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Widower
What if every life is connected to every other by a single thread? Under an apple tree, in a small town on the edge of a great lake, something is beginning. In a house on ahill above an orchard, a broken man stares out his window but doesn't see the swaying branches or the summer sun. He sees only his wife's face and feels again the dreadful sense offalling. Walking between the trees, a recently freed prisoner is learning how to live in the world again when he makes a discovery that will change many lives forever. Memories hauntSwanton Robey. The horrific accident that killed his young wife has taken all but his life, leaving him a prisoner of his injuries and his heart's great loss. Floating through his days with dreams of the past andvisions of what might have been, Swan watches the world through his high window but never ventures into it, gazing out over the apple orchard he owns but has abandoned, and beyond it, to the great and mysteriouslake. Joseph Geewa has been a prisoner too, for a crime triggered by grief, ordained by fate. Now free after twenty years, he is trying to build a life among the living-an existence of simplebeauty, of choices created through the kindness of others. Grace, his niece, is guiding him back to the world, even as she is drawn to Swan's tragic isolation. Then, an astonishing discovery in Swan'sorchard suddenly forces the two men together and propels them on a journey of rescue and revelation that in turn might set them both free. In "The Widower," lives entwine in the mostunexpected ways, bound together by accidents and twists of fate that can forever hold us one to another. Narrated in episodes that seamlessly join the past and present, this is a story about how individual historiesinfluence present lives, about the value of compassion and the power of forgiveness. Weaving threads of love and mystery through every page, Liesel Litzenburger's spare and lyrical novel follows the lives ofunforgettable characters in a profound story of loss and redemption. "From the Hardcover edition."
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2006
29 people want to read
About the author
Liesel Litzenburger
3 books3 followersI was born in Harbor Springs, Michigan. More precisely, I was born in Petoskey, seven miles down the road, and was swiftly removed to Harbor Springs to live out my childhood. If you make a mitten shape with your left hand, Harbor Springs is located along the western edge of your middle finger as it rises above the ring finger. It’s a small town on the shore of Lake Michigan. That left hand of yours should be floating in water. I forgot to add that part. Si quaeris peninsulam ameonam, circumspice: If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you. This is Michigan’s motto and it has always struck me as fairly bossy—like, if you’re not happy here, you’re not really trying. But my point is that in Michigan we’re surrounded by water on three sides, and I grew up on the shore of a huge lake, an inland sea, in the midst of other lakes, and this childhood geography has had a strong influence on my writing. My family later moved to Fort Worth, Texas, then back to Michigan, and I spent my senior year of high school in Brazil as an exchange student. As an adult, I’ve moved and traveled frequently, but in my writing, my mental landscape has remained the same. At night, the sky goes blue-black very late and you can still see all the stars there, the full constellations. The great thing about remembered places is that they never really change.
I’ve always loved stories—written or spoken. As a child, I liked to listen to people talk, the way each person put his or her life into words, the way things were described or made funny or made sad, depending on who was doing the talking. I was a big eavesdropper. Later, as an adult, I’d remember something I’d heard someone say years before and think So that’s what that meant. I come from a long line of storytellers; I’m just the first one to get the sentences down on the page. Since I grew up without the benefit of cable TV—not much TV at all, cable or otherwise—reading was always important. I was one of those kids who tried Anna Karenina in the third grade. It made my arms hurt to hold it. That began my adventures with age inappropriate reading materials. I read In Cold Blood in the sixth grade and then all of Capote after that. I discovered Flannery O’Connor, Eudora Welty, Nabokov, Garcia Marquez, and Hemingway—whose sister was my grandmother’s best friend and lived down the shore on Walloon Lake.
I wrote my first novel in third or fourth grade. The Very Bad Man involves a kidnapping and espionage plot in Brazil. Ironically, when I ended up in Brazil years later, I found myself living in a town that looked a lot like the one I had invented in that childhood novel. I think the line between writing and life can sometimes be pleasantly blurred. Once in a while, I’ll see someone walking down the street and I’ll recognize her immediately, think I know her from somewhere. Then I’ll remember that I’m thinking of some fictional character I either read about or created myself. That’s an interesting moment. Books and the people in them have always been my friends.
I’ve always loved stories—written or spoken. As a child, I liked to listen to people talk, the way each person put his or her life into words, the way things were described or made funny or made sad, depending on who was doing the talking. I was a big eavesdropper. Later, as an adult, I’d remember something I’d heard someone say years before and think So that’s what that meant. I come from a long line of storytellers; I’m just the first one to get the sentences down on the page. Since I grew up without the benefit of cable TV—not much TV at all, cable or otherwise—reading was always important. I was one of those kids who tried Anna Karenina in the third grade. It made my arms hurt to hold it. That began my adventures with age inappropriate reading materials. I read In Cold Blood in the sixth grade and then all of Capote after that. I discovered Flannery O’Connor, Eudora Welty, Nabokov, Garcia Marquez, and Hemingway—whose sister was my grandmother’s best friend and lived down the shore on Walloon Lake.
I wrote my first novel in third or fourth grade. The Very Bad Man involves a kidnapping and espionage plot in Brazil. Ironically, when I ended up in Brazil years later, I found myself living in a town that looked a lot like the one I had invented in that childhood novel. I think the line between writing and life can sometimes be pleasantly blurred. Once in a while, I’ll see someone walking down the street and I’ll recognize her immediately, think I know her from somewhere. Then I’ll remember that I’m thinking of some fictional character I either read about or created myself. That’s an interesting moment. Books and the people in them have always been my friends.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 8, 2009
I read this as part of a reading challenge, 'read a book based in Michigan or where the author is from Michigan'. This qualifies on both fronts. I'm just not quite sure how I feel about this yet.
I can't think of how to give a synopsis without taking away from the story. Each chapter is told from a different character POV. Ray, Jimmy, Dawn, Grace, Caroline, Ramona, Joseph, and of course Swan each have chapters that help the story unfold. The chapters are not chronologically arranged. Instead they are laid out in a format that helps explain what is to come next. The story is good and moving. I liked the format of the different POV's. I liked the fluid timelines. But what I loved was how it was written. There is a lyrical quality to the words. Some sentences and phrases I found myself reading aloud to feel them on my tongue. Poetry in novel format. If only the story were a bit tighter and the coincidences a bit easier to believe, it would be a 5 star book. As it is, 4 isn't bad.
I can't think of how to give a synopsis without taking away from the story. Each chapter is told from a different character POV. Ray, Jimmy, Dawn, Grace, Caroline, Ramona, Joseph, and of course Swan each have chapters that help the story unfold. The chapters are not chronologically arranged. Instead they are laid out in a format that helps explain what is to come next. The story is good and moving. I liked the format of the different POV's. I liked the fluid timelines. But what I loved was how it was written. There is a lyrical quality to the words. Some sentences and phrases I found myself reading aloud to feel them on my tongue. Poetry in novel format. If only the story were a bit tighter and the coincidences a bit easier to believe, it would be a 5 star book. As it is, 4 isn't bad.
April 19, 2008
A baby left in an orchard, a gun won in a pool game, a car wreck on an icy day, and snapshots taken in a hotel room are isolated incidents that fatefully converge in this beautifully written literary novel
Chance encounters cause these characters to meet and find reprieve from their sorrows.
What I liked best about the novel is the beautiful language Litzenburger uses throughout. Here’s one of many beautiful descriptions of the lake: “Soon the big lake is visible, silver, flickering through the trees. Then the whole of it bottomless, forever. It is his map, his secret. It holds his life. He can follow the shore road, the water, all the way home.”
Chance encounters cause these characters to meet and find reprieve from their sorrows.
What I liked best about the novel is the beautiful language Litzenburger uses throughout. Here’s one of many beautiful descriptions of the lake: “Soon the big lake is visible, silver, flickering through the trees. Then the whole of it bottomless, forever. It is his map, his secret. It holds his life. He can follow the shore road, the water, all the way home.”
October 29, 2014
I enjoyed the story and the writing, however, it jumped around a LOT. I never got confused by it, but I did feel that it was a distraction to the story itself as you would have to take a second at the beginning of each chapter to figure out when it was taking place. Luckily each chapter starts out with the name of the character it was about so you didn't have to figure out that piece.
September 7, 2010
This was a stupid work of fiction that was boring, sometimes hard to follow, not engaging or interesting in anyway, had cliche and annoying characters, and the dumbest, most predictable, and yet bizarre ending ever. Don't read it unless desperate.
April 7, 2014
This was just so bad. It just went no where. The character development was an attempt and that is where it remained. Kept waiting for the plot to be going somewhere. The ending was a try at being clever but it was confusing and weird. It was an unsatisfying story overall.
October 31, 2008
The author tried really hard to write an excellent novel but fell short. Some glimmers of hope, but really not that good.
November 12, 2011
Lack of character development and a confusing plotline... oh well.
June 7, 2018
There's a lot going on in this book and I wish the author had concentrated on just a few things. It just felt really fragmented. You have a man who has been badly injured in a car wreck (his wife died), a man who was recently released from prison, a woman who abandons her baby, and a cop whose wife has left him, etc. If the stories had been tied together better, maybe I would have liked the book more.
I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from the book:
"Never answer the phone between one and five a.m. if you want to stay happy."
I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from the book:
"Never answer the phone between one and five a.m. if you want to stay happy."
September 14, 2021
Glad to be introduced to this writer. Strong work.
October 21, 2023
This is actually the third time I've read this book, and I will probably read it again in a few years. There is something about the story that I love. The way the storyline is dropped with clues, told from different POVs, and presented out of order appeals to me. Litzenburger writes for the intelligent reader willing to take time and pay attention. The first time, Swanton's story grabbed my attention, the second time, Grace's. This time, Joseph's tale dominated my focus and attention, and I know if I have another opportunity to read The Widower, with more life experience under my belt, the story will appeal to me in yet another way. Looking forward to it.
April 5, 2011
Terrific debut. Been a while since I read something I was willing to recommend. I loved THE ROOM AND THE CHAIR, a thriller about a Washingtion DC news room and military sabotage--amazing quick read and a page-turner that fell apart at the end.
Meantime, this quiet book really touched me. Some maddening shifts in time and point of view character, but very savvy and sensitive. Lovely, lovely story that has deeply sad elements that somehow come out right.
Meantime, this quiet book really touched me. Some maddening shifts in time and point of view character, but very savvy and sensitive. Lovely, lovely story that has deeply sad elements that somehow come out right.
June 26, 2007
Interesting structure; beautiful language.
January 16, 2016
I don't know how to describe this book, it's just a good story about several characters. It is a thought provoking novel and at times sad. But overall a good read.
December 28, 2016
Very confusing timeline. Difficult to follow.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews