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Finding Maria #1
Finding Maria
"The best answers in life are found at the bottom of a good cup of coffee," his mother always said. Jack Brandugan believed the answers to his life were to be found in the person chosen for him to love. From the time he could crawl into the front seat of Aunt Georgie's beloved Ford Fairlane, Jack searched for her, knowing not whom or what he sought until a popular movie made everything clear: just as the Von Trapps in The Sound of Music triumphed over war, sadness, and a broken home, so to coould he, if he found his Maria. Through monastic life in rural Nova Scotia, military service in Vietnam, and finally marriage, he found her. Rose Marie. His Maria. Then he lost her, or so he thought, until a corporate obligation links him with a writer that awakens his memory, resurrects his search, and illuminates the answers and feelings he has so fervently pursued. But, will Jack deny his future to protect the past, or will he choose the path untested, even if it means turning his carefully-tended life over to the chaos of a new beginning? Finding Maria is an ordinary man's extraordinary quest. There is no magic, no fairy tale, just the power of love and the written word.
412 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 24, 2010
19 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 9, 2012
I subscribe to an e-mail newsletter about books called "BookClubBuddy" (bookclubbuddy.com). Each week, this newsletter highlights a different author and their book and gives away signed copies. Most of the books are not well known (and the newsletter, and consequently most of the authors highlighted are Canadian), but I love the idea of a new author getting a start. Anyway, this book looked interesting to me so I entered the drawing and won! So, I am the 4th review of this book and the author told me she thinks it was the first copy to go to Minnesota! Because of that, I will make this review a bit more detailed than most reviews I write.
This book opens with Jack Brandugan meeting with Gwen, a ghost writer for a blog column in his name. Throughout the course of the book, he explores his life, mostly chronologically, but not entirely. The end product of Gwen and Jack's time together is a book about his life, not just some columns about his business. I could have done with a little less sex and swearing in the book and although the allusions to sex felt gratuitous at times, the swearing mostly wasn't--it was part of war with some adolescent boy-stuff thrown in.
Hatt is an extremely insightful writer. Jack struggles to find his place in life, and you can really feel and relate to his struggles. She is able to vividly portray his thoughts and feelings at all different stages of life. I could really relate to Jack and found him to be a complex and likeable character. Gwen plays a fairly minor role in the book, and she seemed a little too omniscient to me, but you see so little of her it doesn't matter. Jack is a devoted Catholic and you get some real insights into the Catholic way of life, which I enjoyed reading. I also really liked the portrayal of the Vietnam war and how the vets felt while serving and upon returning home to such violent protests.
A favorite quote: "For my career and our family's fresh start, Rose willingly left her home and job behind. For our son and my namesake, she sacrificed her health and the remnants of her career, enduring a pregnancy that weakened her and the loss of what few substitute placements she could gain to focus on child care and after school snacks and hockey practice and Girl Guide meetings and the millions of tasks and chores we all relied on and praised her for as often as we could remember. Now, Charlotte is in college, Dan has moved out, and as Jack prepares to pack his baseball cards, T-shirts and favourite blanket, he will pack away the best of her role as an at-home mom. No more children at home to tend to, no conversations, school meetings, or ball practice, no friends to charm with cookies or girlfriends to gently screen. Rose remains the same bright, organized, energetic person with a memory and work ethic no one could beat, but in her eyes, the world is moving on without her. And with my support of Jack and his move, I'm giving it the gas."
I chose this quote because I could relate to it and I love the last phrase, but there are many instances in the book where the author describes our many different stages in life perfectly, and that is what made this a great book to me!
I will definitely be reading the next book in the series...they are available on Kindle! Yay! Thanks Jennifer for sharing your book with me!
This book opens with Jack Brandugan meeting with Gwen, a ghost writer for a blog column in his name. Throughout the course of the book, he explores his life, mostly chronologically, but not entirely. The end product of Gwen and Jack's time together is a book about his life, not just some columns about his business. I could have done with a little less sex and swearing in the book and although the allusions to sex felt gratuitous at times, the swearing mostly wasn't--it was part of war with some adolescent boy-stuff thrown in.
Hatt is an extremely insightful writer. Jack struggles to find his place in life, and you can really feel and relate to his struggles. She is able to vividly portray his thoughts and feelings at all different stages of life. I could really relate to Jack and found him to be a complex and likeable character. Gwen plays a fairly minor role in the book, and she seemed a little too omniscient to me, but you see so little of her it doesn't matter. Jack is a devoted Catholic and you get some real insights into the Catholic way of life, which I enjoyed reading. I also really liked the portrayal of the Vietnam war and how the vets felt while serving and upon returning home to such violent protests.
A favorite quote: "For my career and our family's fresh start, Rose willingly left her home and job behind. For our son and my namesake, she sacrificed her health and the remnants of her career, enduring a pregnancy that weakened her and the loss of what few substitute placements she could gain to focus on child care and after school snacks and hockey practice and Girl Guide meetings and the millions of tasks and chores we all relied on and praised her for as often as we could remember. Now, Charlotte is in college, Dan has moved out, and as Jack prepares to pack his baseball cards, T-shirts and favourite blanket, he will pack away the best of her role as an at-home mom. No more children at home to tend to, no conversations, school meetings, or ball practice, no friends to charm with cookies or girlfriends to gently screen. Rose remains the same bright, organized, energetic person with a memory and work ethic no one could beat, but in her eyes, the world is moving on without her. And with my support of Jack and his move, I'm giving it the gas."
I chose this quote because I could relate to it and I love the last phrase, but there are many instances in the book where the author describes our many different stages in life perfectly, and that is what made this a great book to me!
I will definitely be reading the next book in the series...they are available on Kindle! Yay! Thanks Jennifer for sharing your book with me!
September 19, 2015
I found this book to be somewhat rambling. The stories are endearing but sort of pointless. I didn't hate it, didn't love it. It was number 28 in my 2015 ultimate reading challenge and was a library book club pick so I had to check off "book by a female author." It's getting harder!
April 28, 2011
I enjoyed this book completely.
May 20, 2011
Great read. Couldn't put it down.
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March 1, 2011still reading
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews