Swan Song: An Odyssey

by Lisa Alther

Dr. Jessie Drake, in her mid-sixties, following the sudden deaths of her parents and Kat, her partner of twenty years, has fled the Vermont life she has known for decades.

In an effort to escape the oppressive constancy of grief, she accepts a job from an old flame from her residency in New York City's Roosevelt Hospital, and agrees to assist Ben as the ship's doctor on a British liner. Jessie boards in Hong Kong, and, as the Amphitrite sails throughout Southeast Asia and the Middle East, cruise ship antics ensue. Jessie is lulled back into a long-ago romance with the ship's co-doctor, and both she and her new/old beau become enmeshed with the ship's lead (female) singer/entertainer. Among the passengers who fling socialized behavior aside on the high seas: a former Florida beauty queen (Miss Florida Power and Light) on a second honeymoon with her husband, as she causes high-velocity scandal, while juggling onboard affairs with a suicidal golf pro, and a defrocked priest hired as one of the liner's gentleman hosts, until she vanishes--poof!--from the ship off the coast of Portugal . . . As the ship sails through the Gulf of Aden and into a possible hijacking by Somali pirates, Jessie retreats into her lover's journals, written during her final months, journals filled with sketches of potential characters, observations on life and love--as well as drafts of a long new poem in progress, "Swan Song," that seems to be about being in love with someone else, someone new. As Jessie's grief turns to suspicion about the woman she thought she knew so well, her illumination of the poem's meaning begins to lift the constraints of the past and make clear the way toward the future.

Genres: Fiction, LGBT, Queer

Audiobook

First published June 9, 2020

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

What an uncomfortable read this was. The characters were all annoying and dimwitted. In the beginning of her cruise career Jessie is worried about a character spreading norovirus all over the ship. That character does go out partying all over the ship but the norovirus is never spoken of again.

Then we learn about how little Jessie knows regarding cruises. Someone has to explain to her how most cruise stuff works, and she's shocked to learn people live on these around the world cruises. But then she immediately understands what a host on a cruise ship does? Makes no sense.

This book is full of cringeworthy remarks about history, race, sexism, rape, sexuality and pretty much every other topic. For some reason all of the characters spoke like their dialog had been translated into broken up English from a myriad of other languages. Very strange.

This just wasn't for me. Apart from terrible characters and a lackluster plot what's left to rate a book as a good read? Honestly I can't believe I finished it.

My copy was provided by NetGalley for review.

[Barbara Pereira · Rating 2 out of 5]

None of these characters were safe from my lack of sympathy. I found all of them to be either annoying or uninteresting. It wasn't a horrible reading, but I felt like I never connected to the plot, as I kept wondering things like: "is this a novel? Or is it a mystery? Who are these people? Why did this happen? I didn't see this coming!"

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this more than I did. I am a LONG time fan of Alther’s work and some of her early novels rank among my favorites this one unfortunately was a bit of a miss for me but I will continue to read anything she writes.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and interesting read, and what fun it was to have the author speak to our book club!

[Geonn Cannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a bleak, unpleasant book. Unlikable characters, bad situations, depressed internal monologues... just no to all of it.

[Jill Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lisa Alther’s latest novel, “Swan Song”, is the story of a long trip - an odyssey - made by a 60 year old ER doctor, Jessie, attempting to come to terms with the recent death of her partner, Kat. She signs up as part of a medical team on a huge cruise ship traveling around the world. In her weeks on board she meets people and takes part in activities she might not have of interest to her before the cruise. And much of it is life altering.

As a reader and reviewer, I had a bit of trouble rating “Swan Song”, because after reading it and thinking about it, I realised it is not a conventionally written novel. Alther introduces characters and the doesn’t follow up. She leaves some red herrings out there and the reader is left wondering what happens. But then I remembered that much of life is exactly like that. We meet people, interact with them, and then move after the proverbial cruise is over.

Before she left Vermont to join the cruise, Jessie found some notebooks that Kat - a novelist - had recorded her thoughts while writing her books. In Kat’s final notebook, written while she was dying of cancer, Jessie found many cryptic messages about her life and loves. Jessie takes the notebooks with her on the long cruise and finally figures out what Kat’s final thoughts were. With that knowledge, Jessie is able to make some important decisions.

Lisa Alther doesn’t write many books. “Swan Song” is a welcome addition to her list. I hope you enjoy it.

[Jerry Summers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I might be biased because the book is set in a cruise ship and I am cruising again soon. Jessie is a ER doctor from Burlington VT that is getting away from her shocked life by taking a contract as a ship doctor. While on board she works through her emotions while witnessing a microcosm of society while at sea.

[Sandy Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really 4.5 stars.This author made me laugh and think and relate to so much of the story.

[Matthew Gardner · Rating 2 out of 5]

I first read Lisa Alther's 'Kinflicks' in the 1970s. It's a fun romp of coming out/coming of age. The observations on different ways people lived in that time were spot-on. It's hard not to compare that book with Jay McInerney's 'Bright Lights, Big City' which came out a decade later. First author, lots of promise, and then subsequent works were so-so. I highly recommend 'Kinflicks' if anyone is interested in work that most takes place in the late 60s/early 70s.

'Swan Song' never delivered for me, unfortunately. Sure as a study of loss and aging and looking back on one's life during a cruise where the protagonist is an on-board physician. The promise began and ended there. Other characters were brought in, some even given their own perspective. The plot meandered all over the Mediterranean and was spit out into the Atlantic Ocean. I didn't mind the "unlikeable characters" in the way that others did - I like complicated people - but several plots simply went nowhere.

As a side point, the publisher really missed an opportunity to include a map on the inside flaps of the hardcover version. It would have been helpful to follow along with the actual voyage of the fictional Amphitrite.

[Marissa Higgins · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book wasn't a great fit for me. As some praise, I do absolutely love original the storyline is, and it's great to have a lesbian as the main character. It's also great to have an older main character who is still lively and making changes, big decisions, and actively pursuing life. Unfortunately, this book just didn't land with me; a lot of the characters didn't feel fleshed out enough, especially some of the side characters, like Gail, Ben, and Mona. There were also some strange dynamics in terms of sexuality, gender identity, and even race that didn't sit well with me. I also felt uncomfortable with having refugees used as basically a tool for the main character to get some perspective; it felt like making a real-life, ongoing tragedy simply a literary device. I wanted to love this book based on the description, but I simply didn't.

[Dana · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Thank you to Net Galley and Knopf Publishing for the advance copy*

This book was difficult to get through. I love the premise and was hoping that this was a book written for older adults facing loss and taking a risk at a pivotal moment in life. I really wish that this book focused more on Jessie's experience. There were too many characters in this book and with all the love triangles created, and never really expanded upon, it became difficult to track character's relationships to each other and their motivations. All of the dramatic elements of this book were anti-climactic and much of the action seemed highly unrealistic. I really enjoyed Kat's journals and wish that Jessie connecting with those journals is what guided the plot of this book.

[Maureen Moriarty · Rating 3 out of 5]

For those of us yearning for a travel summer read during Covid, this fits the bill. This story of a woman of a certain age traveling on a cruise ship as the ship's doctor trying to get over her lover's death is funny and at times poignant. The writing is witty and the pace is brisk of the cast of cartoon characters aboard (everyone gets their moneys worth of drama and "escapism" on their voyage). The characters are over the top but I appreciated the protagonists journey of self reflection and self awareness over the death of her true love.

[Gay · Rating 4 out of 5]

What was this book?

I have a hard time deciding just what this book was. A travelogue? A murder mystery? A romance novel? All of these, along with bits of mythology, archeology, paleontology, woman’s rights, lesbian rights, medicine, history, family drama, opera, poetry......
I’m not sure. All I know is I read it continuously until I finished it, and I loved Jessie even with all her foibles and problems. Great
book, memorable characters.

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book at all. Unsympathetic characters and a very lackluster storyline. I had high hopes and was very disappointed.

[Hayley · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was not the one.
There was Racism and transphobia on several occasions as well as flippant comments about rape so this was a DNF.

[Penny · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had heard Lisa Alther's name a lot and decided it was time to read one of her books. Definitely one of the most boring and unsatisfactory books I've read this year. 65 year old, recently bereaved Jessie decides to sign up as ship's doctor for a six week cruise to help her get out of the slump she's been in since wife's, Kat's, death. On board she meets a variety of largely unlikable people who pass in and out of her orbit, but generally their stories are abandoned without any reasoning. I skimmed through two thirds of it just to find out what happened but that's about it. And it wasn't worth it as nothing earth shattering happens at all. A number of reviewers remarked on how funny it is, but I just found it sad and rather offensive. If that is cruise culture it did serve to remind me never to go on a cruise, at least not one that lasts for more than a few days!

[Jane Mulkewich · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is written by the friend of a friend, and thanks to Ellen Jaffe for sending me a copy! A good read for a hot summer weekend. Lots of characters getting up to lots of antics on a cruise ship, and the main character, Jessie, is a lesbian grieving the death of her partner, Kat, after a 20-year relationship. The book starts with Jessie throwing out her sex toys, and ends with a ceremony for scattering Kat's ashes with their combined children and grandchildren. That is not meant to be a spoiler, as we know that Jessie is grieving Kat, but the voyage on the cruise ship and the book itself is an exploration of other possibilities... are there other possibilities suggested by Kat in the journal she wrote in her last months? Are there other possibilities ahead now for Jessie?

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This slightly depressing book (sudden deaths of both her parents and her partner of 20 years) made me both want to work on a cruise and never work on a cruise. Only slightly because Dr. Jessie's cruise career was (hopefully) absurd to happen all on her first trip (several bizarre medical treatments and 1 heart attack + missing person + saving refugees + pirates). These parts made the book interesting enough for me to keep reading. I wanted to keep revisiting these characters and their story lines rather than the plot of Dr. Jessie's inner turmoil (she's heartbroken and confused by the poems her partner wrote before passing). Overall, I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would.

[Cat Treadgold · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd guess I'm about the right age to appreciate this book (60s). I've listened to a lot of meh audiobooks lately, and at least this one carried me right along. The story is light and breezy with a serious underpinning that left me nostalgic, not sad. Just don't expect a satisfying mystery. There's a reason why they're calling it "an odyssey" rather than "a mystery," although there is one--kind of. That's all I can say about that without spoilers. I appreciated the author's knowledge of music and singing, and her writing is solid, sometimes even poetic. If you're a lot younger, you probably won't appreciate all the rambling about aging and loss. I did. The narrator did a first-rate job.

[Christopher Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished this just now! I really enjoyed it. The book even makes a mention of EM Forester and Maurice, and other gay lit that the authors had to hide behind their work, and not having it published till years later, even after their deaths. It was a read that at times was mindless, other times it was sad and somewhat profound in scope. The characters were just that--characters! They were weird, funny, and also lonely in and of themselves.
This book talks about the grief one goes through when someone you love passes away.

[Chuck · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure just how to describe this story. Jessie is a woman in her mid-sixties who has lost her long-time love. She signs up to be a doctor on a cruise ship. In her off time, she reads her lover's journals causing her emotional turmoil not helped by the antics of her shipmates.

The plot is somewhat lackluster, offering some fun travel stories, some mystery and some desperate romance. Mostly it is the musings of an older woman coming to terms with her grief and staring at an unknown future.

Not a particularly bad read, but not really my cup of tea!

[Zach Theberge · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it in one evening. It’s well-paced, fun, and not too difficult.

I wish it spent more time in Kat’s journal. The poetry as written is phenomenal.

In the earlier chapters, it feels preoccupied with characters, though fun, and keep the pace moving, don’t really add anything substantial.

It’s never boring. I just wished it focused less on the guests. They felt like a distraction.

Read it. It’s fun. It’s gay. It has great ideas about aging and love.

[Leah · Rating 2 out of 5]

What was this book? I thought it was going to be a book about grief. I was wrong.

There's a pirate raid, infidelity, international bar hopping, ingrown toenails, missing people, random bodies just showing up uninvited, former flames, potential new flames, a lady who put clothes on aborted fetuses, a barbeque, a heart attack, more pirates, history lesson after history lesson, mansplaining, a storm, and so much more. All of this, and it was boring.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was going to rate this 2 stars by the time I reached the halfway mark. I was hoping for some dramedy action in the style of "The Love Boat"...but it ended up being surprisingly lewd and tawdry, and full of characters I didn't like. The second half of the novel pulled up its socks, and I was interested in seeing how main character Jessie finally ended her journey. But it was a close shave...

[Ella Blythe Froggatt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was all over the place but a fun read nonetheless! So many characters and story lines that things got confusing, but I loved the cruise ship drama and how it both distracted and helped the main character move through her grief.

[Carrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very odd book, about what it feels like to grow old. Great first line, and a sweet ending, but the majority of the book was pointless and odd.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
Just didn’t do it for me. Characters were ok but nothing I could relate to. Was hoping the lesbian theme would sustain this story but it all felt very hollow.

[Dorothy Fleming · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked everything except the letters. The were boring and full of esoteric meanings. There some funny moments,
ah, but the mystery

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. Can relate in so many ways.

[Theenrichmentoffiction1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this, I mean who doesn't love a cruise ship adventure traveling around the world.
But I feel the plot wasn't handled well and one big question was never answered