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Missing Words
Postal worker Jenny’s life is in the doldrums. Her daughter is all grown up and ready to face the world, her marriage is falling apart, and now her best friend and colleague tells her he plans to retire. So, when a postcard from Australia, begging the recipient for forgiveness but marked ‘insufficient address’, lands on her sorting table, she does the unthinkable – she slips it up her sleeve, with the intention of delivering it herself.
Jenny sets off on a journey around the Isle of Wight, determined to find the recipient, and with the help of the locals she hopes to reunite the long-lost lovers. Will she be able to give them the happy ending she didn’t allow herself to have?
Set against the backdrop of the strikes in the 1980s, Missing Words is a heart-warming journey about self-discovery, the power of family ties, and the strength needed to face whatever life throws your way.
Jenny sets off on a journey around the Isle of Wight, determined to find the recipient, and with the help of the locals she hopes to reunite the long-lost lovers. Will she be able to give them the happy ending she didn’t allow herself to have?
Set against the backdrop of the strikes in the 1980s, Missing Words is a heart-warming journey about self-discovery, the power of family ties, and the strength needed to face whatever life throws your way.
- GenresFiction
160 pages, Paperback
Published March 1, 2022
4 people are currently reading
114 people want to read
About the author
Loree Westron
1 book15 followersLoree Westron is American by birth, but now lives on the south coast of the UK where she writes literary and historical fiction. During her senior year at Boise State University, she left her studies to seek adventure and explore the world. She later gained an MA and a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Chichester. Among other things, she has worked as a farm labourer, a bookseller, a bell ringer, and a university lecturer. When not writing, Loree can be found teaching bicycle mechanics, or walking and cycling in the South Downs. Her novella, Missing Words, is set in Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
August 10, 2021
An engrossing story set in 1984 about Jenny, a mail sorter. She’s almost 40, she and her husband barely communicate since their younger daughter died in an accident and their older daughter, Charlotte almost 19, is refusing to go to university and wants to move in with her boyfriend. Meanwhile at work, Jenny takes a postcard from Australia with an incomplete address for the Isle of Wight. She decides to try and find the addressee herself rather than send it to the dead letter office.
The book is about memory, and forgiveness, and letting go. It’s also about accepting the decisions in life and the choices made. It has a sad vibe but ends in a hopeful way.
The book is about memory, and forgiveness, and letting go. It’s also about accepting the decisions in life and the choices made. It has a sad vibe but ends in a hopeful way.
August 30, 2021
Missing Words is a new instalment in the beautifully packaged and intriguing Fairlight Moderns series, a few of which I've enjoyed previously. It's a beguiling story of a woman searching, ostensibly for the recipient of a vaguely-addressed postcard, but on a deeper level for meaning in her own life.
Jenny is in her mid-forties and a worker in Portsmouth's mail sorting room in 1984. It's a time of industrial unrest during the "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher's rule as England's Prime Minister. Jenny's husband Simon has lost his job at the dockyard and while she faces blatant sexism at work with the Royal Mail, she knows she's got to hold on to her job, in the face of threatened strikes. Meanwhile, her relationships with Simon and her almost-19-year-old daughter Charlotte have deteriorated since the accidental death of her younger daughter Sophie two years previously.
One day, a postcard bearing a Queensland, Australia beach scene turns up in Jenny's sorting pile at work. The address is deficient, but Jenny can't help but be intrigued by part of the printed message -
This novella is a touching exploration of the experience of early middle age, learning to assimilate a terrible personal loss, and finding renewed meaning in life. With the exception of her close work friend, Roger, who's about to retire and travel the world, Jenny is surrounded by some pretty unsupportive and unlikeable characters - her husband Simon spends all day on the sofa watching football and barely acknowledges her existence; her daughter Charlotte seems intent on throwing away the opportunity to go to university in favour of marrying her unimpressive boyfriend Ian, and her mother can't resist any opportunity to criticise Jenny - her appearance, her choices and her attitudes. While depressing, they're realistically drawn supporting characters and encourage the reader's sympathy for Jenny, who wishes for so much more in her life and reflects on her own life-defining decisions made at around Charlotte's age.
I enjoyed following Jenny's progress around the Isle of Wight via Google Earth, and found her interactions with various islanders charming and the setting evocative. The conclusion to Jenny's quest is more contemplative than revelatory, but seemed fitting to the tone and pace of the novella as a whole.
I'd recommend Missing Words to readers who enjoy contemporary fiction, particularly based around themes of women's experience, family dynamics and the challenges of finding a sense of self in middle age and beyond. It's a relatively quick read at 160 pages, but well worth seeking out.
My thanks to the author, Loree Westron, publisher Fairlight Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.
Jenny is in her mid-forties and a worker in Portsmouth's mail sorting room in 1984. It's a time of industrial unrest during the "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher's rule as England's Prime Minister. Jenny's husband Simon has lost his job at the dockyard and while she faces blatant sexism at work with the Royal Mail, she knows she's got to hold on to her job, in the face of threatened strikes. Meanwhile, her relationships with Simon and her almost-19-year-old daughter Charlotte have deteriorated since the accidental death of her younger daughter Sophie two years previously.
One day, a postcard bearing a Queensland, Australia beach scene turns up in Jenny's sorting pile at work. The address is deficient, but Jenny can't help but be intrigued by part of the printed message -
"Life is nothing without you in it."In flagrant breach of Royal Mail rules and risking summary dismissal if she's caught, Jenny pushes the postcard up her sleeve, rather than consign it to the Dead Letter Office pile, and resolves to find the addressee, a woman called Deborah who lives somewhere on the nearby Isle of Wight. Finding a new purpose in her life as the only person who can save the relationship of Deborah and postcard writer Michael, Jenny sets off across the Solent by ferry over the next few weekends, undertaking a personal mission to deliver the card.
This novella is a touching exploration of the experience of early middle age, learning to assimilate a terrible personal loss, and finding renewed meaning in life. With the exception of her close work friend, Roger, who's about to retire and travel the world, Jenny is surrounded by some pretty unsupportive and unlikeable characters - her husband Simon spends all day on the sofa watching football and barely acknowledges her existence; her daughter Charlotte seems intent on throwing away the opportunity to go to university in favour of marrying her unimpressive boyfriend Ian, and her mother can't resist any opportunity to criticise Jenny - her appearance, her choices and her attitudes. While depressing, they're realistically drawn supporting characters and encourage the reader's sympathy for Jenny, who wishes for so much more in her life and reflects on her own life-defining decisions made at around Charlotte's age.
I enjoyed following Jenny's progress around the Isle of Wight via Google Earth, and found her interactions with various islanders charming and the setting evocative. The conclusion to Jenny's quest is more contemplative than revelatory, but seemed fitting to the tone and pace of the novella as a whole.
I'd recommend Missing Words to readers who enjoy contemporary fiction, particularly based around themes of women's experience, family dynamics and the challenges of finding a sense of self in middle age and beyond. It's a relatively quick read at 160 pages, but well worth seeking out.
My thanks to the author, Loree Westron, publisher Fairlight Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.
August 14, 2023
4 Stars
Beautifully written story of grief, guilt, loneliness, and finding your way back to love.
Beautifully written story of grief, guilt, loneliness, and finding your way back to love.
September 18, 2021
Missing Words by Loree Westron is one of the latest novellas in the Fairlight Moderns series. I have noted elsewhere how the authors featured by Fairlight Books tend to experiment with content and form, showing that the novella genre is still ripe for exploration. In this regard Westron’s book is something of an exception, because it eschews structural originality in favour of a poignant family drama, delivered in a gentle and understated way.
The novella is set in the 1980s, against the backdrop of the tug-of-war between Thatcher and the unions. The protagonist is Jenny, a mail sorter, who, as the only female worker at the postal depot, faces casual, everyday sexism and the threat of imminent unemployment. Meanwhile, life at home seems to be falling apart – her husband is out of work, her younger daughter died two years previously, and her other daughter, Charlotte, is drifting away from Jenny and making some difficult, and sometimes dubious, life choices. An unusual occurrence jolts Jenny out of the daily hog. One day, she notices a postcard with an incomplete address, with a heartfelt message from a young man to a woman who might soon be leaving him forever. By right, the postcard should go into the lost letter bin, but on impulse, and risking her job, Jenny decides to keep the postcard and trace the recipient herself, although she has little to go on except for the name of a street in the Isle of Wight. The novella follow’s the protagonist’s trips to the island in her quest to reunite the lovers. Somewhat predictably, this turns into the Jenny’s own journey as she confronts memories from her past and reassesses her dreams for the future.
Lost Words does not have many narrative thrills and frills. However, Westron delivers a good story, backed by attention to period detail. Even though the political situation of the eighties is not the main theme of the novella, workers’ pains and struggles of the time are well brought out. At the same time, the novella evokes a sense of nostalgia through the bucolic descriptions of Jenny cycling around the Isle of Wight. A well-crafted and touching read.
3.5*
https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/20...
The novella is set in the 1980s, against the backdrop of the tug-of-war between Thatcher and the unions. The protagonist is Jenny, a mail sorter, who, as the only female worker at the postal depot, faces casual, everyday sexism and the threat of imminent unemployment. Meanwhile, life at home seems to be falling apart – her husband is out of work, her younger daughter died two years previously, and her other daughter, Charlotte, is drifting away from Jenny and making some difficult, and sometimes dubious, life choices. An unusual occurrence jolts Jenny out of the daily hog. One day, she notices a postcard with an incomplete address, with a heartfelt message from a young man to a woman who might soon be leaving him forever. By right, the postcard should go into the lost letter bin, but on impulse, and risking her job, Jenny decides to keep the postcard and trace the recipient herself, although she has little to go on except for the name of a street in the Isle of Wight. The novella follow’s the protagonist’s trips to the island in her quest to reunite the lovers. Somewhat predictably, this turns into the Jenny’s own journey as she confronts memories from her past and reassesses her dreams for the future.
Lost Words does not have many narrative thrills and frills. However, Westron delivers a good story, backed by attention to period detail. Even though the political situation of the eighties is not the main theme of the novella, workers’ pains and struggles of the time are well brought out. At the same time, the novella evokes a sense of nostalgia through the bucolic descriptions of Jenny cycling around the Isle of Wight. A well-crafted and touching read.
3.5*
https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/20...
September 13, 2021
On the surface Westron's writing appears light, almost everyday but if you care to delve in the depths beneath you will find much to think about. It is rare that I read a book in one sitting, this one I did. It's easy flow drew me in and kept me there. I think this is Westron's debut novel, so kudos to her for knowing what to keep in and what to keep out.
Our world, our lives are often fraught with dangers, personal dangers to our physical health, economic dangers, dangers assailing our mental health and more.
In an atmosphere of economic danger which permeated Britain's 1980's we have Jenny who like we all do tries to exert some control over her life and the life of her loved ones in order to feel safer. The feeling of having control is there not because we really have any control over anything but it does make us feel safer in an ever shifting world. Like any other hero, Jenny has a quest and out she goes searching, overcoming hurdles. And whilst seeking 'out', she finds what's 'in' and then like any other hero's quest she has to decide what to do with what she finds. What to let go of, what to keep. Realising how ephemiral control real is and what we can really hold on to and what we cannot.
An ARC gently given by publisher/author via Netgalley
Our world, our lives are often fraught with dangers, personal dangers to our physical health, economic dangers, dangers assailing our mental health and more.
In an atmosphere of economic danger which permeated Britain's 1980's we have Jenny who like we all do tries to exert some control over her life and the life of her loved ones in order to feel safer. The feeling of having control is there not because we really have any control over anything but it does make us feel safer in an ever shifting world. Like any other hero, Jenny has a quest and out she goes searching, overcoming hurdles. And whilst seeking 'out', she finds what's 'in' and then like any other hero's quest she has to decide what to do with what she finds. What to let go of, what to keep. Realising how ephemiral control real is and what we can really hold on to and what we cannot.
An ARC gently given by publisher/author via Netgalley
July 29, 2021
The story of Jenny, who suffered a tragedy two years earlier which has caused her to drift apart from her husband, and feels that she is looking her daughter who is on the cusp of adulthood, and making choices that Jenny doesn't agree with. She works in a sorting office for Royal Mail, and is about to loose her friend and colleague, her one ally there. One day, she finds a postcard with an incomplete address from a man imploring a girl to take him back and giving her one month. She decided to pocket the letter and head over to the Isle of Wight and try to find the girl, and on the way, does some soul searching of her own to work out how to repair he own damaged relationships.
It's a short and poignant story, beautifully told, with an ending that rather surprised me.
*Many thanks to Netgalley and Fairlight books for a review copy in exchange for an honest opinion.*
It's a short and poignant story, beautifully told, with an ending that rather surprised me.
*Many thanks to Netgalley and Fairlight books for a review copy in exchange for an honest opinion.*
September 9, 2021
Between these covers, amongst these pages, you will have the chance to travel to the Isle of Wight, to engage in diligent bike-riding, work through personal griefs, wonder about long loves, learn of the hidden mysteries of the UK post office and experience the kindness of strangers.
Here is a catalog of love stories started and stopped, ones that keep on ticking, and ones at which a reader is allowed only a glimpse. This is a lovely story, just right in all its dimensions.
A Sincere Thanks to Loree Westron, Fairlight Books and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review.
#MissingWordsNovella #NetGalley
Here is a catalog of love stories started and stopped, ones that keep on ticking, and ones at which a reader is allowed only a glimpse. This is a lovely story, just right in all its dimensions.
A Sincere Thanks to Loree Westron, Fairlight Books and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review.
#MissingWordsNovella #NetGalley
August 14, 2021
‘How quickly things can change and disappear.’
England, 1984. Jenny works as a postal worker in Portsmouth. She is nearing forty, her marriage is struggling, her daughter is almost nineteen. Life for Jenny is not quite what she envisaged it would be and is about to become more difficult as her friend and colleague is about to retire. One day as she sorts the mail, Jenny comes across a postcard from Australia. The address is incomplete but, moved by the message which begs the recipient for forgiveness, Jenny takes the postcard instead of directing it to the dead letter office. The partial address includes the Isle of Wight, and Jenny thinks that she might be able to deliver the postcard herself.
What follows is both a physical journey (as Jenny cycles around the Isle of Wight) and an emotional journey (as Jenny thinks about and regrets some of her past actions). Written on the postcard is a request for the recipient to phone the sender by the end of August:
‘If I don’t hear from you by then, I’ll know it‘s really over.’
As she cycles around the Isle of Wight, Jenny has time to think of the past, of her own regrets and expectations. She struggles at times with the ride (can she do it?) and enlists the help of locals to try to find the address. And as we travel with Jenny, we learn about her first love, about a tragedy which has befallen her family, and about Jenny’s hopes and fears for her daughter, Charlotte.
This is a novella about life, about coming to terms with the past to face the future. It is a reminder, as well, that not all problems can be fixed, that life is full of choices and their consequences. I finished the novel, hoping that Jenny would find her own peace with the world, with her husband Simon and daughter Charlotte. A thoughtful and enjoyable read.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Fairlight Books for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
England, 1984. Jenny works as a postal worker in Portsmouth. She is nearing forty, her marriage is struggling, her daughter is almost nineteen. Life for Jenny is not quite what she envisaged it would be and is about to become more difficult as her friend and colleague is about to retire. One day as she sorts the mail, Jenny comes across a postcard from Australia. The address is incomplete but, moved by the message which begs the recipient for forgiveness, Jenny takes the postcard instead of directing it to the dead letter office. The partial address includes the Isle of Wight, and Jenny thinks that she might be able to deliver the postcard herself.
What follows is both a physical journey (as Jenny cycles around the Isle of Wight) and an emotional journey (as Jenny thinks about and regrets some of her past actions). Written on the postcard is a request for the recipient to phone the sender by the end of August:
‘If I don’t hear from you by then, I’ll know it‘s really over.’
As she cycles around the Isle of Wight, Jenny has time to think of the past, of her own regrets and expectations. She struggles at times with the ride (can she do it?) and enlists the help of locals to try to find the address. And as we travel with Jenny, we learn about her first love, about a tragedy which has befallen her family, and about Jenny’s hopes and fears for her daughter, Charlotte.
This is a novella about life, about coming to terms with the past to face the future. It is a reminder, as well, that not all problems can be fixed, that life is full of choices and their consequences. I finished the novel, hoping that Jenny would find her own peace with the world, with her husband Simon and daughter Charlotte. A thoughtful and enjoyable read.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Fairlight Books for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
July 16, 2021
Such a short book,that means you can read it in one sitting,and I did.
Jenny appears to be lost in her own life,her grief,her failing marriage and her relationship with her daughter.
Then she finds a postcard with an incomplete address and decides to find its home,and put someone else's life back on track.
Charming,slightly whimsical (I felt like I'd been on a guided tour of the island by the end),with a backdrop of the hard times,and real life.
There were great characters,that although weren't in the book a huge amount,made a big impact.
This book ticked many boxes and a great read for me.
Jenny appears to be lost in her own life,her grief,her failing marriage and her relationship with her daughter.
Then she finds a postcard with an incomplete address and decides to find its home,and put someone else's life back on track.
Charming,slightly whimsical (I felt like I'd been on a guided tour of the island by the end),with a backdrop of the hard times,and real life.
There were great characters,that although weren't in the book a huge amount,made a big impact.
This book ticked many boxes and a great read for me.
August 16, 2021
Jenny is in a difficult place - her marriage is suffering after the loss of her youngest daughter, and her eldest daughter is growing up and making ill-advised choices. When she comes across an undelivered postcard from Australia in her job as a post office mail sorter she decides to set out on a journey across the Isle of Wight to deliver it personally.
This was a short but sweet novel which I enjoyed hugely. The setting of the 1980s with the backdrop of the miners' strikes, Greenham Common and so on was very authentic, and a trip down memory lane for me as I was a teenager at that time! I read it in one go as I wanted to see whether Jenny would succeed in delivering the postcard to the intended recipient. Highly recommended!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.
This was a short but sweet novel which I enjoyed hugely. The setting of the 1980s with the backdrop of the miners' strikes, Greenham Common and so on was very authentic, and a trip down memory lane for me as I was a teenager at that time! I read it in one go as I wanted to see whether Jenny would succeed in delivering the postcard to the intended recipient. Highly recommended!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.
December 10, 2024
Missing Words by Author Loree Westron.
I don’t usually read books like this, but you know what? I’m glad I did.
It was sad but yet wholesome read.
It takes a misplaced postcard to realise what you want and need in life.
It was a wonderful little read!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I don’t usually read books like this, but you know what? I’m glad I did.
It was sad but yet wholesome read.
It takes a misplaced postcard to realise what you want and need in life.
It was a wonderful little read!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
June 7, 2022
A beautiful piece about coming to terms with grief, and a calm yet joyful little adventure that makes for a delightful escape. I now want to visit the Isle of Wight!
August 8, 2021
Gentle and Real and Wonderful -
'Missing Words' is my fourth Fairlight Modern in a week and in every way it lives up to the extremely high standard that I have come to expect from Fairlight. This book has a more familiar and close to home setting, is a small domestic drama, but no less important for that. Jenny is a puzzle and reading this short novella unravels the mystery that she is, that her life is. The ending is a surprise and even hurts a fair bit and Jenny, at the end, is a complete person and one you want to sit and have tea and cake with.
The book is a journey, not just in Jenny’s search for the intended recipient of a postcard where the address is incomplete and cannot be delivered through the post office’s ‘Dead Letter’ process, or at least not in time for the mysterious Deborah/Michael drama that is contained in the postcard’s message. Jenny cycles the highways and byways of the Isle of Wight in search of this Deborah, and the descriptions of these cycle rides are so beautiful that the reader is taken there. I think I now want to buy a bicycle and spend a week following in Jenny’s tracks! (Of course I also want to be twenty years younger to do this!)
But the real journey is Jenny’s inner journey. And this is, for me, the wonderful that is in this narrative. Westron skillfully holds back from telling us everything right away (‘Missing Words’) so that the story builds slowly and carefully to the ‘big reveal’. And when it comes, it stings – deeper than any paper-cut.
I got to the end of this book in a single sitting, unable to put it down, and as soon as I finished it I immediately started to read it all again, not wanting to leave Jenny behind. That is the mark of a good book and this is definitely that. Wonderful!
'Missing Words' is my fourth Fairlight Modern in a week and in every way it lives up to the extremely high standard that I have come to expect from Fairlight. This book has a more familiar and close to home setting, is a small domestic drama, but no less important for that. Jenny is a puzzle and reading this short novella unravels the mystery that she is, that her life is. The ending is a surprise and even hurts a fair bit and Jenny, at the end, is a complete person and one you want to sit and have tea and cake with.
The book is a journey, not just in Jenny’s search for the intended recipient of a postcard where the address is incomplete and cannot be delivered through the post office’s ‘Dead Letter’ process, or at least not in time for the mysterious Deborah/Michael drama that is contained in the postcard’s message. Jenny cycles the highways and byways of the Isle of Wight in search of this Deborah, and the descriptions of these cycle rides are so beautiful that the reader is taken there. I think I now want to buy a bicycle and spend a week following in Jenny’s tracks! (Of course I also want to be twenty years younger to do this!)
But the real journey is Jenny’s inner journey. And this is, for me, the wonderful that is in this narrative. Westron skillfully holds back from telling us everything right away (‘Missing Words’) so that the story builds slowly and carefully to the ‘big reveal’. And when it comes, it stings – deeper than any paper-cut.
I got to the end of this book in a single sitting, unable to put it down, and as soon as I finished it I immediately started to read it all again, not wanting to leave Jenny behind. That is the mark of a good book and this is definitely that. Wonderful!
May 7, 2022
Riding around on your bicycle, trying to find the recipient of a post card. Sounds like something i would do.
Perfect for reading on the tube
Perfect for reading on the tube
April 15, 2023
I started reading this without expecting much, having previously read some other Fairlight Moderns but wow. Where was Loree Westron hiding all this time? This novella is beautiful and heart-wrenching in a million different ways.
The imagery of the coast alongside the characters’ intense feelings; the tricky family relationship while dealing with grief (which by the way, one of the most beautiful descriptions of grief and struggle). I finished the book and while it wasn’t the resolution I expected in the beginning, I was completely satisfied. I didn’t want any more or any else. I loved reading it.
The ending pulled at my heartstrings and by the end I was tearing up. The reminder of home, having a home even when you forget you have one. Chef’s kiss.
I had to deduce a star because I felt like the beginning was very slow and it felt like it was dragging a bit too much at times but I can’t hype the rest of the book enough! (Honestly at this rate I might give it 5⭐️ by tomorrow)
The imagery of the coast alongside the characters’ intense feelings; the tricky family relationship while dealing with grief (which by the way, one of the most beautiful descriptions of grief and struggle). I finished the book and while it wasn’t the resolution I expected in the beginning, I was completely satisfied. I didn’t want any more or any else. I loved reading it.
The ending pulled at my heartstrings and by the end I was tearing up. The reminder of home, having a home even when you forget you have one. Chef’s kiss.
I had to deduce a star because I felt like the beginning was very slow and it felt like it was dragging a bit too much at times but I can’t hype the rest of the book enough! (Honestly at this rate I might give it 5⭐️ by tomorrow)
December 11, 2021
A beautifully told simple story that took me on a bike ride on the isle of Wight as if i was doing the pedaling . On the surface this seems to be a fairly straight forward short tale but there is much more into this tiny little book that meets the eyes. The author made me dreamt of the simple life once you take the courage to evade that cage that we all call our everyday life . The ending gave me tears as it was unexpected and also something that touched me dearly on some personal level. Bravo . Can't wait for Loree's first full fledged novel to be published
Read
April 1, 2022Brilliant! The author draws you into the story quickly and makes you feel you are apart if it! Masterfully written! A must read!
August 13, 2021
Can a 40-year-old woman in a lackluster marriage, mother to an angry teen-ager, survivor of a quietly horrible tragedy that is every parent’s nightmare, save herself by trying to save someone else? And can she do it primarily by cycling the chilly, hilly length and breadth of the Isle of Wight?
This is the question in Loree Westron’s achingly lovely novel, Missing Words, just out from Fairlight Books in the U.K.
The novel is set in Margaret Thatcher’s England, and there is anger and frustration at the Royal Mail sorting station where Jenny is one of the few women employed, and where she works at a frantic pace to keep her job. Employees are not, of course, supposed to read mail that whizzes by them, but Jenny sees a postcard that stops her cold: a young man in love, a young woman who may never get the message, lives to be robbed of the happiness they might have known.
The card has been incompletely addressed and is destined for the dead letter office but, in violation of all regulations, Jenny pockets the card, determined to locate the young addressee, Deborah. Jennie understands the risk she is taking; but she is unable to bear the thought that, through a mistake, an accident, the joy of love may be lost, as perhaps it was mislaid in Jenny’s own young life.
Now, on weekends and bank holidays, Jenny begins to take her bicycle onto the ferry to the Isle of Wight from her home in Portsmouth, sure that she can locate the missing Deborah, and, before it’s too late, give her the postcard with its declaration of love.
And so she rides the island, stopping at every hamlet, sure that someone will know where she can find the young woman to whom the post card is directed.
The roads are hilly and steep, and at first Jenny can’t remember how to work the gear on her bike. She is slow, sometimes unable to keep riding, lugging her bike up the hills.
But she learns: the road that has appeared endlessly difficult can suddenly become a delight. It is a delight that she has earned: “Back on her bicycle, she sees the road drop away like an unwound ribbon, folding back on itself and hugging the shape of the hills. . . ..” And she picks up speed, the “fast flowing air against her skin and the anticipation of falling too fast thrills her more than she has expected. The struggle to the top of the hill is forgotten now.“
And now—for me at least—the island itself becomes the star of the story: “There’s so much to take in: the sea, the sky, the road, the hills. Far below her now, the sea spreads out in every direction, changing from turquoise to silver to cobalt blue and she wonders if she will ever know what really lies out there, beyond that narrow line that divides sea from sky.”
Indeed, there is so much to take in as we try to live a life. Jenny’s travels by bicycle becomes a kind of allegory for our longer journey, one that suggest solutions previously unglimpsed.
“
July 18, 2021
Missing Words by Loree Westron is a wonderful short read that both draws you into Jenny's life and makes you think about your own.
I have a tendency to read novellas in one sitting, as do many people. Something about this one, within the first few pages, made me think I might enjoy taking my time with it. Since I read several books at a time it gives me the luxury of taking my time with books like this. And I was rewarded for taking my time. I didn't drag it out very long, three sittings over three days, but it gave me a chance to spend more time in the in-between times of the book, between her trips and her shifts at work, and the flashbacks/reminiscing that fills in the backstory. I love pondering things while I read and taking my time with this book allowed me to spend more than just a few hours with Jenny.
While the story is moving and in some ways is a bit of a slow burn, with little action and background coming sporadically, it works very well. At the same time that we are asking the character why she is doing what she is doing, we can relate some of her feelings to ones we have felt and think about what we have done, should have done, and would do now with what we know.
People hurt and grieve in different ways, so when several people grieve at the same time over the same loss, there is usually some disconnect between them. That is why families have such a hard time after a loss. The lucky ones manage to make it to the point where they can begin to reconnect. This is the story of what helped Jenny make that journey to reconnecting.
I would highly recommend this to readers who like to inhabit a character's mind while they work through some of life's many obstacles. Jenny is presented as a flawed but good human being who wants to be happy and make those around her happy but can't seem to find that path any longer.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
I have a tendency to read novellas in one sitting, as do many people. Something about this one, within the first few pages, made me think I might enjoy taking my time with it. Since I read several books at a time it gives me the luxury of taking my time with books like this. And I was rewarded for taking my time. I didn't drag it out very long, three sittings over three days, but it gave me a chance to spend more time in the in-between times of the book, between her trips and her shifts at work, and the flashbacks/reminiscing that fills in the backstory. I love pondering things while I read and taking my time with this book allowed me to spend more than just a few hours with Jenny.
While the story is moving and in some ways is a bit of a slow burn, with little action and background coming sporadically, it works very well. At the same time that we are asking the character why she is doing what she is doing, we can relate some of her feelings to ones we have felt and think about what we have done, should have done, and would do now with what we know.
People hurt and grieve in different ways, so when several people grieve at the same time over the same loss, there is usually some disconnect between them. That is why families have such a hard time after a loss. The lucky ones manage to make it to the point where they can begin to reconnect. This is the story of what helped Jenny make that journey to reconnecting.
I would highly recommend this to readers who like to inhabit a character's mind while they work through some of life's many obstacles. Jenny is presented as a flawed but good human being who wants to be happy and make those around her happy but can't seem to find that path any longer.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
July 29, 2021
When Jenny who works in the Post Office sorting office sees the postcard with an incomplete address, she can’t help but read the message on the back. When she reads the plea from one lover to another from the other side of the world, it causes her to think back to her own life and what she thinks of as a missed opportunity. Jenny was once asked herself, to take the chance and see the world with a teenage boyfriend but she turned him down. Now she wonders what if……and decides that this couple should at least have a chance to make things work, if only she can find the other half of the puzzle and find the woman who the postcard is addressed to somewhere on the Isle of Wight.
Jenny’s life is somewhat in turmoil at the moment. She’s not the happiest she’s ever been and as she takes her bike over to the Isle of Wight in search of the postcard recipient, she uses the time to be alone with her thoughts and to think about where she would like her own life to go from here.
It’s a story about family life, grief, and searching for what is most important in life. Jenny feels like life is passing her by and that things must change. She questions her marriage and whether it will survive the heartbreak the family has suffered. It does tend to meander a little, especially when Jenny is on her bike rides but there are family scenes and workplace scenes which include a little more dialogue and help the reader to see why she feels like she has reached a turning point in her life.
It was also a chance for a step back in time and to realise how much things have changed in such a relatively short space of time. Phone calls made from telephone boxes, no Google to search out names, trade unions in their last throws of calling the shots in the workplace all take the reader back to another era. Many of the changes from then are probably for the better, but some perhaps not so much.
It was quite a poignant book at times and I enjoyed it very much.
Jenny’s life is somewhat in turmoil at the moment. She’s not the happiest she’s ever been and as she takes her bike over to the Isle of Wight in search of the postcard recipient, she uses the time to be alone with her thoughts and to think about where she would like her own life to go from here.
It’s a story about family life, grief, and searching for what is most important in life. Jenny feels like life is passing her by and that things must change. She questions her marriage and whether it will survive the heartbreak the family has suffered. It does tend to meander a little, especially when Jenny is on her bike rides but there are family scenes and workplace scenes which include a little more dialogue and help the reader to see why she feels like she has reached a turning point in her life.
It was also a chance for a step back in time and to realise how much things have changed in such a relatively short space of time. Phone calls made from telephone boxes, no Google to search out names, trade unions in their last throws of calling the shots in the workplace all take the reader back to another era. Many of the changes from then are probably for the better, but some perhaps not so much.
It was quite a poignant book at times and I enjoyed it very much.
August 12, 2021
Set in UK, during the 1980s strikes, Missing Words by Loree Westron tells the story of a woman who's trying to make sense of her life, her marriage, and mothering a young adult daughter. Jenny, a postal worker, is trying to deliver a postcard with insufficient address to its recipient, and in the process examines her life trajectory, as well as her family's. It's both a sad and hopeful read, set against a gorgeous background.
There are such beautiful scenes depicting the Isle of Wight, it was easy to go along with Jenny on her bike rides around the island. The writing is fluid and easy to follow, and the occasional snippets from Jenny's past give the story more plot. Facing a strained relationship with her daughter Charlotte, after losing her younger daughter two years prior, Jenny reminisces about the tense relationship with her own mother. The postcard she stole when she was supposed to sort mail, brings back the undealt with feelings she had towards Paul/ Paolo, her first love, with whom she had the chance to leave UK to start a new life, before she married Simon. When she took the postcard with the message begging for forgiveness, Jenny must have longed for a chance to offer two people a happy and fulfilling love story, one she's not currently living, despite having been married to Simon for twenty years.
Wandering the island up and down, searching for Deborah to deliver her the postcard, Jenny gets the chance to analyse her life, and eventually come to terms with sometimes not being able to fix all the things. It's a story that's not rushed, it takes its time, and eventually it settles into a rhythm that brings hope for a better future. I enjoyed reading this novella a lot!
I received a free e-book copy of the book from the publisher via Net Galley. All thoughts expressed here are my own.
There are such beautiful scenes depicting the Isle of Wight, it was easy to go along with Jenny on her bike rides around the island. The writing is fluid and easy to follow, and the occasional snippets from Jenny's past give the story more plot. Facing a strained relationship with her daughter Charlotte, after losing her younger daughter two years prior, Jenny reminisces about the tense relationship with her own mother. The postcard she stole when she was supposed to sort mail, brings back the undealt with feelings she had towards Paul/ Paolo, her first love, with whom she had the chance to leave UK to start a new life, before she married Simon. When she took the postcard with the message begging for forgiveness, Jenny must have longed for a chance to offer two people a happy and fulfilling love story, one she's not currently living, despite having been married to Simon for twenty years.
Wandering the island up and down, searching for Deborah to deliver her the postcard, Jenny gets the chance to analyse her life, and eventually come to terms with sometimes not being able to fix all the things. It's a story that's not rushed, it takes its time, and eventually it settles into a rhythm that brings hope for a better future. I enjoyed reading this novella a lot!
I received a free e-book copy of the book from the publisher via Net Galley. All thoughts expressed here are my own.
August 18, 2021
A divine debut – sublime writing and so emotionally captivating.
A postcard, a message from an exotic location from a lovelorn man, “Life means nothing without you”. A message of love and reconciliation that has no hope of reaching his forsaken lover; the address incomplete, but directed to a local area.
Jenny, a postal sorter, is drawn to the card and especially the message because there is a time limit for a reply. She keeps the card. She will find the address and deliver it so the couple can find happiness. And so begins a cathartic journey for Jenny, a woman approaching forty, a struggling marriage that is not surviving the death of a child and, the remaining teenage daughter, rebelling. A husband suffering redundancy and all that this represents for his ability to ‘support’ his family; a family in crisis.
This is a fermenting story of a quest, to deliver the card and, to seek answers to delve into an emotional turmoil that ordinarily, Jenny would ignore, but now she cannot. This is more than a mid-life crisis, it is more a mindful fantasy. A mystery with benign clues that float between two worlds, a past and a future, but the answer lies in the present.
This is a divine debut, sublimely written, and we read about an ordinary life made less ordinary, by a simple message, but oh so powerful. I read this straight through and in places shed tears; this moved me and I wholeheartedly recommend it – 5 stars.
A postcard, a message from an exotic location from a lovelorn man, “Life means nothing without you”. A message of love and reconciliation that has no hope of reaching his forsaken lover; the address incomplete, but directed to a local area.
Jenny, a postal sorter, is drawn to the card and especially the message because there is a time limit for a reply. She keeps the card. She will find the address and deliver it so the couple can find happiness. And so begins a cathartic journey for Jenny, a woman approaching forty, a struggling marriage that is not surviving the death of a child and, the remaining teenage daughter, rebelling. A husband suffering redundancy and all that this represents for his ability to ‘support’ his family; a family in crisis.
This is a fermenting story of a quest, to deliver the card and, to seek answers to delve into an emotional turmoil that ordinarily, Jenny would ignore, but now she cannot. This is more than a mid-life crisis, it is more a mindful fantasy. A mystery with benign clues that float between two worlds, a past and a future, but the answer lies in the present.
This is a divine debut, sublimely written, and we read about an ordinary life made less ordinary, by a simple message, but oh so powerful. I read this straight through and in places shed tears; this moved me and I wholeheartedly recommend it – 5 stars.
August 20, 2021
Loree Watson’s novella of a postal worker’s decision to search for the addressee of a postcard from Australia without a complete address is the catalyst for the protagonist’s journey through a moment in her life which is full of grief, dissatisfaction and discontentment. Jenny, the protagonist, takes the postcard to the Isle of Wight to find the addressee, Deborah Cunningham. During her weeks of searching for Deborah, Jenny is confronted with the aftermath of her daughter’s death, her tumultuous relationship with her other daughter, Charlotte, and her failing marriage with her husband, Simon. What is initially an attempt to find Deborah becomes a journey of self-discovery and a question of what could have been.
Amid Missing Words is a look at a Jenny’s inability to speak plainly to her husband, her lack of supportive words to Charlotte and her hesitation to say the most difficult but necessary words to other loves in her life: her co-worker and friend, Roger, her mother, and an old lover, Paolo.
This shorter fiction was an interesting read as I learned a lot about the geography and topography of the Isle of Wight. I loved the descriptions of Jenny riding her bicycle around the terrain and could feel her moments of euphoria riding down a hill as well as her moments of pain pushing her bike up hills.
I think that the insight to Jenny’s life at such a pivotal moment was interesting—especially since she’s preoccupied with her age. I thought that the story was—at times—a bit too heavily concerned with Jenny’s relationship with Paolo. However, since I’ve never been married or looked back at past relationships in the ways that Jenny does, it makes sense that I cannot relate to her continuously mentioning Paolo or her relationship with him.
What I found most interesting was Jenny’s relationships with her own mother and her daughter, Charlotte. These two women in her life are representations of who Jenny is and isn’t and the comparisons and contrasts among the three are fascinating. Watson captures the complexity of mother-daughter relationships brilliantly!
Another interesting point was Jenny’s belief that if Charlotte attends university, then Charlotte will have better opportunities in life. While this sentiment is still widely believed, I appreciated Charlotte’s argument that post-secondary school is not for everyone. As someone with an MA, I can attest that there are moments that I regret my academic decisions. This opinion isn’t always vocalized in literature being published these days, so I really appreciate that.
I think that readers who enjoy “slice-of-life” stories about women’s familial, romantic and platonic relationships will enjoy Watson’s Missing Words.
Many thanks to Fairlight Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review an ARC of this title in return for an honest review.
Amid Missing Words is a look at a Jenny’s inability to speak plainly to her husband, her lack of supportive words to Charlotte and her hesitation to say the most difficult but necessary words to other loves in her life: her co-worker and friend, Roger, her mother, and an old lover, Paolo.
This shorter fiction was an interesting read as I learned a lot about the geography and topography of the Isle of Wight. I loved the descriptions of Jenny riding her bicycle around the terrain and could feel her moments of euphoria riding down a hill as well as her moments of pain pushing her bike up hills.
I think that the insight to Jenny’s life at such a pivotal moment was interesting—especially since she’s preoccupied with her age. I thought that the story was—at times—a bit too heavily concerned with Jenny’s relationship with Paolo. However, since I’ve never been married or looked back at past relationships in the ways that Jenny does, it makes sense that I cannot relate to her continuously mentioning Paolo or her relationship with him.
What I found most interesting was Jenny’s relationships with her own mother and her daughter, Charlotte. These two women in her life are representations of who Jenny is and isn’t and the comparisons and contrasts among the three are fascinating. Watson captures the complexity of mother-daughter relationships brilliantly!
Another interesting point was Jenny’s belief that if Charlotte attends university, then Charlotte will have better opportunities in life. While this sentiment is still widely believed, I appreciated Charlotte’s argument that post-secondary school is not for everyone. As someone with an MA, I can attest that there are moments that I regret my academic decisions. This opinion isn’t always vocalized in literature being published these days, so I really appreciate that.
I think that readers who enjoy “slice-of-life” stories about women’s familial, romantic and platonic relationships will enjoy Watson’s Missing Words.
Many thanks to Fairlight Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review an ARC of this title in return for an honest review.
September 24, 2021
Jenny has felt herself grow thinner, as if the molecules that make up her body were disassembling themselves and she was gradually vanishing into the ether. She fears that the most substantial part of her now is her breath and wonders how long it will be before she completely disappears.
Huge thanks to NetGalley for my e-ARC of this book!
First of all, how absolutely gorgeous is that cover? Yes, I did pick this book to read purely based on the cover, and yes, I am very happy with my choice! Missing Words is a short heartfelt story about a postal worker who takes it upon herself to deliver a postcard with an incomplete address. While the story follows her "quest", it's less of an adventure or a mystery and more of a tale about who 39-year old Jenny is and the dissatisfaction she feels in her life.
In many ways, the story, the character's unhappiness, and the theme of the book, reminded me of Elif Shafak's The Forty Rules of Love with the huge difference being that I found this one actually enjoyable and that one, well, annoyingly preachy. The writing style here is very calming and simple in a way that makes each paragraph feel like a warm embrace and there's just something about the atmosphere that's described that makes it extremely easy to imagine every single scene and to understand every mood Jenny has.
I'm giving it 4 stars but I do feel like it's closer to 3.5/3.75 if I'm being completely honest as I did feel slightly let down by the ending. For the first 90% everything is perfectly paced and perfectly set up and then I just felt like there was a huge rush to just finish and to close it off when the story could have easily taken on an extra 50 pages or so just to have it end in the same manner as the rest of the book. I was very unsatisfied with the last 10 pages or so, not because I disagreed with the story's resolution or anything but because the resolution just came too fast and did a disservice to the world it had built until then.
Overall, a cute quick read that's worth the time you spend on it. I'll be keeping my eye out for these publishers and more cute covers.
August 6, 2021
A taut psychological novella set in Thatcher’s Britain, a country that in this snapshot comes through as wavering between anger and resignation. Jenni is a mail sorter at the post office, a job she carries out with the exactness of a machine, and is subjected to humiliating surprise speed and accuracy checks and to the arbitrariness of petty supervisor. Discontent is everywhere and, as the country is shaken by strikes, Jenni has to negotiate where to stand. She works hard to be able to send her daughter Deborah to university and she returns home every evening to find her husband Simon drinking beer slouched on the sofa. The two have been drifting apart for a while and also her daughter is growing more and more alienated from her. When she finds a postcard from a desperate lover that will never reach its destination on the Isle of Wight because the address is wrong, she thinks that fixing that love she might mend hers, too.
An intense story played out between two dimensions: the tense domestic atmospheres where every glance, word and silence weigh a ton and tension is palpable; and the escapades on the Isle of Wight, the uplifting sense of lightness, adventure and freedom that comes when drifting downhill on the bike taking in the fresh air in the magnificent landscape of the island.
I loved the careful way point of view is manipulated, self-deception exposed. Appearances crumble as layers in the story are uncovered and secrets resurface, revealing dark truths and hidden character traits. I found myself shifting, siding with one and then with the other as they go through guilt, grief, anger regret, acceptance and growth. I also loved the way the political shapes the personal, how characters are shown reacting in that particular political climate. Definitely a page turner for me.
An intense story played out between two dimensions: the tense domestic atmospheres where every glance, word and silence weigh a ton and tension is palpable; and the escapades on the Isle of Wight, the uplifting sense of lightness, adventure and freedom that comes when drifting downhill on the bike taking in the fresh air in the magnificent landscape of the island.
I loved the careful way point of view is manipulated, self-deception exposed. Appearances crumble as layers in the story are uncovered and secrets resurface, revealing dark truths and hidden character traits. I found myself shifting, siding with one and then with the other as they go through guilt, grief, anger regret, acceptance and growth. I also loved the way the political shapes the personal, how characters are shown reacting in that particular political climate. Definitely a page turner for me.
September 6, 2021
This short and clever book tells the story of a woman in Thatcher's Britain of the 1980s, a time of strikes, Campaigns for Nuclear Disarmament, and, well, postcards.
Our main character, Jenny, works in a post sorting centre, and is reminded regularly that she should be grateful to have a job at all, not only because of her husband's shaky career security and union strikes in her own organisation, but also because she is a woman, and unemployment for men has meant that the whole 'breadwinner' structure is being challenged.
Jenny, in trying to reunite a 'dead letter'- an undelivered postcard- with its intended recipient, goes on her own journey and ends up thinking deeply about her past relationships, her marriage and the fractious relationship she has with her own daughter.
It is a short, but poignant, delight of a book, and covers some interesting topics as Jenny goes through what it means to communicate to others.
I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Our main character, Jenny, works in a post sorting centre, and is reminded regularly that she should be grateful to have a job at all, not only because of her husband's shaky career security and union strikes in her own organisation, but also because she is a woman, and unemployment for men has meant that the whole 'breadwinner' structure is being challenged.
Jenny, in trying to reunite a 'dead letter'- an undelivered postcard- with its intended recipient, goes on her own journey and ends up thinking deeply about her past relationships, her marriage and the fractious relationship she has with her own daughter.
It is a short, but poignant, delight of a book, and covers some interesting topics as Jenny goes through what it means to communicate to others.
I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 11, 2021
Thank you to NetGalley and Fairlight Books for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Jenny is having a hard time with life since her youngest daughter died two years ago. She and her husband have drifted apart and hardly speak, her oldest daughter is moving on with her own life and making choices that Jenny doesn't like, and her job at the post office is under the threat of strike.
When Jenny finds a postcard from a man in Australia to a woman on the Isle of Wight proclaiming an apology and undying love. It has an incomplete address she can't bring herself to put it in the "dead letters" bin. Instead she decides take the postcard ( a big postal no no) and find it's intended recipient. Jenny spends her days off biking the Isle of Wight looking for the woman. While biking she has lots of time to think about not only about the two lovers she hopes to reunite but about her own marriage, the death of her daughter and the relationship she has with her remaining daughter.
I enjoyed this book because of the adventure and perseverance of Jenny trying to return the postcard. On a deeper level I enjoyed the questions she posed about life, love and happiness. I could relate with some of her struggles with changes in marriage over time and the changing relationships we have with our children as the grow and start a life of their own.
Jenny is having a hard time with life since her youngest daughter died two years ago. She and her husband have drifted apart and hardly speak, her oldest daughter is moving on with her own life and making choices that Jenny doesn't like, and her job at the post office is under the threat of strike.
When Jenny finds a postcard from a man in Australia to a woman on the Isle of Wight proclaiming an apology and undying love. It has an incomplete address she can't bring herself to put it in the "dead letters" bin. Instead she decides take the postcard ( a big postal no no) and find it's intended recipient. Jenny spends her days off biking the Isle of Wight looking for the woman. While biking she has lots of time to think about not only about the two lovers she hopes to reunite but about her own marriage, the death of her daughter and the relationship she has with her remaining daughter.
I enjoyed this book because of the adventure and perseverance of Jenny trying to return the postcard. On a deeper level I enjoyed the questions she posed about life, love and happiness. I could relate with some of her struggles with changes in marriage over time and the changing relationships we have with our children as the grow and start a life of their own.
September 29, 2021
Loree Westron's 'Missing Words' is a sweet sojourn into the coastal English countryside; a journey of self-discovery and an exploration of the bonds of family, love and loss.
With the labor strikes of the 1980s looming in the background, postal worker Jenny finds herself on an adventure to return the missing words of a man in love with a woman he might have lost while she unwittingly makes peace with the lost love, unspoken words and current questions of her life.
Jenny's life is at a bit of a standstill--she's got a daughter who doesn't seem to value her opinion or want it and a husband much of the same mind. She is also dealing with a tremendous loss all while working under sexist conditions in the Thatcher years.
Her efforts to bring two former lovers together is less about their ultimate reconnection or lack thereof and more about whether she herself will learn to live in the moment and find happiness for herself. Will she? You must read on to find out!
This was a quick weekend read full of sweet imagery and a fun mystery. Great for vacation read or a restful weekend at home.
Publication Date: Aug 5th, 2021
Thank you to @NetGalley & @fairlightbooks for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#MissingWordsNovella #NetGalley
#MissingWords #novella #FairlightModerns #fairlightbooks #isleofwight #isleofwightday #fiction #books #bookcover #shortreads #bookstagram #literaryfiction #indiereads #indiepublisher
With the labor strikes of the 1980s looming in the background, postal worker Jenny finds herself on an adventure to return the missing words of a man in love with a woman he might have lost while she unwittingly makes peace with the lost love, unspoken words and current questions of her life.
Jenny's life is at a bit of a standstill--she's got a daughter who doesn't seem to value her opinion or want it and a husband much of the same mind. She is also dealing with a tremendous loss all while working under sexist conditions in the Thatcher years.
Her efforts to bring two former lovers together is less about their ultimate reconnection or lack thereof and more about whether she herself will learn to live in the moment and find happiness for herself. Will she? You must read on to find out!
This was a quick weekend read full of sweet imagery and a fun mystery. Great for vacation read or a restful weekend at home.
Publication Date: Aug 5th, 2021
Thank you to @NetGalley & @fairlightbooks for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#MissingWordsNovella #NetGalley
#MissingWords #novella #FairlightModerns #fairlightbooks #isleofwight #isleofwightday #fiction #books #bookcover #shortreads #bookstagram #literaryfiction #indiereads #indiepublisher
August 1, 2021
I was looking forward to reading this novella, MISSING WORDS by Loree Westron. I enjoyed the journey! This is my first venture with this author and I enjoyed Loree's writing style. For me, this novella was a comfortable and well written. In some chapters, I found descriptions unnecessary and I thought it somewhat slowed down the story, otherwise, it was an enjoyable read.
Jenny & Simon's marriage has gone stale, hinting it won't survive! Jenny decides to take a journey which seems to put her life into perspective for their marriage and family life.
This book is about struggle, decision, regret, loss, grief and a whole lot more. I would recommend you read this novella and decided for yourself.
I give a 4 star rating.
I WANT TO THANK NETGALLEY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY FOR READING AN ADVANCED COPY OF THIS BOOK FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.
Jenny & Simon's marriage has gone stale, hinting it won't survive! Jenny decides to take a journey which seems to put her life into perspective for their marriage and family life.
This book is about struggle, decision, regret, loss, grief and a whole lot more. I would recommend you read this novella and decided for yourself.
I give a 4 star rating.
I WANT TO THANK NETGALLEY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY FOR READING AN ADVANCED COPY OF THIS BOOK FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.
August 20, 2021
This is not a long book at 160 pages, and I read it in an evening. There is more depth to it than one might think, even though the real story is told in bits and pieces around the narrative that involves Jenny trying to find the intended recipient of a postcard.
Jenny is middle-aged, one daughter died a couple years previously, her husband and other daughter have drifted away, and her only friend at work (another mail sorter) is soon to retire. She wonders if perhaps she is destined to simply lose everyone.
Although we see exchanges with her friend, her husband, her daughter, and others, they are not fully-formed characters, nor do they need to be. Jenny is the focus, and it is her thoughts and actions that have center stage.
Jenny is middle-aged, one daughter died a couple years previously, her husband and other daughter have drifted away, and her only friend at work (another mail sorter) is soon to retire. She wonders if perhaps she is destined to simply lose everyone.
Although we see exchanges with her friend, her husband, her daughter, and others, they are not fully-formed characters, nor do they need to be. Jenny is the focus, and it is her thoughts and actions that have center stage.
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