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This Shining Life
Lovable, easy-going, charming Rich is dying of a brain tumour. Life and soul of every party, adored and relied upon by his family and in particular by his autistic son Ollie, no-one wants to believe what is unfolding in front of them.In an effort to convey his love for them Rich decides to send each of his close relations a present. He asks for Ollie’s help, but the combination of Rick’s vagueness and the pressure that Ollie feels means the task does not go quite to plan. And then more suddenly than expected, Rick dies. How the family learns to comes to terms with the catastrophe,and move on is at the centre of this beautifully written and uplifting novel.
320 pages, Paperback
First published June 22, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 159 reviews
June 3, 2021
This book made me think about my Grandmother's funeral years ago, where two of my family members who'd had a huge falling out reconnected. I remember thinking that it was nice that something good came out of such a sad day.
𝙍𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙍𝙪𝙩𝙝, 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙊𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙚, 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧- 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 -𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙖𝙬.
All these characters are really flawed.
Obviously they care for each other but they're ignorant to each other's struggles in life and in grief.
The way they had no patience for Ollie, who's an 11 year old Autistic boy just trying to make sense of his father's death really made me mad. But that was the point of the book - to watch as they learn compassion and understanding of others.
I wavered between 3 and 4 stars through the whole book and I still can't decide so I'm going with the 'glass half full' attitude and giving 4⭐
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the gifted copy.
Released June 22
𝙍𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙍𝙪𝙩𝙝, 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙊𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙚, 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧- 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 -𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙖𝙬.
All these characters are really flawed.
Obviously they care for each other but they're ignorant to each other's struggles in life and in grief.
The way they had no patience for Ollie, who's an 11 year old Autistic boy just trying to make sense of his father's death really made me mad. But that was the point of the book - to watch as they learn compassion and understanding of others.
I wavered between 3 and 4 stars through the whole book and I still can't decide so I'm going with the 'glass half full' attitude and giving 4⭐
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the gifted copy.
Released June 22
February 17, 2021
3.5 Stars
Trigger Warning: Cancer death
Ollie's dad has died.
And, because Ollie is just a bit "different" from other kids his age, he thinks he needs to remind you of that, whenever it's his turn to talk.
Ollie's Dad, Rich was a happy person, right up until the end, and he has carefully selected gifts to mail to those he will be leaving behind-special gifts that only they will know the meaning of, so that they will know that they were loved.
Mum-pink vase
Dad-boat picture
Nessa-necklace
Angran-shawl
So, what happens when they open their gifts, and are stumped by what they have received.
Ollie thinks it's all a puzzle, to help them to figure out what it means to be alive-so, he decides to solve this puzzle, with the determination he usually reserves for Sudoku.
Although Ollie doesn't always understand adults, and their many "turn of phrases" he may just be the one to show them the way to come together in their grief and find their way forward.
I was invited to read this TOUCHING tale by the Publisher, and think that it is the type of book that will or won't resonate with you, depending on your own personal experience with the loss of a loved one.
It was my pleasure to provide a candid review!
Available June 22, 2021
Trigger Warning: Cancer death
Ollie's dad has died.
And, because Ollie is just a bit "different" from other kids his age, he thinks he needs to remind you of that, whenever it's his turn to talk.
Ollie's Dad, Rich was a happy person, right up until the end, and he has carefully selected gifts to mail to those he will be leaving behind-special gifts that only they will know the meaning of, so that they will know that they were loved.
Mum-pink vase
Dad-boat picture
Nessa-necklace
Angran-shawl
So, what happens when they open their gifts, and are stumped by what they have received.
Ollie thinks it's all a puzzle, to help them to figure out what it means to be alive-so, he decides to solve this puzzle, with the determination he usually reserves for Sudoku.
Although Ollie doesn't always understand adults, and their many "turn of phrases" he may just be the one to show them the way to come together in their grief and find their way forward.
I was invited to read this TOUCHING tale by the Publisher, and think that it is the type of book that will or won't resonate with you, depending on your own personal experience with the loss of a loved one.
It was my pleasure to provide a candid review!
Available June 22, 2021
May 14, 2021
This is a bitter sweet novel about death and grief as well as life and living. Richard, Rich to his friends, a young husband and father, is diagnosed with an untreatable brain tumour and told he doesn’t have long to live. He is a cheerful, joyous man who loves life, parties, his family and friends. Over the weeks following his diagnosis and then his death we see how his dying impacts on his wife Ruth, his autistic son Ollie, his wife’s mother and sister and his own mother and father who is in the process of losing himself in dementia.
Ruth is thrown into a deep depression by Richard’s death and can’t cope with Ollie’s obsessive rituals. Rich was always the one who could deal with his meltdowns and get him to laugh. Ollie is having trouble understanding what it means to die. Before Richard died he carefully chose a present to send each of the family to remember him by and got Ollie to help him post them. Ollie likes to do puzzles and thinks the meaning of the gifts forms part of a puzzle his father left him to solve to help him understand the secret of life.
Although, the book is achingly sad, there are also lighter moments and moments of joy. The characters are beautifully drawn, each with their own flaws and misunderstandings of each other. Ollie’s character is particularly sweet as he tries to understand the world around him and get people absorbed in their own grief to listen to his questions. Rich’s death will force them all to become more forgiving of each other and accept that love can come in many forms.
With thanks to Random House UK and Netgalley for a copy to read
Ruth is thrown into a deep depression by Richard’s death and can’t cope with Ollie’s obsessive rituals. Rich was always the one who could deal with his meltdowns and get him to laugh. Ollie is having trouble understanding what it means to die. Before Richard died he carefully chose a present to send each of the family to remember him by and got Ollie to help him post them. Ollie likes to do puzzles and thinks the meaning of the gifts forms part of a puzzle his father left him to solve to help him understand the secret of life.
Although, the book is achingly sad, there are also lighter moments and moments of joy. The characters are beautifully drawn, each with their own flaws and misunderstandings of each other. Ollie’s character is particularly sweet as he tries to understand the world around him and get people absorbed in their own grief to listen to his questions. Rich’s death will force them all to become more forgiving of each other and accept that love can come in many forms.
With thanks to Random House UK and Netgalley for a copy to read
November 22, 2021
3.5★
“My dad died. He gave everyone a present before he died. He gave me a pair of binoculars. They smell of books that haven’t been read for a very long time. When I put them against my face they feel heavy. I can feel them pressing on my bones. My dad hasn’t got any bones. We burnt them all and threw the ashes around by the river. When we’d finished we saw a heron flying out of the woods. Auntie Nessa sighed and said: ‘There he goes.’
She said the heron was my dad, but it wasn’t. I looked at it through the binoculars and saw its beak and some feathers sticking up on its head. My dad didn’t have a beak, or feathers.”
This is Ollie, beginning the story of his dad, Rich, and his mum, her sister, her mother, and his dad’s parents. We can see very early that he is a child who takes things literally, and very quickly we are told how he has meltdowns at home, but not at school.
“No therapies had ever been offered by the paediatricians or the school ‒ Ollie was deemed to be managing too well to warrant it – and it was true that he held fast to a stiff and careful composure in the classroom. The carapace only ever cracked at home. Sometimes he screamed himself hoarse, or clenched his fists so tightly that his fingers were stiff and swollen the next day.”
I remember learning years ago that some children misbehave terribly at school but are reasonably agreeable at home and vice-versa. I’ve always maintained that all schoolchildren and working adults are likely to run out of “charm” at the end of the day, and whoever is at home will be in the firing line. Stay-at-home parent, granny, or the dog. Ollie, of course, is not a run-of-the-mill kid, just worn out from school, but one who has autism, for which he’s receiving no help.
Rich, his dad, is pretty good at being silly and distracting his boy, but he’s really just winging it and doesn’t know what to do. Ruth, his mum, has problems of her own, as does her mother, Angran. Nessa is Ruth’s sister who was the first to meet Rich, back at teaching college, and they’d travelled everywhere together having a wild youth, with no romantic inclinations towards each other. But when Nessa introduces him to her sister, it’s a perfect match.
Chapters alternate between now and before the diagnosis of Rich's terminal brain tumour, each of the latter chapters drawing closer to the present. They are written in the third person, except when Ollie narrates his own. There are times when we, sitting comfortably outside the action, probably have a better idea of what Ollie needs than they do, caught up as they are in constant worry and grief.
“My dad died. Auntie Nessa thinks we should have a party to celebrate his life. She said the funeral was too formal and the scattering of the ashes too gloomy.
. . .
She came downstairs and smiled at us, blowing her nose. She said we should dance on the beach for my dad’s birthday, and order big platters of cheese. She said: ‘Come on, Ruth, you know that’s what he would have wanted. This is the man who had a party once, just because he found two jars of olives at the back of the cupboard.’”
The grandparents are very different from each other, and it becomes obvious that it is Rich who has been the buffer between them all. He is a man who instigates spur-of-the-moment picnics and loves to share wonderful cheeses and get people chatting. Lovely! Except it’s Ruth who makes sure he has the olives, isn’t it?
Ollie loves puzzles, and when his dad mentions that life is like a puzzle, Ollie takes it as a challenge. When his dad chooses gifts for people, Ollie decides if he can figure out what they mean, it will tell him “what it means to be alive”.
I should have enjoyed this, because I liked the premise, and the cover is lovely. (I know, never judge…) For me, the characters seemed like placeholders, as if to show one of each type of person dealing with this family tragedy. I was never really interested in what they were doing or what would become of them.
I don’t have to like characters to love a story. Look at Sherlock Holmes! I often say he’s a great example of an unlikeable character who is fun to read about.
Other people may love this. I’m aware that sometimes I’m just a grouchy reader.
Thanks to NetGalley and Transworld Publishers for the copy for review.
“My dad died. He gave everyone a present before he died. He gave me a pair of binoculars. They smell of books that haven’t been read for a very long time. When I put them against my face they feel heavy. I can feel them pressing on my bones. My dad hasn’t got any bones. We burnt them all and threw the ashes around by the river. When we’d finished we saw a heron flying out of the woods. Auntie Nessa sighed and said: ‘There he goes.’
She said the heron was my dad, but it wasn’t. I looked at it through the binoculars and saw its beak and some feathers sticking up on its head. My dad didn’t have a beak, or feathers.”
This is Ollie, beginning the story of his dad, Rich, and his mum, her sister, her mother, and his dad’s parents. We can see very early that he is a child who takes things literally, and very quickly we are told how he has meltdowns at home, but not at school.
“No therapies had ever been offered by the paediatricians or the school ‒ Ollie was deemed to be managing too well to warrant it – and it was true that he held fast to a stiff and careful composure in the classroom. The carapace only ever cracked at home. Sometimes he screamed himself hoarse, or clenched his fists so tightly that his fingers were stiff and swollen the next day.”
I remember learning years ago that some children misbehave terribly at school but are reasonably agreeable at home and vice-versa. I’ve always maintained that all schoolchildren and working adults are likely to run out of “charm” at the end of the day, and whoever is at home will be in the firing line. Stay-at-home parent, granny, or the dog. Ollie, of course, is not a run-of-the-mill kid, just worn out from school, but one who has autism, for which he’s receiving no help.
Rich, his dad, is pretty good at being silly and distracting his boy, but he’s really just winging it and doesn’t know what to do. Ruth, his mum, has problems of her own, as does her mother, Angran. Nessa is Ruth’s sister who was the first to meet Rich, back at teaching college, and they’d travelled everywhere together having a wild youth, with no romantic inclinations towards each other. But when Nessa introduces him to her sister, it’s a perfect match.
Chapters alternate between now and before the diagnosis of Rich's terminal brain tumour, each of the latter chapters drawing closer to the present. They are written in the third person, except when Ollie narrates his own. There are times when we, sitting comfortably outside the action, probably have a better idea of what Ollie needs than they do, caught up as they are in constant worry and grief.
“My dad died. Auntie Nessa thinks we should have a party to celebrate his life. She said the funeral was too formal and the scattering of the ashes too gloomy.
. . .
She came downstairs and smiled at us, blowing her nose. She said we should dance on the beach for my dad’s birthday, and order big platters of cheese. She said: ‘Come on, Ruth, you know that’s what he would have wanted. This is the man who had a party once, just because he found two jars of olives at the back of the cupboard.’”
The grandparents are very different from each other, and it becomes obvious that it is Rich who has been the buffer between them all. He is a man who instigates spur-of-the-moment picnics and loves to share wonderful cheeses and get people chatting. Lovely! Except it’s Ruth who makes sure he has the olives, isn’t it?
Ollie loves puzzles, and when his dad mentions that life is like a puzzle, Ollie takes it as a challenge. When his dad chooses gifts for people, Ollie decides if he can figure out what they mean, it will tell him “what it means to be alive”.
I should have enjoyed this, because I liked the premise, and the cover is lovely. (I know, never judge…) For me, the characters seemed like placeholders, as if to show one of each type of person dealing with this family tragedy. I was never really interested in what they were doing or what would become of them.
I don’t have to like characters to love a story. Look at Sherlock Holmes! I often say he’s a great example of an unlikeable character who is fun to read about.
Other people may love this. I’m aware that sometimes I’m just a grouchy reader.
Thanks to NetGalley and Transworld Publishers for the copy for review.
July 31, 2021
I told myself I was never getting a special edition book again unless I knew the author or read the book first. This book cover is me of the most beautiful covers I’ve seen. Unfortunately, I didn’t really like the book. I thought it sounded like something I would love so I took the chance but I didn’t cry, I didn’t like the characters… nothing. I’m still giving it 2 stars for some things and I might keep the book to use as something else.
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
June 29, 2021
When Rich was diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour, his wife, Ruth, was devastated. Everyone was – Nessa, Ruth’s sister and Angram, Nessa and Ruth’s mother. Marjorie and Gerald, Rich’s parents couldn’t get past the grief of it all. Gerald himself was drifting into the beginnings of dementia. But it was eleven-year-old Ollie, Rich and Ruth’s son who struggled the most. Ollie was autistic and needed his routine, which his dad understood. And with everyone knowing Rich was going to die, Rich chose to buy gifts for all those he loved. Ollie loved puzzles; sudoku was his greatest challenge and biggest delight, and Ollie thought his dad had set him a puzzle with the gifts, so when he died, Ollie wanted to work out the puzzle to know the meaning of life…
This Shining Life is a gentle, poignant look at grief, love, sadness and life by Harriet Kline, her debut novel. Ollie was a delight, struggling with everyday issues that changed regularly – not something he could manage. His meltdowns when they came, were spectacular and his father was the one to help him through. I enjoyed each and every character in this book, with Ollie being at the top of the list. The beauty of everyday pleasures drifted away after Rich’s death, but would his family find them again? I must make mention of the beautiful cover as well, and now I've read the book, the cover's meaning! Highly recommended.
With thanks to NetGalley and Transworld Publishers, Penguin Random House, UK, for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
This Shining Life is a gentle, poignant look at grief, love, sadness and life by Harriet Kline, her debut novel. Ollie was a delight, struggling with everyday issues that changed regularly – not something he could manage. His meltdowns when they came, were spectacular and his father was the one to help him through. I enjoyed each and every character in this book, with Ollie being at the top of the list. The beauty of everyday pleasures drifted away after Rich’s death, but would his family find them again? I must make mention of the beautiful cover as well, and now I've read the book, the cover's meaning! Highly recommended.
With thanks to NetGalley and Transworld Publishers, Penguin Random House, UK, for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
June 10, 2021
A nicely written book which I believe is the author's debut novel. The cover deserves a mention too - it is beautiful!
This Shining Life tells the story of a father who dies too young from brain cancer leaving behind his wife and eleven year old son, Ollie. Ollie is neuro diverse and sees the world in a different way to most of us and it was his share in the story that interested me the most.
After Rich's death the family respond in an assortment of ways as families do, but I found all of them to be rather unpleasant people who were very irresponsible regarding Ollie. I am afraid I was mostly irritated by their self-centredness and this spoiled the reading experience for me a little.
By the end of the book there was a slight feeling of optimism but I wanted more and I still felt we left Ollie in an insecure place. Still an interesting and very readable book and I know a lot of people like it much more than me.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
This Shining Life tells the story of a father who dies too young from brain cancer leaving behind his wife and eleven year old son, Ollie. Ollie is neuro diverse and sees the world in a different way to most of us and it was his share in the story that interested me the most.
After Rich's death the family respond in an assortment of ways as families do, but I found all of them to be rather unpleasant people who were very irresponsible regarding Ollie. I am afraid I was mostly irritated by their self-centredness and this spoiled the reading experience for me a little.
By the end of the book there was a slight feeling of optimism but I wanted more and I still felt we left Ollie in an insecure place. Still an interesting and very readable book and I know a lot of people like it much more than me.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
April 7, 2021
This story begins with Ollie telling the story, from his perspective, the perspective of a young boy with autism, whose father, Rich, has just died. Before, though, his father had Ollie help him arrange gifts for those he knew he would be leaving behind. He knew that his brain tumor was incurable. He is trying to bring comfort, a token of remembrance, of him and his love for them all. These gifts, he told Ollie, would help him solve the puzzle of what it means to be alive. He gives Ollie a pair of binoculars that ’smell of old books’ unread ’for a very long time.’
It isn’t long before Ollie realizes that everything has gone awry, the packages have ended up with the wrong people, and he is desperate to correct this. If he can’t, he will never know what it really means to be alive. Ollie begins to unravel, desperate to restore each gift to the person they were meant for, that is the only way for him to know what it means to be alive.
The cast of characters in this story include his grieving mother, Ruth, who is struggling to get out of bed and watch over Ollie. Nessa, his aunt and Ruth’s sister and their mother Angran. Gerald, his father’s father, and Marjorie, his father’s mother. But this story belongs most of all to Ollie, who has a desperate need to restore everything to the way it was supposed to be, and to solve the puzzle. He doesn’t ever want to cry about his father’s death, he is completely focused on figuring out the right answers in order to solve the puzzle his father left him. The frustration and obsession take their toll on him, but no one is listening to what he is really saying. He needs to fix the package mix-up in order to solve it and make everything right again.
I struggled through the first half of this and set it aside despite it being a relatively quick read. Time-wise, I could have easily finished this 336 page book in one sitting if I’d been engaged, but I wasn’t. Ollie’s so obsessed, naturally, over the same thing, it gets a bit repetitive in nature, but the second half it did pick up a bit more.
A story about love and loss, families, and the pain and sorrow that accompanies losing a loved one. Perhaps most of all, listening beyond just words.
Pub Date: 22 Jun 2021
Many thanks for the ARC provided by Random House Publishing Group - Random House / Dial Press Trade Paperback
June 13, 2021
Ollie needs to answer this question: "How will I ever know, then, that it means to be alive?" When Ollie's father Rich was dying due to a brain tumor, a list of gifts for friends and family was made. Each gift was chosen very carefully and thoughtfully. Binoculars for Ollie (to help him focus). A pink vase for Other Grandma (Rich's mother). A Bohemian necklace for Aunt Nessa (sister of Ollie's mother Ruth). And so on. After Rich's death, Ollie discovers the list and it becomes his mission to find out what these gifts were meant to teach him about life. Since Ollie is autistic, this challenge becomes an obsession. The surviving family members, caught up in their own grief and other dysfunctional dynamics, seem to disregard Ollie's project. Will they understand in time to help Ollie answer his question? Told in a range of perspectives and in diverging timelines, this is about the beauty of life and family. There is hope.
Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
June 3, 2021
“Can I do that puzzle, Dad, the one that tells you what it means to be alive?”
This Shining Life is the first novel by British author, Harriet Kline. When nearly-eleven-year-old Ollie’s father dies, dealing with the avalanche of grief that surrounds him is a challenge. Rich was a cheese-loving, party-throwing joyous individual, loved by almost all who encountered him. Dad was the person who quizzed him on football teams and national capitals, helping to distract him from things that caused a meltdown.
Ollie is different. He might be described as neuro-diverse, but his mum, Carrie simply says “It’s just how his brain’s wired. If he can’t see the world as we do, then we have to honour that.” Ollie loves things to be neat and correct. “I love puzzles. Killer sudoku are my favourite but I like word ladders and codewords too. They make me happy, but only when they’re finished. If they go wrong or I have to rub something out and the page gets creased, I get itchy under my fingernails”
And “When there’s a thread in my sock, wriggling against my skin, I’m supposed to act as though it isn’t there. But it makes my feet feel blurry if the threads move around. I can only ignore it if I do a sudoku. Then I get told off for being rude because I’m ignoring everything else.” Also “I hate it when people ask me two questions at once because I don’t know which one to answer first.”
Given a poor prognosis, Rich concentrates on enjoying the life he has remaining, being with those he loves. “He started telling me then that being alive was like a puzzle and it was all falling into place” When he makes a list of gifts he plans to give them, Ollie concludes “each present gives a clue about being alive.” So when Rich dies, this is the puzzle that Ollie fixates on: he will understand what it means to be alive. Of course, that doesn’t quite go to plan.
Ollie is a smart boy: “Rich realized, as he watched him, that he was gathering information. He might have no instinct for being with people and he took scarce pleasure in their company, but it was obvious that he was making an effort to understand. He was storing up his observations and somehow, in the future, he would put them to use.”
But Ollie is too young and perhaps too literal, to understand the reactions of those beloved. Carrie’s grief as a widow overlays her ongoing depression; her sister, Nessa is well-intentioned but lacks sensitivity to what others really need; their mother Angran, still determined to triumph over her abandonment by the father of her two small daughters, has no idea of how to mother, to show affection.
Rich’s father, Gerald plagued by tinnitus and encroaching dementia, holds fast to the importance of rules and manners at the expense of accepting difference; his wife, Marjorie initially seems focussed on appearances.
Kline paints the many faces of grief with skill and feeling. Her characters are appealing for all their very human flaws, and Ollie is likely to find a spot in the hearts of many readers. And while a happy ending with this plot is difficult, a hopeful one can be, and is, achieved. A beautifully written, moving debut novel.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Transworld Publishers.
This Shining Life is the first novel by British author, Harriet Kline. When nearly-eleven-year-old Ollie’s father dies, dealing with the avalanche of grief that surrounds him is a challenge. Rich was a cheese-loving, party-throwing joyous individual, loved by almost all who encountered him. Dad was the person who quizzed him on football teams and national capitals, helping to distract him from things that caused a meltdown.
Ollie is different. He might be described as neuro-diverse, but his mum, Carrie simply says “It’s just how his brain’s wired. If he can’t see the world as we do, then we have to honour that.” Ollie loves things to be neat and correct. “I love puzzles. Killer sudoku are my favourite but I like word ladders and codewords too. They make me happy, but only when they’re finished. If they go wrong or I have to rub something out and the page gets creased, I get itchy under my fingernails”
And “When there’s a thread in my sock, wriggling against my skin, I’m supposed to act as though it isn’t there. But it makes my feet feel blurry if the threads move around. I can only ignore it if I do a sudoku. Then I get told off for being rude because I’m ignoring everything else.” Also “I hate it when people ask me two questions at once because I don’t know which one to answer first.”
Given a poor prognosis, Rich concentrates on enjoying the life he has remaining, being with those he loves. “He started telling me then that being alive was like a puzzle and it was all falling into place” When he makes a list of gifts he plans to give them, Ollie concludes “each present gives a clue about being alive.” So when Rich dies, this is the puzzle that Ollie fixates on: he will understand what it means to be alive. Of course, that doesn’t quite go to plan.
Ollie is a smart boy: “Rich realized, as he watched him, that he was gathering information. He might have no instinct for being with people and he took scarce pleasure in their company, but it was obvious that he was making an effort to understand. He was storing up his observations and somehow, in the future, he would put them to use.”
But Ollie is too young and perhaps too literal, to understand the reactions of those beloved. Carrie’s grief as a widow overlays her ongoing depression; her sister, Nessa is well-intentioned but lacks sensitivity to what others really need; their mother Angran, still determined to triumph over her abandonment by the father of her two small daughters, has no idea of how to mother, to show affection.
Rich’s father, Gerald plagued by tinnitus and encroaching dementia, holds fast to the importance of rules and manners at the expense of accepting difference; his wife, Marjorie initially seems focussed on appearances.
Kline paints the many faces of grief with skill and feeling. Her characters are appealing for all their very human flaws, and Ollie is likely to find a spot in the hearts of many readers. And while a happy ending with this plot is difficult, a hopeful one can be, and is, achieved. A beautifully written, moving debut novel.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Transworld Publishers.
February 27, 2021
Genre: General Fiction/Literary Fiction
Publisher: Random House
Pub. Date: June 22, 2021
This character-driven novel is a sweet yet sad story that revolves around Rich who is a husband, father, brother, and son. Rich will die in the novel. We know this from chapter one. The book takes you through his prognosis until his death and his family’s grief afterward. The author’s descriptive writing will bring you into the mindset of a dying man. As well as his family members who are trying to digest his upcoming death.
Most of the characters have quirky yet lovable personalities including Rich’s 11-year-old son, Ollie, who is autistic. Although, Ollie is very hard to live with his parents adore him. Rich is the best with him when dealing with his rituals. Can you imagine being a parent of a child who will not leave the house without all his socks in case his feet get wet? Yet, Ollie is such a tender and frequently confused soul that it is hard not to like him. The author never actually states that Ollie is autistic but it becomes obvious through his words, actions, and rituals. Rich wants to reprimand his parents that it is not Ollie’s fault that their grandson can appear to be disrespectful. He is not. It is just that his brain is wired differently. Unfortunately, when he finally gets the courage to confront his stern and ridged father it is too late. Rich is already gone. The message is obvious.
There is much more in this touching family drama than Rich’s premature death. The author takes on many themes, living with a disability, adult unresolved painful childhood memories, chronic depression, and the stages of grief. Sometimes I thought the author went too heavy on the characters’ exhausting emotions. It became tedious to read. But then again, maybe that was Kline’s point—to put the reader up close and personal to the death of a loved one. However, for me, sweet Ollie is what grabbed my interest and held it throughout the novel. Watching the boy struggle to understand just what is exactly expected of him when the answer is outside his reasoning melted my heart. Without being preachy, the author gives a lesson in patience, understanding, and the meaning of true acceptance.
I received this Advance Review Copy (ARC) novel from the publisher at no cost in exchange for an honest review.
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Publisher: Random House
Pub. Date: June 22, 2021
This character-driven novel is a sweet yet sad story that revolves around Rich who is a husband, father, brother, and son. Rich will die in the novel. We know this from chapter one. The book takes you through his prognosis until his death and his family’s grief afterward. The author’s descriptive writing will bring you into the mindset of a dying man. As well as his family members who are trying to digest his upcoming death.
Most of the characters have quirky yet lovable personalities including Rich’s 11-year-old son, Ollie, who is autistic. Although, Ollie is very hard to live with his parents adore him. Rich is the best with him when dealing with his rituals. Can you imagine being a parent of a child who will not leave the house without all his socks in case his feet get wet? Yet, Ollie is such a tender and frequently confused soul that it is hard not to like him. The author never actually states that Ollie is autistic but it becomes obvious through his words, actions, and rituals. Rich wants to reprimand his parents that it is not Ollie’s fault that their grandson can appear to be disrespectful. He is not. It is just that his brain is wired differently. Unfortunately, when he finally gets the courage to confront his stern and ridged father it is too late. Rich is already gone. The message is obvious.
There is much more in this touching family drama than Rich’s premature death. The author takes on many themes, living with a disability, adult unresolved painful childhood memories, chronic depression, and the stages of grief. Sometimes I thought the author went too heavy on the characters’ exhausting emotions. It became tedious to read. But then again, maybe that was Kline’s point—to put the reader up close and personal to the death of a loved one. However, for me, sweet Ollie is what grabbed my interest and held it throughout the novel. Watching the boy struggle to understand just what is exactly expected of him when the answer is outside his reasoning melted my heart. Without being preachy, the author gives a lesson in patience, understanding, and the meaning of true acceptance.
I received this Advance Review Copy (ARC) novel from the publisher at no cost in exchange for an honest review.
Find all my book reviews at:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list…
https://books6259.wordpress.com/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/review…
https://www.facebook.com/martie.neesr…
https://www.instagram.com/martie6947/
https://www.pinterest.com/martienreco…\
https://www.amazon.com/
https://twitter.com/NeesRecord\
June 27, 2021
3.5 rounded up - I was really looking forward to this book about Rich, a British man who gets diagnosed with a brain tumor and only has months to live. Told in alternating POVs from Rich, his wife, Ruth, their son Ollie, who is on the spectrum as well as their extended family members - this book covers a number of heavy issues as the characters deal with their grief over the loss of the man they all loved. As a brain tumor survivor myself, I really connected with Rich, especially with his love of cheese and his deep love of life and his family. What I didn't love so much about this book was how many different perspectives there were. I felt the author tried to do too much instead of focusing on just a few characters. Ruth grapples with a deep-seated depression after her husband's death (something that runs in her family), while still trying to be there for her son, who is struggling to find meaning in life after losing his dad. Rich's mother is not just trying to support her daughter in law and grandson but trying to do right by her husband who is suffering from worsening dementia and needing more care than she can give. In addition, Ruth's sister and mom are also working through their own issues and grief. It all gets to be a little much and in my opinion this book would have been stronger with a few fewer perspectives. Overall very well written and tackles hard topics but I wanted more (or rather less). Recommended for people who enjoy stories about families dealing with loss and grief in their own different ways and great on audio with a full cast of narrators. Thanks to NetGalley for my advance review copy!
February 15, 2021
Ollie's Dad died. Richard had an incurable brain tumour, and before he passed away, he sent everyone a special present. He also told Ollie that "being alive was like a puzzle and it was all falling into place." Ollie is autistic. He thinks his father left him a puzzle to solve. Could it involve the gifts? Why won't anyone help him solve the puzzle?
This Shining Life by Harriet Kline is a heartbreaking tale about a family coming to terms with death. Told from several people's point of view, Kline explores different portrayals of grief. Ollie's mum wants to stay in bed; his aunt wants life to carry on; his maternal grandmother tries to exert control; his paternal grandmother wishes she could understand her grandson; and his grandfather has no idea what is going on. No one has time for Ollie and his obsession with his puzzle.
Before Richard's death, Ollie dominated family life. Ollie had a strict routine, always had a few spare pairs of socks with him because he hated dirty ones, and had meltdowns if his parents used the "wrong" tone of voice. Without his familiar habits, Ollie's life was a mass of confusion - an apt metaphor for the grief the rest of the family experienced.
With a contemporary novel such as This Shining Life, there is no "happy ever after". People do not come back from the dead. There is no answer to the meaning of life. Grief is a long process and different for everyone. It causes depression, anger and confusion, but hidden under all these negative feelings is love.
Harriet Kline takes death and grief seriously but adds a touch of humour to the narrative for the reader's benefit. It is not a light read, nor is it markedly profound. Instead, This Shining Life is painfully honest, and for that reason, it is beautiful.
This Shining Life by Harriet Kline is a heartbreaking tale about a family coming to terms with death. Told from several people's point of view, Kline explores different portrayals of grief. Ollie's mum wants to stay in bed; his aunt wants life to carry on; his maternal grandmother tries to exert control; his paternal grandmother wishes she could understand her grandson; and his grandfather has no idea what is going on. No one has time for Ollie and his obsession with his puzzle.
Before Richard's death, Ollie dominated family life. Ollie had a strict routine, always had a few spare pairs of socks with him because he hated dirty ones, and had meltdowns if his parents used the "wrong" tone of voice. Without his familiar habits, Ollie's life was a mass of confusion - an apt metaphor for the grief the rest of the family experienced.
With a contemporary novel such as This Shining Life, there is no "happy ever after". People do not come back from the dead. There is no answer to the meaning of life. Grief is a long process and different for everyone. It causes depression, anger and confusion, but hidden under all these negative feelings is love.
Harriet Kline takes death and grief seriously but adds a touch of humour to the narrative for the reader's benefit. It is not a light read, nor is it markedly profound. Instead, This Shining Life is painfully honest, and for that reason, it is beautiful.
July 2, 2021
This Shining Life is an intimate exploration of the impact of Rich’s diagnosis and subsequent death on the members of his extended family. All of them struggle to cope in different ways, partly because some of them face other challenges on top of their grief at his loss, such as difficult childhood memories or caring responsibilities. The book switches between before and after Rich’s death and unfolds from the points of view of a number of family members, including Rich himself.
The most powerful of these for me were the sections told – in the first person- by Rich’s young son, Ollie. Ollie’s neuro diversity gives him an unique perspective as he struggles to interpret the words and actions of others, in everyday life let alone at a time of such heightened emotions. As he says, “I hate trying to work out special meanings. You can never be sure whether you’ve got them right of wrong”. Indeed, a particularly interesting aspect of the book is the way it explores how we interpret the meaning of words and learn to discern whether their use is literal, metaphorical or merely a ‘turn of phrase’ such as Rich’s personal favourite, ‘Life’s too short’.
Ollie, in particular, exemplifies this struggle to understand the meaning of words in his touchingly literal interpretation of his father’s remark that life is a puzzle. It’s a puzzle Ollie is determined to solve, applying himself to the task with the same determination he did to memorising the names of the members of football teams or to solving sudoku puzzles.
Rich’s desire to leave gifts behind that will communicate to the recipients what they meant to him involves much careful thought on his part. And perhaps it is that degree of thought that, in the end, means just as much to the recipients as the gifts themselves. In fact, the whole gifting process turns out to be an apt metaphor for the emotional confusion that often follows a bereavement.
This Shining Life tackles some big subjects including terminal illness, caring for people with dementia, bereavement and mental illness. However, the author always manages to stay the right side of the maudlin or sentimental. And a cover quote by an author of the pedigree of Rachel Joyce describing the book as ‘exquisitely beautiful and compelling’ is not one that can be easily ignored is it?
The most powerful of these for me were the sections told – in the first person- by Rich’s young son, Ollie. Ollie’s neuro diversity gives him an unique perspective as he struggles to interpret the words and actions of others, in everyday life let alone at a time of such heightened emotions. As he says, “I hate trying to work out special meanings. You can never be sure whether you’ve got them right of wrong”. Indeed, a particularly interesting aspect of the book is the way it explores how we interpret the meaning of words and learn to discern whether their use is literal, metaphorical or merely a ‘turn of phrase’ such as Rich’s personal favourite, ‘Life’s too short’.
Ollie, in particular, exemplifies this struggle to understand the meaning of words in his touchingly literal interpretation of his father’s remark that life is a puzzle. It’s a puzzle Ollie is determined to solve, applying himself to the task with the same determination he did to memorising the names of the members of football teams or to solving sudoku puzzles.
Rich’s desire to leave gifts behind that will communicate to the recipients what they meant to him involves much careful thought on his part. And perhaps it is that degree of thought that, in the end, means just as much to the recipients as the gifts themselves. In fact, the whole gifting process turns out to be an apt metaphor for the emotional confusion that often follows a bereavement.
This Shining Life tackles some big subjects including terminal illness, caring for people with dementia, bereavement and mental illness. However, the author always manages to stay the right side of the maudlin or sentimental. And a cover quote by an author of the pedigree of Rachel Joyce describing the book as ‘exquisitely beautiful and compelling’ is not one that can be easily ignored is it?
July 1, 2021
With a tragic loss at it's heart, Kline's debut is one that hits you right in the feels but which also celebrates love and life in all it's glory alongside it's exploration of grief.
The story follows Ruth and Ollie as they try to navigate life after the death of Rich, the head of their family, who fizzed with happiness and love right up until the end. When he dies, Ruth can't see how to keep living and Ollie becomes intent on working out the meaning of life. When they discover the mismatched gifts Rich has left behind for his loved ones, Ollie tries to understand the meaning behind each one, convinced there's a puzzle to solve. Ruth, meanwhile struggles to overcome her grief. Together, with their families support, they take their first tentative steps towards moving on, a journey which turns out to be both joyful and painful.
Tenderly written, thoughtful and heartbreakingly touching, I wasn't quite prepared for the rush of emotions I felt whilst reading. I found myself genuinely moved and rooting for the quirky members of the novels grieving family, even if at times I found them completely maddening. I loved witnessing their hope and reconciliations which turned the saddest period into something so heart-warming. I really enjoyed their story, Kline has written such a beautiful debut.
🌻🌷
The story follows Ruth and Ollie as they try to navigate life after the death of Rich, the head of their family, who fizzed with happiness and love right up until the end. When he dies, Ruth can't see how to keep living and Ollie becomes intent on working out the meaning of life. When they discover the mismatched gifts Rich has left behind for his loved ones, Ollie tries to understand the meaning behind each one, convinced there's a puzzle to solve. Ruth, meanwhile struggles to overcome her grief. Together, with their families support, they take their first tentative steps towards moving on, a journey which turns out to be both joyful and painful.
Tenderly written, thoughtful and heartbreakingly touching, I wasn't quite prepared for the rush of emotions I felt whilst reading. I found myself genuinely moved and rooting for the quirky members of the novels grieving family, even if at times I found them completely maddening. I loved witnessing their hope and reconciliations which turned the saddest period into something so heart-warming. I really enjoyed their story, Kline has written such a beautiful debut.
🌻🌷
July 6, 2021
This Shining Life is an exploration of the impact of Rich’s cancer diagnosis and subsequent death on the members of his family.
Although this is such a terribly sad tale there are lighter moments and times of joy. Harriet Kline's characters are beautifully drawn, each with misunderstandings of one another. I was particularly fond of Ollie’s character as he tries to cope with the world around him. Some huge subjects are touched on in this novel including terminal illness, mental illness, dementia, and bereavement, yet the author never allows things to become too melancholy. Compelling, bittersweet and beautifully written.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel from Random House/ Doubleday via NetGalley at my request and this review is my own unbiased opinion.
Although this is such a terribly sad tale there are lighter moments and times of joy. Harriet Kline's characters are beautifully drawn, each with misunderstandings of one another. I was particularly fond of Ollie’s character as he tries to cope with the world around him. Some huge subjects are touched on in this novel including terminal illness, mental illness, dementia, and bereavement, yet the author never allows things to become too melancholy. Compelling, bittersweet and beautifully written.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel from Random House/ Doubleday via NetGalley at my request and this review is my own unbiased opinion.
June 4, 2021
"This Shining Life" by Harriet Kline really resonated with me. Like Ollie, I am neurodivergent and my dad passed away suddenly when I was still young. I had a mother and grandparents who didn't know how to cope with their own losses, much less help me deal with mine. Also like Ollie, I floundered around, searching for meaning that just wasn't there. I could identify with Ruth too-even though she suffered a tremendous loss, she still felt like she had to be supportive to everyone around her, putting aside her needs for theirs, which eventually led to depression.
However, as I also found to be the case, in the midst of death and mourning, there were flashes of light and happiness for those left behind. They learned to listen to each other, and to help each other grieve. They remembered Rich with funny stories and smiles. Most of all, they learned that living means having to accept and forgive others, and that love comes in many different forms. Ollie's dad died, my dad died, but their deaths in some strange way taught us to live.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and to the author for the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy of this beautiful and realistic book, in exchange for my honest review.
However, as I also found to be the case, in the midst of death and mourning, there were flashes of light and happiness for those left behind. They learned to listen to each other, and to help each other grieve. They remembered Rich with funny stories and smiles. Most of all, they learned that living means having to accept and forgive others, and that love comes in many different forms. Ollie's dad died, my dad died, but their deaths in some strange way taught us to live.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and to the author for the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy of this beautiful and realistic book, in exchange for my honest review.
July 3, 2021
This Shining Life
By Harriet Kline
This story is about grief and loss. But there is so much more – it is a story about Ruth, Rich, and Ollie.
Rich has passed away from brain cancer and Ruth is left to navigate the rest of their lives alone with her eleven year old eccentric neurodiverse son Ollie. Rich leaves the surviving family with special gifts and with the help of Ollie, each learns to understand their gift – what it means to live and live their life fully.
This touching story will resonate with many who has suffered loss and are dealing with grief of a loved one. This was such a special story with many life lessons to teach us.
By Harriet Kline
This story is about grief and loss. But there is so much more – it is a story about Ruth, Rich, and Ollie.
Rich has passed away from brain cancer and Ruth is left to navigate the rest of their lives alone with her eleven year old eccentric neurodiverse son Ollie. Rich leaves the surviving family with special gifts and with the help of Ollie, each learns to understand their gift – what it means to live and live their life fully.
This touching story will resonate with many who has suffered loss and are dealing with grief of a loved one. This was such a special story with many life lessons to teach us.
July 10, 2021
When Rich dies, he leaves behind his wife Ruth and their son Ollie. While Ollie tries to understand the meaning of being alive, Ruth struggles to adapt to a life without her warm, wonderful husband.
For me, the best chapters focused upon the last months of Rich’s life. You’d like to imagine that your last weeks on earth were wonderous, filled with all your favourite people and places.
But the reality is that things don’t always work out as you’d imagine, and I liked that Rich’s last days with his family weren’t always picture-perfect. They could be messy and frustrating, and author Harriet Kline does not shy away from the fact your life (and death) doesn’t always work out how you imagined.
Ruth’s battle with depression is a stark look at mental illness too, and we witness the realities of grief and sadness unflinchingly. I ached for her, as she struggled to get out of bed or cope with Ollie’s angry outbursts.
Insights into the impact of Rich’s premature death on the wider family (his parents, best friend and mother-in-law) were interesting too, as we see the different way that each one respond to his passing.
Although This Shining Life is a beautiful look at grief, loss and love, something was missing for me. I can’t quite put my finger on what it was, but it took me ages to read, and I felt as though I was a little disconnected from the plot and characters.
The only character I truly adored was Rich – and without him, I found my interest waned. Perhaps this is a compliment, in a way? If I as a reader missed him, then the true extent of his family’s loss is unimaginable.
This Shining Life didn’t quite hit the spot for me, but nonetheless, I’d still recommend it.
It is a poignant, devastating look at grief – but, alike to life itself, it also has moments of light, hope and joy too.
A three star rating from me ⭐️⭐️⭐️
For me, the best chapters focused upon the last months of Rich’s life. You’d like to imagine that your last weeks on earth were wonderous, filled with all your favourite people and places.
But the reality is that things don’t always work out as you’d imagine, and I liked that Rich’s last days with his family weren’t always picture-perfect. They could be messy and frustrating, and author Harriet Kline does not shy away from the fact your life (and death) doesn’t always work out how you imagined.
Ruth’s battle with depression is a stark look at mental illness too, and we witness the realities of grief and sadness unflinchingly. I ached for her, as she struggled to get out of bed or cope with Ollie’s angry outbursts.
Insights into the impact of Rich’s premature death on the wider family (his parents, best friend and mother-in-law) were interesting too, as we see the different way that each one respond to his passing.
Although This Shining Life is a beautiful look at grief, loss and love, something was missing for me. I can’t quite put my finger on what it was, but it took me ages to read, and I felt as though I was a little disconnected from the plot and characters.
The only character I truly adored was Rich – and without him, I found my interest waned. Perhaps this is a compliment, in a way? If I as a reader missed him, then the true extent of his family’s loss is unimaginable.
This Shining Life didn’t quite hit the spot for me, but nonetheless, I’d still recommend it.
It is a poignant, devastating look at grief – but, alike to life itself, it also has moments of light, hope and joy too.
A three star rating from me ⭐️⭐️⭐️
April 19, 2021
You need to be prepared for this book; it's very depressing and often hard to read. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mindset to read it because it has gotten rave reviews so take this with a grain of salt (I had to have a margarita)! Ollie is eleven and autistic when his father dies unexpectedly from a brain tumor. His family is devastated but Ollie can't make any sense of it until he believes his father left him a puzzle with gifts for everyone; he's convinced if he solves the puzzle he will understand "what it feels to be alive." Told from alternating perspectives, we see a family struggling to heal but the focus is on Ollie who is in his own little world; one of his family members calls him "defective." You'd think living with an autistic child, you'd learn ways to help him cope. But there is some closure at the end and we see how this life could be "shining." It is an impressive debut and I will read more of Kline's work as it's clear she's talented.
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!
February 17, 2021
This ShiningLife was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It’s a beautiful book, written about a man who is also brother, a father, a husband, and a son. It’s about his death and the affect it had on his family, especially his son. The book takes you through his prognosis and how he works to impart happiness and wisdom to the family in his last months. He gives each family member a gift as a reminder of his place in his life. He also tells his son that those gifts are meant to remind the person of the meaning of life and to live life to its fullest. The book centers around the son trying to find the answers by learning more about the gifts each person received. It was not as poignant or work it’s way into my soul as I thought it would when I read the books description.. I didn’t “feel it.” I give it a 3 for story line but couldn’t go higher since it didn’t pull me in the way I wanted to be.
December 20, 2021
I spotted this book due to its beautiful cover and even bought a signed edition. When I read the blurb I was captured by it having recently lost my dad and thought it might be quite a poignant read. I really was expecting to love it. But I was disappointed.
I didn’t particularly like or feel any connection with the characters, it felt very repetitive (I understand some was due to the boy’s challenges) and the ending just didn’t seem to wrap it all up for me. The adults were really ignorant of the boy and what was going on, seeming to make absolutely no effort to listen to a single thing which I found bizarre. It had such potential but just fell flat for me.
I didn’t particularly like or feel any connection with the characters, it felt very repetitive (I understand some was due to the boy’s challenges) and the ending just didn’t seem to wrap it all up for me. The adults were really ignorant of the boy and what was going on, seeming to make absolutely no effort to listen to a single thing which I found bizarre. It had such potential but just fell flat for me.
March 15, 2021
A beautifully written meditation on the meaning of life, and a deep dive exploration on the effects of trauma on a family. While I loved the idea of the story and the writing style, the structure of the book read a little unevenly for me, personally.
Part One includes Rich's story and perspective and is quite magical. The reader also experiences Ollie's future tense perspective on the events of the story, one which is full of holes. This is a great metaphorical way to both get inside the brain of someone with Autism (who struggles to make connections that occur naturally for the rest of the family) and to place questions in the reader's mind that will thankfully be answered later in the book (although rarely to Ollie's satisfaction.)
Part Two is more of an exploration of grief and the story of these various objects Rich has bequeathed to family members. Due to a mixup, everyone gets the wrong gift. But the story explores how they undertake the mental gymnastics of finding ways to make this the RIGHT gift and find meaning and purpose in them. This section is a bit slower...and lacking from the loss of Rich's perspective (but perhaps that's a metaphor?)
Part Three was, for me, the weakest section. It's about Ollie's quest to get everyone the right gift and a dramatic escalation of the tensions and plot that has been carefully laid the entire book in the service of answering Ollie's big question: "what is the meaning of life?" This section felt like it was trying very hard to tie up loose ends, which felt ironic when the ultimate conclusion was that sometimes life doesn't give you all the answers.
Like I said, the three sections didn't always create an even ride for me personally. However the characters are all well rendered and the idea behind the story is a beautiful one. Often we are shown the same scene from a different character's perspective, which adds layers of richness. In a way, the writing style very much mimics the storytelling within families themselves--everyone seeing things from the vantage point in which they are decidedly the hero.
Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Part One includes Rich's story and perspective and is quite magical. The reader also experiences Ollie's future tense perspective on the events of the story, one which is full of holes. This is a great metaphorical way to both get inside the brain of someone with Autism (who struggles to make connections that occur naturally for the rest of the family) and to place questions in the reader's mind that will thankfully be answered later in the book (although rarely to Ollie's satisfaction.)
Part Two is more of an exploration of grief and the story of these various objects Rich has bequeathed to family members. Due to a mixup, everyone gets the wrong gift. But the story explores how they undertake the mental gymnastics of finding ways to make this the RIGHT gift and find meaning and purpose in them. This section is a bit slower...and lacking from the loss of Rich's perspective (but perhaps that's a metaphor?)
Part Three was, for me, the weakest section. It's about Ollie's quest to get everyone the right gift and a dramatic escalation of the tensions and plot that has been carefully laid the entire book in the service of answering Ollie's big question: "what is the meaning of life?" This section felt like it was trying very hard to tie up loose ends, which felt ironic when the ultimate conclusion was that sometimes life doesn't give you all the answers.
Like I said, the three sections didn't always create an even ride for me personally. However the characters are all well rendered and the idea behind the story is a beautiful one. Often we are shown the same scene from a different character's perspective, which adds layers of richness. In a way, the writing style very much mimics the storytelling within families themselves--everyone seeing things from the vantage point in which they are decidedly the hero.
Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
October 20, 2025
Exquisite piece of writing - incredibly sensitive with deep insight into grief, depression, growing old and dementia. Several chapters told from the point of view of an 11 year old neuro-diverse child was another special aspect to this story. It is ultimately a healing story as it also looks at ‘what it means to be alive’ and how we overcome so many of life’s challenges by looking for the beauty.
February 21, 2022
Beautiful book! Inside and outside. We carry so much trauma with us and we pass it along sometimes.
Taking time to look at the sky and bath in the river.. could be just the medicine we need
Taking time to look at the sky and bath in the river.. could be just the medicine we need
March 23, 2022
Lovely story about what it means to be alive.
April 30, 2025
Such a beautiful book about grief
August 18, 2021
I just finished listening to the audio version of “This Shining Life” by Harriet Kline. It was one of those books where I had to simmer on it for a bit before I could figure out what to say. In the end, all I can say is that this title is just absolutely lovely. The story explores multiple perspectives as each character comes to terms with their own grief and the meaning of life. They each grapple with their emotions and relationships as they explore how to navigate life following the death of a loved one. Each character believes that they are handling their grief in the most appropriate and beneficial way possible, assuming that they are doing what is best to support themselves and their loved ones. But as the narrative changes from one POV to the next, we discover that those assumptions often miss the mark.
This book has now become very dear to me. There was nothing flashy or complex about the plot. Every aspect of “This Shining Life” was propelled by the development of individual characters and their unique perspective on life and death. A man, whose death is imminent, trying to dictate his feelings and leave a lasting mark on the world. A mother-in-law who wants to help her daughter but is unwilling to admit how her own past blinds her current choices. A wife who is left a widow and a single mother and must navigate her grief while standing firm for her family. A friend who is devastated but shoves aside her emotions to support her family, not realizing how her own unwillingness to face her grief is impacting those around her. A father who has lost his son and is struggling with his own failing health and deteriorating mind. A mother who has spent her life focusing on appearances and the proper ways of the world but feels everything proper and correct disappearing with the death of her son and the failing health of her husband. A boy who views the world through a neurodivergent lens and has spent his whole life trying to understand the world and people around him and must now understand something as complex as the death of his father. Each perspective is carefully crafted and beautifully complex. Kline delivers a cast of whole, developed characters in this story. There are no favorites, no centralized characters, no bias of perspective: only raw depictions of unique outlooks in a single situation. It is perfectly executed and uniquely special. The care that Kline put into developing this cast of characters is evident in every word of this book. And made even more special by her Author’s Note at the end of the narrative.
This book is sad throughout without much reprieve, which is usually something I would avoid reading. But none of it is sadness for shock value; it is sad because the characters are experiencing sadness. Every aspect is moving and important. This poignant tale is a beautiful exploration of love and life and grief.
I purchased this title in audio to listen to the narration of my dear friend Ella Lynch without knowing too much about the story. I was pleasantly surprised by every element of this audiobook. The selection of the full ensemble cast was spot-on with each performance uniquely brilliant. So much so, that the experience of this book and the intensity of the emotional delivery is, I imagine, stronger while listening to the production rather than reading it hard copy. Absolutely beautiful work on this production.
This book has now become very dear to me. There was nothing flashy or complex about the plot. Every aspect of “This Shining Life” was propelled by the development of individual characters and their unique perspective on life and death. A man, whose death is imminent, trying to dictate his feelings and leave a lasting mark on the world. A mother-in-law who wants to help her daughter but is unwilling to admit how her own past blinds her current choices. A wife who is left a widow and a single mother and must navigate her grief while standing firm for her family. A friend who is devastated but shoves aside her emotions to support her family, not realizing how her own unwillingness to face her grief is impacting those around her. A father who has lost his son and is struggling with his own failing health and deteriorating mind. A mother who has spent her life focusing on appearances and the proper ways of the world but feels everything proper and correct disappearing with the death of her son and the failing health of her husband. A boy who views the world through a neurodivergent lens and has spent his whole life trying to understand the world and people around him and must now understand something as complex as the death of his father. Each perspective is carefully crafted and beautifully complex. Kline delivers a cast of whole, developed characters in this story. There are no favorites, no centralized characters, no bias of perspective: only raw depictions of unique outlooks in a single situation. It is perfectly executed and uniquely special. The care that Kline put into developing this cast of characters is evident in every word of this book. And made even more special by her Author’s Note at the end of the narrative.
This book is sad throughout without much reprieve, which is usually something I would avoid reading. But none of it is sadness for shock value; it is sad because the characters are experiencing sadness. Every aspect is moving and important. This poignant tale is a beautiful exploration of love and life and grief.
I purchased this title in audio to listen to the narration of my dear friend Ella Lynch without knowing too much about the story. I was pleasantly surprised by every element of this audiobook. The selection of the full ensemble cast was spot-on with each performance uniquely brilliant. So much so, that the experience of this book and the intensity of the emotional delivery is, I imagine, stronger while listening to the production rather than reading it hard copy. Absolutely beautiful work on this production.
December 16, 2023
Bitter sweet read, kinda lost a bit through but definitely glad I stuck with it
April 16, 2021
So, know in advance that this one is sad. Touching sad. The novel is centered around a family coming to terms with a death. It is in parts and each part has a different perspective/focus.
In part one, we have Rich's story before he passes away, and much from Ollie, who is autistic, and is trying the best he can to understand what is happening in his family. A little mystery ensues as we are left with many questions headed into the next sections.
Part two we focus on the grieving and trying to decipher the meaning behind the objects left behind by Rich by each family member. They each get the wrong gifts, due to a mixup, and we are taken on their journeys of exploring how they piece it all together. This part was a little long/slow for me, but still enjoyable to watch it unfold.
Finally, we focus on Ollie and his wanting to give the perfect gift for each family member and his personalized quest for the elusive meaning of life and what it all means.
I loved this book. It was hard at times, it brought up "stuff" for me with family, death and struggling to make sense of things beyond my control. It left me sad, but full in my heart.
Thankful for the ARC on this one!
In part one, we have Rich's story before he passes away, and much from Ollie, who is autistic, and is trying the best he can to understand what is happening in his family. A little mystery ensues as we are left with many questions headed into the next sections.
Part two we focus on the grieving and trying to decipher the meaning behind the objects left behind by Rich by each family member. They each get the wrong gifts, due to a mixup, and we are taken on their journeys of exploring how they piece it all together. This part was a little long/slow for me, but still enjoyable to watch it unfold.
Finally, we focus on Ollie and his wanting to give the perfect gift for each family member and his personalized quest for the elusive meaning of life and what it all means.
I loved this book. It was hard at times, it brought up "stuff" for me with family, death and struggling to make sense of things beyond my control. It left me sad, but full in my heart.
Thankful for the ARC on this one!
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