar with O’Nan’s excellent earlier novels featuring the Maxwell family—Wish You Were Here; Henry, Himself; Emily Alone—you’ll be delighted to learn that this is a continuation, though you needn’t have read the earlier books to enjoy this one.
January 29, 2026
The comparisons to Kent Haruf and Elizabeth Strout in the press materials and pre-publication reviews are spot on: this is the kind of quiet American novel that appeals for its small-town ambience and cosy community of lovably quirky people with everyday problems. O’Nan grew up in Pittsburgh, the setting for this fourth book in a loose series based around the character Emily Maxwell – I did have a slight feeling of having wandered into a variant of Olive, Again partway through, but it wasn’t a major stumbling block for me. The generally elderly, female members of the Humpty Dumpty Club form a constellation of care: they help each other out by driving to hospital appointments, picking up prescriptions and groceries – and, when worst comes to worst, planning funeral services.
Often, the short chapters are vignettes starring one or more of the central characters. When Joan has a fall down her stairs and lands in rehab, Kitzi takes over as de facto HDC leader. A musical couple’s hoarding and cat colony become her main preoccupation. Emily deals with family complications I didn’t fully understand for want of backstory, and Arlene realizes dementia is affecting her daily life. Susie, the “baby” of the group at 63, takes in Joan’s cat, Oscar, and meets someone through online dating. The novel covers four months of 2022–23, anchored by a string of holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas); events such as John Fetterman’s election and ongoing Covid precautions; and the cycle of the Church year.
O’Nan encourages affection for his salt-of-the-earth folk who vote Democrat, support the Steelers and attend liberal Protestant churches as a matter of course. They lead simple lives and cope with failing health with as much dignity as they can. There’s something to be said for celebrating older, ordinary people, who don’t often get a look-in in contemporary fiction. But I struggled with the ensemble nature of the cast – well over halfway through I was still trying to work out who everyone was; it doesn’t help that there are a Gene, a Jean and a Joan – and the extreme verisimilitude. The Humpty Dumpty Club exists in real life, but these women could be your aunt or choir director from Any Town, USA. Were my mother still around, this would be her, running errands and helping neighbours in suburban Pittsburgh, and I would be visiting the area annually. That combination of the mundane and the too close to home conspired to make this more of a slog than expected. I also feel I gleaned no distinct understanding of O’Nan as a writer – especially as other novels of his that I own (The Night Country and A Prayer for the Dying) are classed under horror. I’ll just have to try more.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
Often, the short chapters are vignettes starring one or more of the central characters. When Joan has a fall down her stairs and lands in rehab, Kitzi takes over as de facto HDC leader. A musical couple’s hoarding and cat colony become her main preoccupation. Emily deals with family complications I didn’t fully understand for want of backstory, and Arlene realizes dementia is affecting her daily life. Susie, the “baby” of the group at 63, takes in Joan’s cat, Oscar, and meets someone through online dating. The novel covers four months of 2022–23, anchored by a string of holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas); events such as John Fetterman’s election and ongoing Covid precautions; and the cycle of the Church year.
O’Nan encourages affection for his salt-of-the-earth folk who vote Democrat, support the Steelers and attend liberal Protestant churches as a matter of course. They lead simple lives and cope with failing health with as much dignity as they can. There’s something to be said for celebrating older, ordinary people, who don’t often get a look-in in contemporary fiction. But I struggled with the ensemble nature of the cast – well over halfway through I was still trying to work out who everyone was; it doesn’t help that there are a Gene, a Jean and a Joan – and the extreme verisimilitude. The Humpty Dumpty Club exists in real life, but these women could be your aunt or choir director from Any Town, USA. Were my mother still around, this would be her, running errands and helping neighbours in suburban Pittsburgh, and I would be visiting the area annually. That combination of the mundane and the too close to home conspired to make this more of a slog than expected. I also feel I gleaned no distinct understanding of O’Nan as a writer – especially as other novels of his that I own (The Night Country and A Prayer for the Dying) are classed under horror. I’ll just have to try more.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
November 25, 2025
*3.5 stars rounded up
This is the third book in the Emily Maxwell series; I didn't realize that before agreeing to read an arc. There were some details and relationships I felt I missed out on because I hadn't read the previous books but I still managed to enjoy reading about these women, their friendships and their good works. Being of a similar age to the characters, I found some of the problems the women faced to be depressing. We all know where we are heading but don't know yet what the ending will be. We joke that the next stop is the nursing home down the street, God's waiting room. I enjoyed the parts of the book set during the holiday season--the joyful gatherings, the choir programs and the church services. Lovely story! I will definitely look forward to reading more in this series.
Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this new novel via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
This is the third book in the Emily Maxwell series; I didn't realize that before agreeing to read an arc. There were some details and relationships I felt I missed out on because I hadn't read the previous books but I still managed to enjoy reading about these women, their friendships and their good works. Being of a similar age to the characters, I found some of the problems the women faced to be depressing. We all know where we are heading but don't know yet what the ending will be. We joke that the next stop is the nursing home down the street, God's waiting room. I enjoyed the parts of the book set during the holiday season--the joyful gatherings, the choir programs and the church services. Lovely story! I will definitely look forward to reading more in this series.
Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this new novel via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
June 2, 2025
Stewart O’Nan reliably delivers a good human interest story including both the foibles and the quiet heroism in his characters. He is particularly talented at life reviews for those of a certain age.
This is the story of a group of church friends who call the folks they take on to support in illness and decline the Humpty Dumptys (HDs). They are bonded by their church and their friendship and the care they provide to others. They differ politically but agree to disagree in a way that I think many of us are doing right now in 2025.
The first third of the book meanders a bit and I was a bit confused about some of the relationships between the characters - sister in law, ex-husband, deceased husband, adult child, grandchildren, etc. I had to go back and re-read some parts.
I particularly enjoyed the last third which involved discerning just how much we can do for others who don’t seem to be able to help themselves or be responsible for the choices they make. There is one rather concerning “HD project” that isn’t resolved at the end, and that seemed a weakness of the book for me. Not that we need everything tied up in a bow, but what happens to the cats and their human takes up a lot of the middle of the book.
This book found me at a time when I’m considering my own involvement in caring for others - how much is too much and how much is just what we ought to do as “Christians” or simply as decent human beings - so I appreciated those themes.
I also wonder about the decline in church attendance and how that will impact aging and community. It seems we throw the baby out with the bath water when we lose our faith communities.
This is a 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars for me.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This is the story of a group of church friends who call the folks they take on to support in illness and decline the Humpty Dumptys (HDs). They are bonded by their church and their friendship and the care they provide to others. They differ politically but agree to disagree in a way that I think many of us are doing right now in 2025.
The first third of the book meanders a bit and I was a bit confused about some of the relationships between the characters - sister in law, ex-husband, deceased husband, adult child, grandchildren, etc. I had to go back and re-read some parts.
I particularly enjoyed the last third which involved discerning just how much we can do for others who don’t seem to be able to help themselves or be responsible for the choices they make. There is one rather concerning “HD project” that isn’t resolved at the end, and that seemed a weakness of the book for me. Not that we need everything tied up in a bow, but what happens to the cats and their human takes up a lot of the middle of the book.
This book found me at a time when I’m considering my own involvement in caring for others - how much is too much and how much is just what we ought to do as “Christians” or simply as decent human beings - so I appreciated those themes.
I also wonder about the decline in church attendance and how that will impact aging and community. It seems we throw the baby out with the bath water when we lose our faith communities.
This is a 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars for me.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
October 26, 2025
I am afraid this wasnt for me. It was, perhaps, a hindrance that I'd never read any Stuart O'Nan before and hadn't realised that all these characters had been in previous novels. I also didnt realise it was quite so much like Elizabeth Strout. In fact, that said, if you love Strout then I can highly recommend this.
The plot involves a group of women aged 60 upwards (but generally in the older age range) who call themselves the Humpty Dumpty Club. The HD's (as they refer to themselves) mission is to help others in their community who need a little extra help.
In this particular novel the people being helped are Jean and Gene, a couple of retired musicians who now live in an overly cluttered house along with around 30 cats and their main support, Joan (a HDer herself) who has an accident. There are other smaller crises but thats the main thrust of the plot.
As I said, this novel resembles the Strout novels quite a lot in that its a group of elderly (although I dispute that 60 is elderly) citizens. There are vague references to politics, mobility, mental health etc but otherwise there isn't as much emotional angst (as there is in Strout's work).
This novel simply wasn't for me but it will appeal to anyone who like a gentle story that focuses on the older generation's day to day struggles.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for the advance review copy.
The plot involves a group of women aged 60 upwards (but generally in the older age range) who call themselves the Humpty Dumpty Club. The HD's (as they refer to themselves) mission is to help others in their community who need a little extra help.
In this particular novel the people being helped are Jean and Gene, a couple of retired musicians who now live in an overly cluttered house along with around 30 cats and their main support, Joan (a HDer herself) who has an accident. There are other smaller crises but thats the main thrust of the plot.
As I said, this novel resembles the Strout novels quite a lot in that its a group of elderly (although I dispute that 60 is elderly) citizens. There are vague references to politics, mobility, mental health etc but otherwise there isn't as much emotional angst (as there is in Strout's work).
This novel simply wasn't for me but it will appeal to anyone who like a gentle story that focuses on the older generation's day to day struggles.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for the advance review copy.
December 13, 2025
4⭐️ Very uplifting story about the trials and tribulations of aging and the supportive friendships shared by a wonderful group of women in Pittsburgh.
Joan, Emily, Kitzi, Susie ,and Arlene are a group of friends in their Golden years called the Humpty Dumpty Club.
When Joan takes a fall and ends up hospitalized for a period of time, the others step in to pick up her duties looking after reclusive Gene and Jean. They cook, clean, pick up prescriptions, attend choir practice, funerals, and support each other.
I enjoyed this portrait of women, friendship and aging. We should be so lucky to have a group of friends like these.
Thank you NetGalley and Grove Press publishers for the eARC in exchange from my honest review.
Joan, Emily, Kitzi, Susie ,and Arlene are a group of friends in their Golden years called the Humpty Dumpty Club.
When Joan takes a fall and ends up hospitalized for a period of time, the others step in to pick up her duties looking after reclusive Gene and Jean. They cook, clean, pick up prescriptions, attend choir practice, funerals, and support each other.
I enjoyed this portrait of women, friendship and aging. We should be so lucky to have a group of friends like these.
Thank you NetGalley and Grove Press publishers for the eARC in exchange from my honest review.
May 20, 2025
As a woman of a certain age whose hometown is Pittsburgh, I dove into the ARC of Stewart O’Nan’s Evensong. Thank you, Grove Atlantic and NetGalley. I also should mention that O’Nan is the nephew of my second-grade teacher, circa 1962, who was renowned for the inventive disciplinary techniques she deployed (including on me) at Turner School in Wilkinsburg.
So I am the perfect niche reader for Evensong, a quiet novel that is almost a series of character studies or vignettes. There is a faint strain of a storyline running through it. Joan, the relentlessly efficient leader of the Humpty Dumpty Club, is incapacitated by a fall. The club runs errands and offers rides and other volunteer services for parishioners of their Episcopal church. A few of the characters starred in previous O’Nan novels, and there is a continuity here as the characters age.
It took me a while to straighten out all the characters. Kitzi takes on the leadership of the club, so fervently that she ministers to a couple of extreme hoarders who are outside their church circle. Emily was featured in O’Nan’s Emily, Alone. Her sister-in-law is Arlene, a retired teacher who is starting to suffer the symptoms of Alzheimer’s. Susie is a bit younger; she has a fondness for Vicodin and manages to enjoy sex regularly—with a musician! And there is a host of children and grandchildren, thirty or so cats that belong to the hoarders, and a couple more pets who have bit parts throughout the novel.
Joan, rehabilitating, assigns the hoarders Jean and Gene to Kitzi. They are concert pianists who taught at Chatham University, and the husband is diagnosed with cancer. The lengths that Kitzi goes to for this couple, often neglecting her homebound husband, stretched credulity a bit for me. Her motivation was unclear. The club routinely performed tasks such as picking up prescriptions and offering rides to the doctor. Now Kitzi is scrambling to get thirty cats vaccinated, transporting them in her car to a rural county; spending long hours with Jean at her husband’s hospital bedside; and eventually cleaning out the infested house.
The chapters describe what seem like routine events in their lives. But I could relate to the aging friends, incrementally losing mobility and freedom while the world goes on around them. In one chapter, Susie is gamely trying to plan a trip downtown for them to enjoy the Christmas market. “They’d always wanted to go, yet, whether it was too cold out or they were too busy getting ready for the holidays or their husbands weren’t interested, none of them had ever been.” In a leap of faith, Susie pays in advance for parking. I laughed at the doomed attempt to get everyone on the same page, arguing over where they would eat, fending off illness, worrying about the weather. Spoiler alert: The trip did not happen.
Arlene babysits Emily’s dog, Angus, and her description of the dog’s drooling psychopathic neediness was hilarious to me, who had just completed a dog-sitting assignment:
“It was this manic intensity that annoyed her, his urgency shamelessly self-centered. He was like a child, all raw need. She fed him every day, yet he raced for the back door as if he were starving, mussing the rug so she couldn’t open it.” Woman and dog come to terms by the end of the chapter.
They are all active in their local Episcopal church in the Shadyside neighborhood, and the novel ends on New Year’s Day with the traditional Evensong service. The novel itself is a series of canticles, quiet odes to these women who soldier on with friendships, declining health, tender mercies, problematic families, slobbery dogs, and the knowledge that the end is ever closer. O’Nan does a masterful job of chronicling their everyday lives in a tender way that makes us care.
“It was true, they felt that urgency now, the need to finally make things right, or as right as they could be. They only had so much time.”
So I am the perfect niche reader for Evensong, a quiet novel that is almost a series of character studies or vignettes. There is a faint strain of a storyline running through it. Joan, the relentlessly efficient leader of the Humpty Dumpty Club, is incapacitated by a fall. The club runs errands and offers rides and other volunteer services for parishioners of their Episcopal church. A few of the characters starred in previous O’Nan novels, and there is a continuity here as the characters age.
It took me a while to straighten out all the characters. Kitzi takes on the leadership of the club, so fervently that she ministers to a couple of extreme hoarders who are outside their church circle. Emily was featured in O’Nan’s Emily, Alone. Her sister-in-law is Arlene, a retired teacher who is starting to suffer the symptoms of Alzheimer’s. Susie is a bit younger; she has a fondness for Vicodin and manages to enjoy sex regularly—with a musician! And there is a host of children and grandchildren, thirty or so cats that belong to the hoarders, and a couple more pets who have bit parts throughout the novel.
Joan, rehabilitating, assigns the hoarders Jean and Gene to Kitzi. They are concert pianists who taught at Chatham University, and the husband is diagnosed with cancer. The lengths that Kitzi goes to for this couple, often neglecting her homebound husband, stretched credulity a bit for me. Her motivation was unclear. The club routinely performed tasks such as picking up prescriptions and offering rides to the doctor. Now Kitzi is scrambling to get thirty cats vaccinated, transporting them in her car to a rural county; spending long hours with Jean at her husband’s hospital bedside; and eventually cleaning out the infested house.
The chapters describe what seem like routine events in their lives. But I could relate to the aging friends, incrementally losing mobility and freedom while the world goes on around them. In one chapter, Susie is gamely trying to plan a trip downtown for them to enjoy the Christmas market. “They’d always wanted to go, yet, whether it was too cold out or they were too busy getting ready for the holidays or their husbands weren’t interested, none of them had ever been.” In a leap of faith, Susie pays in advance for parking. I laughed at the doomed attempt to get everyone on the same page, arguing over where they would eat, fending off illness, worrying about the weather. Spoiler alert: The trip did not happen.
Arlene babysits Emily’s dog, Angus, and her description of the dog’s drooling psychopathic neediness was hilarious to me, who had just completed a dog-sitting assignment:
“It was this manic intensity that annoyed her, his urgency shamelessly self-centered. He was like a child, all raw need. She fed him every day, yet he raced for the back door as if he were starving, mussing the rug so she couldn’t open it.” Woman and dog come to terms by the end of the chapter.
They are all active in their local Episcopal church in the Shadyside neighborhood, and the novel ends on New Year’s Day with the traditional Evensong service. The novel itself is a series of canticles, quiet odes to these women who soldier on with friendships, declining health, tender mercies, problematic families, slobbery dogs, and the knowledge that the end is ever closer. O’Nan does a masterful job of chronicling their everyday lives in a tender way that makes us care.
“It was true, they felt that urgency now, the need to finally make things right, or as right as they could be. They only had so much time.”
December 16, 2025
A quarter of a century ago, when Stewart O’Nan first started writing about old Emily Maxwell, I couldn’t be bothered to turn down the radio. But over the years, I’ve come to cherish his tender care for the Maxwells, and now, with the release of “Evensong,” his fourth novel involving Emily, I’m thinking, “Who you calling old?”
O’Nan, for all his brilliant writing about the repercussions of crime, disappearance and war, also sometimes operates in a separate register where he has quietly become America’s patron saint of everyday life. In some of his novels, like “Last Night at the Lobster,” a story about the closing of a seafood restaurant, the plot is so pedestrian, so allergic to excitement that the book sounds like O’Nan accepted an impossible challenge from Satan in MFA hell. The fact that it’s moving and memorable is nothing short of miraculous.
But the four stand-alone novels that include Emily demonstrate most dramatically O’Nan’s commitment to the undramatic. He’s determined to fix our gaze on people we’re stridently incurious about, even as time’s winged chariot drags us into their potpourri-scented realm. And what’s more, his elderly women aren’t doling out hard-won wisdom, flirting scandalously with young bucks or solving weekly murders from a corner table in the local diner. They’re just ferrying leftovers to friends and keeping greeting card companies alive. In one chapter, someone can’t find good nutmeg. In another, a woman delivers “a bale of off-brand incontinence pads.” Their lives are organized around the calendar of their church and its music, which is not always up to their standards, but of course one....
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/...
O’Nan, for all his brilliant writing about the repercussions of crime, disappearance and war, also sometimes operates in a separate register where he has quietly become America’s patron saint of everyday life. In some of his novels, like “Last Night at the Lobster,” a story about the closing of a seafood restaurant, the plot is so pedestrian, so allergic to excitement that the book sounds like O’Nan accepted an impossible challenge from Satan in MFA hell. The fact that it’s moving and memorable is nothing short of miraculous.
But the four stand-alone novels that include Emily demonstrate most dramatically O’Nan’s commitment to the undramatic. He’s determined to fix our gaze on people we’re stridently incurious about, even as time’s winged chariot drags us into their potpourri-scented realm. And what’s more, his elderly women aren’t doling out hard-won wisdom, flirting scandalously with young bucks or solving weekly murders from a corner table in the local diner. They’re just ferrying leftovers to friends and keeping greeting card companies alive. In one chapter, someone can’t find good nutmeg. In another, a woman delivers “a bale of off-brand incontinence pads.” Their lives are organized around the calendar of their church and its music, which is not always up to their standards, but of course one....
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/...
December 2, 2025
This is another book where I had no idea that this belonged to a series of interconnected stand-alones about a cast of women in their 60s and 70s who had met singing in a church choir in Pittsburgh. I'd never read this author before so I had a hard time at first emotionally connecting with the characters.
But eventually I got on board and I loved this author's quiet, intimate portraits of the day-by-day lives of women. It's so rare to see a man writing women so well that I always have to remark on it. It's not that hard to write strong women characters - they just have to be complex people and not just boobs boobling.
This book was like a warm, comforting hug, even though the subject matter was depressing and I wouldn't exactly call it cozy. The women get together to form a group called the Humpty Dumpty Club, where they play bridge together, petsit, and drive each other to medical appointments. One of their own, Joan, has a fall and has to go into rehab, and they rally for her as well as another member, Jean, who is overwhelmed by an ill husband and 37 cats.
This is a very quiet, unassuming book, and yet, while it is about everyday nuisances like worrying over an escaped cat, it is also high stakes because these women are enduring a time of great transition in their lives. I'm in my 40s and I'm dreading these years, but if I had a group like these women, even with their dramas and insecurities, those golden years would be much easier. Community is important.
Stewart O'Nan's writing is beautiful, delicate, and although it didn't pack a punch, these are wonderfully drawn characters that will stay with you for a long time. I loved all these characters despite having a hard time telling them apart at first. I also loved how the book weaved in current events and didn't shy away from explicitly mentioning the politics of the time. It took place when the pandemic was cresting its peak. But it did this in a soft, not preachy way that was really quite impressive.
I also appreciated how this book showed the faith of the women and how important church was to them, but this was not a book with a Christian-forward message; church and faith was just a setting and a part of their character development. This was instead a powerful, heartwarming message about the importance of female friendship.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
But eventually I got on board and I loved this author's quiet, intimate portraits of the day-by-day lives of women. It's so rare to see a man writing women so well that I always have to remark on it. It's not that hard to write strong women characters - they just have to be complex people and not just boobs boobling.
This book was like a warm, comforting hug, even though the subject matter was depressing and I wouldn't exactly call it cozy. The women get together to form a group called the Humpty Dumpty Club, where they play bridge together, petsit, and drive each other to medical appointments. One of their own, Joan, has a fall and has to go into rehab, and they rally for her as well as another member, Jean, who is overwhelmed by an ill husband and 37 cats.
This is a very quiet, unassuming book, and yet, while it is about everyday nuisances like worrying over an escaped cat, it is also high stakes because these women are enduring a time of great transition in their lives. I'm in my 40s and I'm dreading these years, but if I had a group like these women, even with their dramas and insecurities, those golden years would be much easier. Community is important.
Stewart O'Nan's writing is beautiful, delicate, and although it didn't pack a punch, these are wonderfully drawn characters that will stay with you for a long time. I loved all these characters despite having a hard time telling them apart at first. I also loved how the book weaved in current events and didn't shy away from explicitly mentioning the politics of the time. It took place when the pandemic was cresting its peak. But it did this in a soft, not preachy way that was really quite impressive.
I also appreciated how this book showed the faith of the women and how important church was to them, but this was not a book with a Christian-forward message; church and faith was just a setting and a part of their character development. This was instead a powerful, heartwarming message about the importance of female friendship.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
November 3, 2025
I rarely get any ARCs anymore since I no longer work in a bookstore. But every now and then I win a book from Goodreads, so I enter their giveaways whenever I see one for a book I'm eager to read. I was thrilled to win an ARC of Stewart O'Nan's new book, Evensong, setting aside another book that I had just begun in order to read O'Nan's before its publication date. I've read several of his books, some of which I loved, but others that missed the mark. When I saw that Evensong returned to Emily Maxwell's story, I was even more excited to settle in and read what I was certain would be another 5-star book. Sadly, it did not live up to my admittedly high expectations.
I enjoyed certain aspects of Evensong, especially those told from Emily's point of view, as well as those depicting the characters' love of their pets, but much of the book was slow and dull. Some may find the backstories (or lack thereof) of a few of the characters confusing, so this may be a book that needs to be read after reading O'Nan's Maxwell trilogy (Wish You Were Here, Emily, Alone and Henry, Himself). I have always intended to read these a second time, but I now wonder if they'll be as good as I remember.
I received a complimentary copy from Atlantic Monthly Press. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I enjoyed certain aspects of Evensong, especially those told from Emily's point of view, as well as those depicting the characters' love of their pets, but much of the book was slow and dull. Some may find the backstories (or lack thereof) of a few of the characters confusing, so this may be a book that needs to be read after reading O'Nan's Maxwell trilogy (Wish You Were Here, Emily, Alone and Henry, Himself). I have always intended to read these a second time, but I now wonder if they'll be as good as I remember.
I received a complimentary copy from Atlantic Monthly Press. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
December 12, 2025
This is one of those quiet, tender novels that sneaks up on you. The story follows a circle of older friends as they go through the routines of daily life—grocery runs, doctor visits, choir practice, shared meals—and the author somehow transforms the ordinary into something radiant. The author’s writing is reminiscent of Anne Tyler’s, capturing the authenticity and beauty of everyday, mundane life.
This isn’t a plot-driven book, it’s a mood. A gentle, reflective story about aging, friendship, grief, and the simple ways we care for each other. It’s tender, bittersweet, and deeply human.
I highly recommend this book if you enjoy slow-paced, character-driven novels. This would be a perfect read for a slow morning, a rainy afternoon, or whenever you’re craving a reflective, heartfelt story.
This isn’t a plot-driven book, it’s a mood. A gentle, reflective story about aging, friendship, grief, and the simple ways we care for each other. It’s tender, bittersweet, and deeply human.
I highly recommend this book if you enjoy slow-paced, character-driven novels. This would be a perfect read for a slow morning, a rainy afternoon, or whenever you’re craving a reflective, heartfelt story.
March 30, 2025
A warm and comforting novel about a group of women in their later half of life, coming together and helping each other out, being each other company and spending the time spreading love and comfort. Realistic and cosy, this novel felt so light and bright, flowing with the wind. Genuine characters and proper plot development, this book is an exceptionally well written account on the lives of older women and the daily things they come across and had to go through. I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves a slow moving, comforting story with no cliches or flashy incidents.
November 21, 2025
The strength of this novel was the interesting observations of human behavior and motivations. It is a novel about community and caring for one another as they aged and lost skills required to live independently yet with dignity. A weakness of this novel was that there were many characters and they were difficult to keep straight because none had a distinctive voice.
January 1, 2026
Stewart O'Nan's Evensong shows all those Southern touches of books about women's friendships that depict small communities where people are church going or talked about, don't ya know? What makes this book different is that we're in Pittsburgh. These women are in their eighties with social lives mostly centered around their church. Friendships formed there carry over into secular activities. But it's more about friendship. These women feel an obligation to step in when something bad happens. Think about someone injured in a fall, a hoarder who also collects cats, a husband who is hospitalized, and a woman who starts to realize she has memory problems. These are typical problems these women or their friends face. They have formed a group they call the Humpty Dumpty Club. It's informal but organized enough to be computer scheduled. Nothing much happens in this book, but the day to day events require tact and compassion because all of them have consequences affecting quality of life or even life itself. O'Nan's writing is believable and realistic. Some readers will consider that he writes with a sense of humor. For readers in the characters' age group, humor is what faintly shines through after one of the incidents the women face. It could be as simple as recognizing the lonely cat left a cat turd in the middle of the bed to show its displeasure over an owner's absence due to a medical emergency. O'Nan has demonstrated he can write dialog that fits a variety of characters' ages- this is my first experience of reading something he has written about older Americans.
April 3, 2025
Maybe this book hit too close to home, but I was not impressed. A quaint story of a close knit group of aging women and their card playing, volunteering, and daily lives. Sometimes the stories were just a little too mundane. The descriptions of their friendship and roles in the HDs (their volunteer group) was endearing but after a while seemed to just hit a wall. Just not for me.
December 3, 2025
3.5 Stars
I absolutely love the last paragraph
I absolutely love the last paragraph
December 17, 2025
It might be unfair to rate this novel right after a streak of 5 star books that had me tearing through the pages. This one was slow and steady, but I’m not sure it won the race.
Evensong is about a group of seniors who attend the same church and have created a support network. The Humpty Dumpty Club is being run by Kitzi, since Joan is in the hospital after falling down her stairs. The women sign up to take people to appointments, bring them groceries, and look after their pets.
The visits among seniors reminded me of my childhood, when I used to tag along with my grandparents to visit their friends, sipping tea and trading gossip. Except that the stories being told in this novel are all the sad kind: health issues, dementia, death. The pace made it hard to stay engaged. The chapters were short, but didn’t always move the plot. A few chapters depicted the requirements of looking after a pet and nothing else.
I love a quiet, character driven story, but this one is just a little too bland for my liking.
Evensong is about a group of seniors who attend the same church and have created a support network. The Humpty Dumpty Club is being run by Kitzi, since Joan is in the hospital after falling down her stairs. The women sign up to take people to appointments, bring them groceries, and look after their pets.
The visits among seniors reminded me of my childhood, when I used to tag along with my grandparents to visit their friends, sipping tea and trading gossip. Except that the stories being told in this novel are all the sad kind: health issues, dementia, death. The pace made it hard to stay engaged. The chapters were short, but didn’t always move the plot. A few chapters depicted the requirements of looking after a pet and nothing else.
I love a quiet, character driven story, but this one is just a little too bland for my liking.
December 16, 2025
DNF. I really tried. Made it to page 95 and when I went to pick it up again I just couldn’t. Too many characters and all interchangeable. No plot unless you consider repetition a plot device. Stilted dialogue. Same descriptions and explanations over and over. Too many good books out there so leave this one on the shelf.
December 31, 2025
Thank you Atlantic for my free copy of Evensong by Stewart O’Nan — available now!
» READ IF YOU «
👵 like stories featuring elderly protagonists
🧡 enjoy books about community and friendship
☕ are okay with a quiet plot and very low stakes
» SYNOPSIS «
A group of older women in Pittsburgh spend their days helping neighbors and each other. When one of them is injured, the routines and bonds holding the group together are tested.
» REVIEW «
This is a gentle, quiet read that’s more about the characters than the plot. I did enjoy the focus on the small “human” moments that feature in our mundane, everyday lives, and I love older protagonists.
That said, the book was slow and a bit meandering for me, and I had a ton of trouble separating the characters from one another. They all just felt like “old lady” archetypes, but maybe I’m biased because—and here’s my biggest beef with the book—I take SERIOUS umbrage with the cover blurb.
Like, how DARE you claim that a man (a straight white man no less) is, “one of the best chroniclers of the lives of American women?!” Susan. Respectfully? Get bent. That’s an insane thing to say, and I’d like to give her the benefit of the doubt and say maybe it was taken out of context, but Susan is a white woman who writes stories from black and indigenous male perspectives (oh and a mixed race slave girl), so, I’m not willing to bet on it.
ANYWAY— I recognize that Stewart likely has no control over the blurb choice, so my star rating is for the story alone.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
» READ IF YOU «
👵 like stories featuring elderly protagonists
🧡 enjoy books about community and friendship
☕ are okay with a quiet plot and very low stakes
» SYNOPSIS «
A group of older women in Pittsburgh spend their days helping neighbors and each other. When one of them is injured, the routines and bonds holding the group together are tested.
» REVIEW «
This is a gentle, quiet read that’s more about the characters than the plot. I did enjoy the focus on the small “human” moments that feature in our mundane, everyday lives, and I love older protagonists.
That said, the book was slow and a bit meandering for me, and I had a ton of trouble separating the characters from one another. They all just felt like “old lady” archetypes, but maybe I’m biased because—and here’s my biggest beef with the book—I take SERIOUS umbrage with the cover blurb.
Like, how DARE you claim that a man (a straight white man no less) is, “one of the best chroniclers of the lives of American women?!” Susan. Respectfully? Get bent. That’s an insane thing to say, and I’d like to give her the benefit of the doubt and say maybe it was taken out of context, but Susan is a white woman who writes stories from black and indigenous male perspectives (oh and a mixed race slave girl), so, I’m not willing to bet on it.
ANYWAY— I recognize that Stewart likely has no control over the blurb choice, so my star rating is for the story alone.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
November 8, 2025
Coursing through this novel about community, chosen families, the friendship among women, the challenges of aging, illness and loss are the stories of the daily lives of Emily, Arlene, Kitzi, Susie, and Joan. They are the core members of the “Humpty Dumpty Club,” a highly organized group of women assisting Pittsburgh’s older residents in need, efficiently overseen by Joan Hargrove until she suffers the dreaded nightmare, a shattering fall. The duties fall to the youngest member, Kitzi, and the reader’s head will swim at the range of tasks they are asked to perform, every one necessary to maintain the dignity of residents.
Their back stories are revealed as are their hopes and fears, endearing them all to me. Arlene’s worries about her worsening memory loss; Kitzi’s tentative steps in a relationship; and the group navigating their conflicting feelings with the daughter taking charge of Joan’s rehab were among my favorite story threads. The story of the reclusive musicians, hoarders, however, was the biggest surprise, an important lesson.
Their Anglican Church is embedded in their lives, and yet, they feel free to comment on the choice of readings and music, often in the shadow of a Steelers football game, much to my delight. In the last chapter, Emily, Arlene, Kitzi, and Susie attend the Evensong service in the nearly-empty church. Inspired by the familiar ritual, the Latin words of prayer lifted them up. “They knew they weren’t perfect…”They felt that urgency now, the need to finally make things right, or as right as they could be.” They prayed for everyone they knew and had lost; patience, wisdom, courage, justice, peace, mercy. Author Stewart O’Nan’s compassionate voice, celebrating the power of human connection showered me with grace.
Their back stories are revealed as are their hopes and fears, endearing them all to me. Arlene’s worries about her worsening memory loss; Kitzi’s tentative steps in a relationship; and the group navigating their conflicting feelings with the daughter taking charge of Joan’s rehab were among my favorite story threads. The story of the reclusive musicians, hoarders, however, was the biggest surprise, an important lesson.
Their Anglican Church is embedded in their lives, and yet, they feel free to comment on the choice of readings and music, often in the shadow of a Steelers football game, much to my delight. In the last chapter, Emily, Arlene, Kitzi, and Susie attend the Evensong service in the nearly-empty church. Inspired by the familiar ritual, the Latin words of prayer lifted them up. “They knew they weren’t perfect…”They felt that urgency now, the need to finally make things right, or as right as they could be.” They prayed for everyone they knew and had lost; patience, wisdom, courage, justice, peace, mercy. Author Stewart O’Nan’s compassionate voice, celebrating the power of human connection showered me with grace.
Read
May 25, 2025A particular pleasure in this O'Nan was a chapter involving poll workers at their precinct on election day--not an occurrence I've encountered in fiction before.
January 19, 2026
Pittsburgh and environs, fall 2022. This description demonstrates O’Nan’s gift for cementing setting in time, place, and culture with only a few specifics and one sentence:
As a woman in my late 60s, I find it a delightful change of pace to read a book about everyday folks—mostly women—in their elder years doing everyday things. Cat-sitting for friends, playing bridge, singing in the church choir, arguing with adult daughters, keeping dogs from eating their own frozen turds, making spreadsheets to organize tasks, enjoying organ concerts. Much room for humor here.
But this book doesn’t shun the realities of aging. Here is also a fleet of women running errands for the ill or incapacitated, chauffeuring others to medical appointments, monitoring a sister or husband in decline, sitting at the bedsides of the dying, adjusting to a new beau, facing dementia, planning their own funerals, deciding what new language or skill they will learn. Any thoughtful reader over 60 will recognize the wreath of questions and decisions circling these active characters’ lives, both amusing and poignant.
In this book, O’Nan respects and cherishes the daily lives of competent, compassionate, opinionated, funny women who solve problems, taking care of people and the world. Who needs plot when you have characters like these?
Built on the footprint of the defunct Union Switch and Signal plant, since losing the Kmart and the Eat’n Park – both frequent destinations for Arlene – and Covid wiping out the ill-timed Scene75 go-kart track and arcade, the [Edgewood Town Centre] had become a reminder of how tenuous the economy was, both locally and globally. (61)
As a woman in my late 60s, I find it a delightful change of pace to read a book about everyday folks—mostly women—in their elder years doing everyday things. Cat-sitting for friends, playing bridge, singing in the church choir, arguing with adult daughters, keeping dogs from eating their own frozen turds, making spreadsheets to organize tasks, enjoying organ concerts. Much room for humor here.
But this book doesn’t shun the realities of aging. Here is also a fleet of women running errands for the ill or incapacitated, chauffeuring others to medical appointments, monitoring a sister or husband in decline, sitting at the bedsides of the dying, adjusting to a new beau, facing dementia, planning their own funerals, deciding what new language or skill they will learn. Any thoughtful reader over 60 will recognize the wreath of questions and decisions circling these active characters’ lives, both amusing and poignant.
In this book, O’Nan respects and cherishes the daily lives of competent, compassionate, opinionated, funny women who solve problems, taking care of people and the world. Who needs plot when you have characters like these?
November 20, 2025
My library's book discussion group read a book in this trilogy, Emily Alone, a few years ago. One reader said it was a book where nothing ever really happens. That's true here as well, and that's fine, but I think that's the point. O'Nan writes so vividly and poignantly of the interior lives of elderly women, it's beautiful and yet amazing because he's a man. Set in Pittsburgh, the novel also feels slightly depressing to me since I lived there for five years during which time my marriage ended.
Emily is a widow whose close friendships with several other women (Kitzi, Susie, and Arlene, her sister-in-law) form a group that call themselves the HDs (the Humpty Dumptys). Together they support not only each other but other elderly people in their social circle, taking them to doctor appointments, doing their grocery shopping, pet sitting (as well as house sitting), house cleaning, and navigating legal predicaments. It's both heartwarming and melancholy, because it reminds one that we are all aging and cannot do this thing called life alone.
I also found this very similar to Barbara Pym's Quartet in Autumn, another novel of elderly people and the turns their lives take upon retirement in England.
Emily is a widow whose close friendships with several other women (Kitzi, Susie, and Arlene, her sister-in-law) form a group that call themselves the HDs (the Humpty Dumptys). Together they support not only each other but other elderly people in their social circle, taking them to doctor appointments, doing their grocery shopping, pet sitting (as well as house sitting), house cleaning, and navigating legal predicaments. It's both heartwarming and melancholy, because it reminds one that we are all aging and cannot do this thing called life alone.
I also found this very similar to Barbara Pym's Quartet in Autumn, another novel of elderly people and the turns their lives take upon retirement in England.
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