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The Widower's Tale
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the National Book Award–winning author of Three Seventy-year-old Percy Darling is settling happily into retirement—reading novels, watching old movies, and swimming naked in his pond. But his routines are disrupted when he is persuaded to let a locally beloved preschool take over his barn. As Percy sees his rural refuge overrun by children, parents, and teachers, he must reexamine the solitary life he has made in the three decades since the sudden death of his wife. With equal parts affection and humor, Julia Glass spins a captivating tale about a man who can no longer remain aloof from his community, his two grown daughters, or—to his great shock—the precarious joy of falling in love.
482 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 7, 2010
657 people are currently reading
8555 people want to read
About the author
Julia Glass
15 books832 followersJulia Glass is the author of
Three Junes
, which won the 2002 National Book Award for Fiction, and
The Whole World Over
. She has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Her short fiction has won several prizes, including the Tobias Wolff Award and the Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society Medal for the Best Novella. She lives with her family in Massachusetts.
Her new novel, I See You Everywhere is scheduled for release October 14, 2008.
Her new novel, I See You Everywhere is scheduled for release October 14, 2008.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,568 reviews
September 25, 2010
I'm very bitter about this book: it got rave reviews for its touching character studies and perceptive social commentary, so I bought it and waited for a pleasant Friday evening to start reading. I made it through about six chapters and gave up, and I was PISSED. The main character is a 70-year-old man. He came to adulthood in the 50s, right? Here's how he talks to a salesgirl: "I'm having one of those -- what youngsters so blithely call 'a senior moment.' I thank you for your cordial assistance." Ms. Glass: he grew up during the 1950s, not the 1850s, am I right? In America? He should be talking like Don Draper, not Martin Chuzzlewit. I gritted my teeth and plowed on, but then the younger characters are introduced and THEY say things like "Negativo on the stress!" and "Think of it as a rad form of economic sanctions." So wait, they grew up in the late 70s? Doesn't this sort of fussy, anachronistic dialogue bother anyone else?
June 6, 2012
Seeing other reviews (Jane's included), I am in the minority on this one. I remember liking "Three Junes" also by Glass, so I assumed I'd like this book. While the story was okay (about Percy a retired librarian, who allows his barn to be converted into a preschool, falls in love, and deals with various family issues) I was bogged down by the author's constant need to provide the background story on every character ever mentioned and every time they were mentioned. Two characters, Ira, one of the preschool teachers, and Constantino, the neighbor's gardener, were given chapters of history. These were minor characters to me; they had little interaction with Percy, and I felt had little impact on the ending, so I was confused on the importance the author gave them. It seemed like they were just there just so she could discuss gay marriage and immigration issues. Which is another problem I had -- it seemed like there were too many "issues" going on, it lacked focus. Percy's two daughters were not part of the story as much in comparison, but were integral to his life. It seemed unbalanced. Glass is clearly talented, this book just didn't work for me.
October 24, 2011
Her favorite story lines and more are all here. Perhaps there's too much going on in this book. At times it feels almost too topical. Let's see, Glass must have decided, I need to work in gay issues, immigration issues, ecoterrorism, cancer, and then revisit my most familiar issue - sibling rivalry.
For all that, this is still a book worth reading. Glass' work always is. She's a beautifully descriptive and witty writer. She likes her characters and makes us care about them too. (Well she was too sympathetic (through Robert) to Turo, the ecoterrorist.) Her characters have to deal with unwelcome change and suffer heartache, but Glass is not into misery. Her characters grow and, for the most part, see their way out of the dark.
The story is about a family and a village. Both are safe, upscale and a bit smug. But for all their embedded history, their careful upbringing and their fine education and ideals, they cannot keep out change and heartbreak. There's the progressive preschool on one end and, at the other end, there's Harvard. Neither guarantees immunity from actions that bring unhappiness.
As with multiple story lines, there are various points of view. The 70 year old widower tells his story in first person. Robert, his grandson's story, is told in third person as is Ira's story, a gay teacher at the preschool, and Celestino's, an illegal immigrant. Yes, there are women in the book, too. The 70 year old widow, who has mourned his dead wife for years, unexpectedly falls in love and becomes vulnerable again. He has two very different adult daughters. One a successful oncologist; one still a flower child who has much growing up to do. Glass weaves the story lines of all these people together very tightly and maybe too predictably; but I was satisfied with the ending.
I found the book a little slow going at first but, after the initial slow start, I didn't want to put the book down. Percy's dialogue, although very witty, seems too antiquated even for a retired librarian; and Glass seems to be straining too hard to capture a hip dialogue for Robert and for his friends. It's a fairly minor quibble. If we could give half stars, I might have given this book 3 1/2 stars. I didn't find it as wrenching as her "The Three Junes" or "I See You Everwhere." I still haven't decided where I would rank this book among the three I have read by Glass. Perhaps third. But I still liked it a lot and would not hesitate to recommend it.
For all that, this is still a book worth reading. Glass' work always is. She's a beautifully descriptive and witty writer. She likes her characters and makes us care about them too. (Well she was too sympathetic (through Robert) to Turo, the ecoterrorist.) Her characters have to deal with unwelcome change and suffer heartache, but Glass is not into misery. Her characters grow and, for the most part, see their way out of the dark.
The story is about a family and a village. Both are safe, upscale and a bit smug. But for all their embedded history, their careful upbringing and their fine education and ideals, they cannot keep out change and heartbreak. There's the progressive preschool on one end and, at the other end, there's Harvard. Neither guarantees immunity from actions that bring unhappiness.
As with multiple story lines, there are various points of view. The 70 year old widower tells his story in first person. Robert, his grandson's story, is told in third person as is Ira's story, a gay teacher at the preschool, and Celestino's, an illegal immigrant. Yes, there are women in the book, too. The 70 year old widow, who has mourned his dead wife for years, unexpectedly falls in love and becomes vulnerable again. He has two very different adult daughters. One a successful oncologist; one still a flower child who has much growing up to do. Glass weaves the story lines of all these people together very tightly and maybe too predictably; but I was satisfied with the ending.
I found the book a little slow going at first but, after the initial slow start, I didn't want to put the book down. Percy's dialogue, although very witty, seems too antiquated even for a retired librarian; and Glass seems to be straining too hard to capture a hip dialogue for Robert and for his friends. It's a fairly minor quibble. If we could give half stars, I might have given this book 3 1/2 stars. I didn't find it as wrenching as her "The Three Junes" or "I See You Everwhere." I still haven't decided where I would rank this book among the three I have read by Glass. Perhaps third. But I still liked it a lot and would not hesitate to recommend it.
March 10, 2017
I loved every word of this densely written, thought provoking, moving, sad, happy novel. Julia Glass never writes light fluff. She is the thinking person's novelist and creates characters who are complicated, flawed, good and bad, like most people! There are plots and subplots, main characters and supporting ones, but all are well drawn and elicit some form of empathy from the readers. The story is told from more than one perspective, but mostly from that of Percival Darling, the widowed (though not very old) patriarch of a New England family who, alone, raised his two daughters after the death of his wife, long before the story begins. Now, one daughter is an oncologist, while the other is floundering after losing her husband and children, and is failing at most things she starts. But she has started a successful private preschool on the property of her father's big old home, which brings numerous characters into the fray---builders, gardeners, teachers, including the wonderful Ira, who is debating the merits of marrying his partner, Anthony. There is a sub plot of a radical group of Harvard students trying to go green but going to extreme, dangerous and illegal methods to prove their point. Percy's grandson, Robert, is one of those students who decides (too late) that the group is too radical for him. There is a love story that grows between Percy and a younger woman who becomes ill, and withdraws, during her cancer treatment. We ache for her and for Percy who feels abandoned while she turns away from him. Lots of meaty story lines for you to enjoy and ponder! Julia Glass never lets me down.
December 27, 2010
Glass is, quite simply, a wonderful writer, and her newest book “The Widower’s Tale” is a fantastic addition to her growing canon. In her elegant and intelligent, yet breezy and accessible prose, the author tells a multi-layered family story that centers around a seventy year old retired librarian. Percy Darling may be resigned to spend his retirement in a quietly vigorous manner, but the goings-on of his family and his own unexpected romantic feelings toward a local artist conspire to change the simple trajectory of his golden years. From an archeological dig in Guatemala to the hallowed halls of Harvard, Glass weaves a story that is funny, heart-breaking, touching, and always compelling.
Having lavished well-earned praise on the book, I have to say there is one thing that, for me, makes this a four star rather than a five star book – inconsistent narrative voice. In “Widower’s,” Glass volleys between first and third person narrative from chapter to chapter. Now, I’m a huge fan of varying perspective novels, but my hackles raise a bit when we, as readers, must pivot from first to third person. The reason I have such trouble with this device is not that I find it jarring (which it isn’t in this book), but because it seems as though the author WANTS to write a first person narrative, but cannot find a way to tell the reader about key events, thoughts, or actions to which the first person narrator cannot be privy due to his/her relationship with the dramatic action. In a nutshell, it feels that the author changes voice simply to hide facts from BOTH the reader and his/her main character, to make the first person narrator both a part of and apart from the action. This narrative equivalent of “having your cake and eating it too” seems to be a way of “cheating out” a story. Percy Darling, the eponymous widower, is such a wonderful character and such a lovely narrator that I wish Glass had trusted him to tell the entire story on his own (past or present tense) or simply let him be the primary focus in a novel with the astute Glass as an omniscient narrator.
Having lavished well-earned praise on the book, I have to say there is one thing that, for me, makes this a four star rather than a five star book – inconsistent narrative voice. In “Widower’s,” Glass volleys between first and third person narrative from chapter to chapter. Now, I’m a huge fan of varying perspective novels, but my hackles raise a bit when we, as readers, must pivot from first to third person. The reason I have such trouble with this device is not that I find it jarring (which it isn’t in this book), but because it seems as though the author WANTS to write a first person narrative, but cannot find a way to tell the reader about key events, thoughts, or actions to which the first person narrator cannot be privy due to his/her relationship with the dramatic action. In a nutshell, it feels that the author changes voice simply to hide facts from BOTH the reader and his/her main character, to make the first person narrator both a part of and apart from the action. This narrative equivalent of “having your cake and eating it too” seems to be a way of “cheating out” a story. Percy Darling, the eponymous widower, is such a wonderful character and such a lovely narrator that I wish Glass had trusted him to tell the entire story on his own (past or present tense) or simply let him be the primary focus in a novel with the astute Glass as an omniscient narrator.
August 2, 2011
This was the first time I've read Julia Glass, and I was awed by her character development and stunning prose. I love books that make me think, "Oh, how I wish I could write like this!" Glass's characters are authentic. They deal with their own foibles, beliefs, hurts and carefully guarded self-perspectives as they also attempt to maintain sometimes-fragile family relationships. I thoroughly enjoyed observing the process of Percy's emergence from 30 years of living in the past to reach a future that, while imperfect and full of challenges, also offers a richness he never could have discovered by holding onto his old, narrow approach to life. In the end, the main characters still have numerous issues to address -- Percy is still Percy, of course, but a gentler, more open-hearted version of his old self, and Robert's long-term vocation remains in question -- but they've reached hopeful places. I also liked the fact that Glass doesn't clear up every character's problems by the end of the book. Percy's relationship with Clover, Celestino's relationship with Isabel and the status of Clover's fight to gain custody of her children remain unresolved. Because Glass created characters who are easy to care about, she left me wanting to know more about what happens in their lives beyond the closing page.
May 20, 2016
OH. MY. GOD. If I hadn't finished this book this morning I might have just had to not finish it. Yep. The only other book I ever didn't finish was Ulysses (and then I did read it a few years later). This is probably one of the most boring books I have picked up in the past 10 years. Seriously. I feel like I have finished a marathon on my hands and knees.
It is long. And it is stupid. And it is boring. Glass's writing is overwrought and repetitive. Her main character is a 70 year old man with implausible relationships with EVERYONE (daughters, grand-son, neighbors, community members) and the plot is non existent. There is nothing to learn here, no quaint turns of phrase, and nothing compelling to pull the reader on. It is simply just boring and drawn out. Or, as Robert would say, "a snooze". Or probably not, because even though Glass tries to portray a "hip 70" year old in tune with his 20 year old grandson's lingo, he just isn't.
Avoid it. It's bad.
It is long. And it is stupid. And it is boring. Glass's writing is overwrought and repetitive. Her main character is a 70 year old man with implausible relationships with EVERYONE (daughters, grand-son, neighbors, community members) and the plot is non existent. There is nothing to learn here, no quaint turns of phrase, and nothing compelling to pull the reader on. It is simply just boring and drawn out. Or, as Robert would say, "a snooze". Or probably not, because even though Glass tries to portray a "hip 70" year old in tune with his 20 year old grandson's lingo, he just isn't.
Avoid it. It's bad.
February 15, 2012
I'm not suggesting that this would be a 5 star book to my friends, but I could fall in love with Percy if I were the woman I wish I were rather than the one I am. Maybe I just want to be like Percy. Percy is a 71 year old curmudgeon with a smart mouth (I can do that) and an off-beat sense of humor, who always has something to say which then prompts me to think, "Well said!" I would want Percy's astute memory, his artful vocabulary, his unique style. I would want to banter with Percy and have a wit as quick as his. His grandson, however, the "good boy" Robert, does not have the courage of his convictions. He shows neither courage nor convictions as he is "stupid,"(Robert's well pled excuse) enough to be taken in by the convictions of others. Once again Percy shines in his response. He says to Robert, "And you will never argue with me when I am suffering a rare bout of optimism, or when I tell you what's good for you. My imagination, for the time being, will be the boss of yours." Well said, Percy.
May 23, 2011
The Widower's Tale is one of those books I closed wistfully, sad to say goodbye to all my new friends. The ensemble cast is headed by Percival Darling, a 70-year-old retired librarian from Harvard, and the widower of the title. At the start of the novel, he is confronted by drastic change in his life when he allows the barn adjacent to his historic Massachusetts home to be converted to a progressive pre-school. Meanwhile, he has to cope with two difficult daughters, a budding romance, and a grandson who (unbeknownst to the family) is involved with a group of eco-terrorists.
It's a good story with dramatic plot twists, but the characters are the appeal here. Percy's is a wonderful voice: an educated Luddite who wittily disapproves of most of what he sees around him in 21st century life. He has kept himself well defended since the tragic death of his wife, and the most satisfying part of the book is watching him grow and change as he is confronted with the human frailty of those he loves. And frail they all are, but only one of these characters is thoroughly unlikeable.
My only problem with the book is that I wish it were longer. Maybe we can convince Glass to do a sequel.
It's a good story with dramatic plot twists, but the characters are the appeal here. Percy's is a wonderful voice: an educated Luddite who wittily disapproves of most of what he sees around him in 21st century life. He has kept himself well defended since the tragic death of his wife, and the most satisfying part of the book is watching him grow and change as he is confronted with the human frailty of those he loves. And frail they all are, but only one of these characters is thoroughly unlikeable.
My only problem with the book is that I wish it were longer. Maybe we can convince Glass to do a sequel.
July 25, 2015
For me, this book dragged on and on and I really just couldn't wait to finish it. I disliked the way the story jumped - mid-chapter it would change directions completely and return to yet another thread. I also found the character of Turo unbelievable - as I did several other components of the story: After 30 years with no relationship, all of the sudden Percy is immediately comfortable in a new relationship? For me, there were too many side stories and character interactions - so that none were developed enough for my interest and all seemed to bother me as I read. I didn't want to abandon the book but am very glad to have time to pick up something new.
October 18, 2011
How I came to read this is kind of a funny story that isn't about the book at all.
It was one of those days, when I needed a book. I went out to the choice reads shelf and found one that looked interesting but didn't pick it up. It was one of my typical quick-mystery books.
When I didn't find anything else I wanted, I picked it up and headed to the checkout and checked it out.
Except when I got home, I had The Widower's Tale in my bag. I thought maybe I'd picked up somebody else's book, but no, this was the one I checked out. And I told my husband, this will probably be my favorite book.
I don't know if it's my favorite book of all times, but I really liked it.
It's about a family and a community struggling with the kinds of things families and communities struggle with.
I loved the characters and I loved the beginning, middle and the end.
I won't give away the plot for you.
I recommend it!
It was one of those days, when I needed a book. I went out to the choice reads shelf and found one that looked interesting but didn't pick it up. It was one of my typical quick-mystery books.
When I didn't find anything else I wanted, I picked it up and headed to the checkout and checked it out.
Except when I got home, I had The Widower's Tale in my bag. I thought maybe I'd picked up somebody else's book, but no, this was the one I checked out. And I told my husband, this will probably be my favorite book.
I don't know if it's my favorite book of all times, but I really liked it.
It's about a family and a community struggling with the kinds of things families and communities struggle with.
I loved the characters and I loved the beginning, middle and the end.
I won't give away the plot for you.
I recommend it!
November 2, 2011
If you want to read a book that covers every political, environmental and social issue of the day then this is the book for you. Definitely my pet peeve when reading a book is to have the author use her characters to cram her political views down your throat. This book had everything from eco-terrorism to single mothers adopting, gay marriage to cancer, and immigration laws to urbanization of the countryside...YIKES and there is more!!! Not a book I would recommend unless you want to know how Julia Glass, the author, feels about current issues.
March 25, 2018
I HATED the dialogue in this writing style. I rarely do not finish a book but I just couldn't care enough to finish the last 150 pages!
I heard this authors other books are better, hope so, this not for me! got this at the dollar store, I am finding that I am not getting any hits at the dollar store lately!
I heard this authors other books are better, hope so, this not for me! got this at the dollar store, I am finding that I am not getting any hits at the dollar store lately!
August 19, 2011
We read this for our book group, and everyone liked it, although some thought it started slowly, then they got hooked. It'd be a good companion read to Franzen's "Freedom," as it's a subtle exploration of the American conscience through individuals. It's sort of a "bomber crew" cast representing different aspects of transition in contemporary America (the immigrant, the single woman who adopted, the gay couple, the high profile woman professional who's tried to "have it all," the prosperous suburbanites striving for soul), but that mere list doesn't do the book justice, since the characters each are well drawn, whole, their voices distinct and believable, especially those of "the widower," Percy, and his college-age grandson, Robert. My group found it interesting that a woman writer would choose to tell the story primarily, and successfully, through men's points of view. Maybe in some ways the ending is too tidy, too consoling, but I was absorbed in following the characters' paths as they criss-crossed, enjoying Percy's wry perspective and unexpected romance, and pondering the choices and consequences the book presents.
September 12, 2012
Julia Glass is one of my favorite authors. It's always with a bit of trepidation that I read new books from old favorites. The mysterious combination of my too-high hopes and the lower standard known authors must meet to be published often ends with disappointment.
But not this time. I wouldn't say The Widower's Tale was Glass' best novel - she'll be hard pressed to outdo The Whole World Over, in my eyes - but I enjoyed every minute of this read.
The plot is not something that I would have thought would appeal to me and I was surprised to find myself so interested when the four POV characters were all men, none of whom I have much in common with (the old widower, the Harvard boy, the gay teacher, the undocumented day laborer). But Glass' strength is in creating characters that are so three-dimensional with complicated, unique histories that make them come alive and make you root for them.
The plot doesn't matter. This is character-driven fiction about family dynamics and community inter-connection. If, like me, you like being lost in the believable lives of imaginary people, you'll enjoy this book.
But not this time. I wouldn't say The Widower's Tale was Glass' best novel - she'll be hard pressed to outdo The Whole World Over, in my eyes - but I enjoyed every minute of this read.
The plot is not something that I would have thought would appeal to me and I was surprised to find myself so interested when the four POV characters were all men, none of whom I have much in common with (the old widower, the Harvard boy, the gay teacher, the undocumented day laborer). But Glass' strength is in creating characters that are so three-dimensional with complicated, unique histories that make them come alive and make you root for them.
The plot doesn't matter. This is character-driven fiction about family dynamics and community inter-connection. If, like me, you like being lost in the believable lives of imaginary people, you'll enjoy this book.
October 22, 2015
The best way I can think of to describe this is as an American Maeve Binchy story. It follows five or six different characters, some related as family, some otherwise related. It seems like the author came up with six different story lines, wrote out character driven short stories that revolved around a kind of stereotypical theme, and stirred them together. At one level of reading, for entertainment, it works pretty well. The story does bounce around but you do feel you've taken quite a trip by the time it's over. On reflection, though, it doesn't feel like it was constructed with the kind of cohesion some other stories have. There are just too many cliche story lines taken from any number of other books out there. Eco terrorism, breast cancer, gay marriage, illegal immigration, overworked doctors... A bit of self-constraint I think would have helped the story. I also felt the main character had a personality change about half way through the book that seemed out of character and not well explained.
February 2, 2011
I did not think it was as good as Three Junes. I couldn't put down Three Junes, and The Widower's Tale was eh,
January 23, 2011
When my eyes scanned the first paragraph and lingered on, "...I read in our weekly town paper about the first of what I would so blithely come to call the Crusades....I can also say for certain, Because Elves & Fairies were scheduled.... " I began to question having hastily grabbed this book from the library new book table. Fortunately, I decided to read more before casting it aside.
This is a wonderful tale of someone slightly older than I, his marriage and loss of it, his children and grandchildren and a mixture of local and not-so-local folk of all those ages whose lives become entangled in surprising ways. Joy, tragedy and foolishness are mixed in portions not unlike those of life. The dangers of both flexibility and lack of it are explored.
My one complaint about this book is that once I was into it, it kept me awake at night and busy during the day. I did not nibble, I gorged. The author's clever references to earlier eras and up-to-date insertions of society's issues added to my pleasure. It will be a book that soon is dated, but that may tarnish only some of its luster.
This is a wonderful tale of someone slightly older than I, his marriage and loss of it, his children and grandchildren and a mixture of local and not-so-local folk of all those ages whose lives become entangled in surprising ways. Joy, tragedy and foolishness are mixed in portions not unlike those of life. The dangers of both flexibility and lack of it are explored.
My one complaint about this book is that once I was into it, it kept me awake at night and busy during the day. I did not nibble, I gorged. The author's clever references to earlier eras and up-to-date insertions of society's issues added to my pleasure. It will be a book that soon is dated, but that may tarnish only some of its luster.
May 31, 2025
I love Julia Glass and I love this book. Never one to indulge in hyperbole, I am restraining my enthusiasm.
The story is sweet, bitter, tragic, comic, and deeply touching. It is real life.
The characters are credible and human, not sketches or stereotypes. The hero, Percy Darling, 70 year-old retired librarian from the Widener Library at Harvard is so real in his sardonic, grumpy, good-hearted kindness.
I am astonished by Glass's ability to see into the hearts and minds of men and boys. I guess that some women are better at that than men are at understanding women.
Just read it!
The story is sweet, bitter, tragic, comic, and deeply touching. It is real life.
The characters are credible and human, not sketches or stereotypes. The hero, Percy Darling, 70 year-old retired librarian from the Widener Library at Harvard is so real in his sardonic, grumpy, good-hearted kindness.
I am astonished by Glass's ability to see into the hearts and minds of men and boys. I guess that some women are better at that than men are at understanding women.
Just read it!
October 6, 2010
I wanted a light read, a good story but I'm sorry to say this was a disappointment. Started out great but the characters became so convoluted that it became a nuisance to read. I previously tried another book by this author and was disappointed so I guess she is just not for me.
August 30, 2010
Julia Glass gifts her readers with a stunning tale, a tale that encompasses multigenerational relationships, love and self-forgiveness, family loyalty and betrayal, the meaning of parenthood, and the intricate web of human connections.
Percy Darling – a 70-year-old retired librarian with an offbeat wit and courtly manners – is at the vortex of this novel, the only character that narrates from the first-person perspective. He has spent years in self-afflicted soltitude following the senseless and inadvertent death of his wife three decades earlier. After making an uncharacteristic choice – allowing his barn to become a preschool to help his rootless older daughter – his solitary life becomes dramatically transformed.
Gradually, this trustafarian finds his world turned upside down as he falls for a younger woman with a young adopted son while purchasing the first swimsuit he has owned since college – laden with pink pineapples. A sudden complication in that relationship will emotionally test him in ways that he would never have dreamt possible. To add insult to injury, his beloved grandson, Robert – a Harvard pre-med student – becomes involved in an eco-activism movement that will have dire consequences.
The characters that Julia Glass creates – including a Guatemalan landscaper, a gay preschool teacher, and Percy Darling’s two very opposite daughters – come alive so eloquently that they could literally walk off the pages. This book examines not only one’s responsibility to oneself, but to one’s family and to society at large by shining its laser beam onto the haves-and-have-nots in affluent New England and the costs and rewards of opening up to others.
I loved this richly-layered and beautifully-rendered book. I cared about the very original cast of characters and the emotional and social issues they confront. Kudos to Ms. Glass for a totally absorbing read!
Percy Darling – a 70-year-old retired librarian with an offbeat wit and courtly manners – is at the vortex of this novel, the only character that narrates from the first-person perspective. He has spent years in self-afflicted soltitude following the senseless and inadvertent death of his wife three decades earlier. After making an uncharacteristic choice – allowing his barn to become a preschool to help his rootless older daughter – his solitary life becomes dramatically transformed.
Gradually, this trustafarian finds his world turned upside down as he falls for a younger woman with a young adopted son while purchasing the first swimsuit he has owned since college – laden with pink pineapples. A sudden complication in that relationship will emotionally test him in ways that he would never have dreamt possible. To add insult to injury, his beloved grandson, Robert – a Harvard pre-med student – becomes involved in an eco-activism movement that will have dire consequences.
The characters that Julia Glass creates – including a Guatemalan landscaper, a gay preschool teacher, and Percy Darling’s two very opposite daughters – come alive so eloquently that they could literally walk off the pages. This book examines not only one’s responsibility to oneself, but to one’s family and to society at large by shining its laser beam onto the haves-and-have-nots in affluent New England and the costs and rewards of opening up to others.
I loved this richly-layered and beautifully-rendered book. I cared about the very original cast of characters and the emotional and social issues they confront. Kudos to Ms. Glass for a totally absorbing read!
May 7, 2016
I was expecting pleasant, short read with cute small town setting and charming characters - something in between Major Pettigrew and Man called Ove. This is more or less all this book was *not*. Among the huge army of major and minor characters I actually liked only the gay couple - they are quite truly portrayed. The title Widower is pale and far less grumpy I wanted him to be, yet when once he shall behave as a Darling - which is his surname by the way (oh the pretentious names, Percy Darling, Sarah Straight, Robert Barnes!) - he is being an a**hole. At the beginning I sort of liked Robert but he came out being super-silly - and I was vividly irritated by his room-mate Turo as well as by his aunt Clover.
Some mention the way in which Percy speaks is too old-fashioned - I didn't really mind, but the way Turo speaks drives me crazy. The story is... oh wait was there a story? The tale mentioned in the title? Like...where?
It took me incredible two weeks to complete, and it was suffering. I didn't put it down only because it would be third book in a row. But Heavens, next time I just will.
Some mention the way in which Percy speaks is too old-fashioned - I didn't really mind, but the way Turo speaks drives me crazy. The story is... oh wait was there a story? The tale mentioned in the title? Like...where?
It took me incredible two weeks to complete, and it was suffering. I didn't put it down only because it would be third book in a row. But Heavens, next time I just will.
December 8, 2010
This is my first Julia Glass novel. I went into it with no expectations one way or the other and, I admit, I wasn’t too sure at first. For me, a good read is one which has me thinking about the characters and/or their situations at odd moments during the course of my day. This didn’t happen until I was well into the story, but happen it did. The characters are well-drawn, interesting, and real individuals. Percy, the protagonist is a retired Harvard librarian and has the pedantic nature and dry wit one would expect from a man with such a calling. His daughters both show the effects their mother’s early, tragic death has had on their lives, each in her own unique way. There are probably too many themes here – family, forgiveness, death, life, choices, sexuality, aging, health insurance, and more, but that’s life, right? We’re never given one thing at a time to deal with - it’s always something coming at you from every direction. According to those criteria then, I must give this book credit for realism, too. I look forward to reading more from Julia Glass.
July 24, 2017
While I enjoyed this book and the interesting themes, there was something that didn't quite catch fire for me fully. And yet I kept reading and was especially taken with one of the main characters, Percy Darling.
March 17, 2015
I absolutely loved this book!
October 1, 2022
Modern literature: a peculiar kind of beast. Some break the rules and never look back. Others trundle along them and do what's been done before so well in their own particular way that they can't help but win their heart. More often than not, though, it's mostly writers sticking to the tried and true structures and arcs up until the point they want to get 'creative', but not handling the new or the old well enough to weld the two together and have the resulting mishmash stand up as a whole. This particular piece certainly had its multitude of aspirations, and more than one of them were enjoyable (if rather trying too hard at times), but whatever rules the narrative was following didn't prioritize ending with a sense of closure. Couple that with some Dickensian (in the flattening, non-flattering sort of word) characters and some trite first-world-property-is-worth-more-than-third-world-people paradigms, and you have a whole set up that relies more on sentiment then on structure. So, something that was nice to look forward to at the end of a long day's work due to how straightforward (and sometimes simplistic) the writing was, but not anything that's going to last in someone's memory.
You can't write a novel without subjecting your audience to opinions for a couple hundred pages. You can, however, choose what form your opinions are going to take, whether personality creation or aesthetic prose or topical issues. Glass' work is very much of the topical issues type, a flash-in-the-pan crossroads of early 2000s east coast US that can afford to cut world building corners due to how inflated that particular microsection of the world scene is on the grand scale of international literary representation. The titular widower is the kind of carefully crafted incorrigible curmudgeon whos iterations (increasingly of the translated sort) get hyped up every two to three years, and if the entire piece had taken place from behind the wheels of his first person point of view, there's a good chance it would have been a much stronger work for the lack of multiple third-person-other-character-views. As stated, the narrative doesn't intentionally convolute itself, or otherwise try to psyche the reader out with more than the sort of twist that's been mirrored by almost every previous chapter of the book, so it's not the kind of read that's going to wear you out and then attempt to tell you what to do. It does, however, try too hard to brute force rewarding character development while not letting any of the point-of-view characters be anything eviler than glibly good intentioned, and it's hard to feel warm and cozy when barely any of the cast outside of the irascible main character stands apart from one another. So, technically a happy ending. But not a very credible (or all that meaningful, really) one at all.
On a closing note, the mention of both OCLC and MARC makes me wonder whether this author either considered a career in librarianship or deeply engaged with someone who was ensconced in it at some point in their life. Other than that, this piece tried very hard indeed to appeal via sentiment, but strung too many Big Important Themes too glibly together for most to be able to sit down and enjoy. There's also the changing of the guard to consider. It's not Glass' fault that she didn't see a pandemic happening in tandem with significant escalation of said environmental issues that ultimately form the backbone of her plotline, but I'd be rather surprised if readers of this work today came out of the text with any sympathy for the main cast in light of how the world is turning out today. Anyways, this book is over and done, and all it took for me to finally get around to it was a patron request and a fulltime job. If you the reader are looking for the US equivalent of the cozy British mystery and are willing to not think too hard about the real world ness of many of the topics, this may very well be for you. Otherwise, you might want to pass it by and switch on the newest episode of The Great British Bake Off instead.
You can't write a novel without subjecting your audience to opinions for a couple hundred pages. You can, however, choose what form your opinions are going to take, whether personality creation or aesthetic prose or topical issues. Glass' work is very much of the topical issues type, a flash-in-the-pan crossroads of early 2000s east coast US that can afford to cut world building corners due to how inflated that particular microsection of the world scene is on the grand scale of international literary representation. The titular widower is the kind of carefully crafted incorrigible curmudgeon whos iterations (increasingly of the translated sort) get hyped up every two to three years, and if the entire piece had taken place from behind the wheels of his first person point of view, there's a good chance it would have been a much stronger work for the lack of multiple third-person-other-character-views. As stated, the narrative doesn't intentionally convolute itself, or otherwise try to psyche the reader out with more than the sort of twist that's been mirrored by almost every previous chapter of the book, so it's not the kind of read that's going to wear you out and then attempt to tell you what to do. It does, however, try too hard to brute force rewarding character development while not letting any of the point-of-view characters be anything eviler than glibly good intentioned, and it's hard to feel warm and cozy when barely any of the cast outside of the irascible main character stands apart from one another. So, technically a happy ending. But not a very credible (or all that meaningful, really) one at all.
On a closing note, the mention of both OCLC and MARC makes me wonder whether this author either considered a career in librarianship or deeply engaged with someone who was ensconced in it at some point in their life. Other than that, this piece tried very hard indeed to appeal via sentiment, but strung too many Big Important Themes too glibly together for most to be able to sit down and enjoy. There's also the changing of the guard to consider. It's not Glass' fault that she didn't see a pandemic happening in tandem with significant escalation of said environmental issues that ultimately form the backbone of her plotline, but I'd be rather surprised if readers of this work today came out of the text with any sympathy for the main cast in light of how the world is turning out today. Anyways, this book is over and done, and all it took for me to finally get around to it was a patron request and a fulltime job. If you the reader are looking for the US equivalent of the cozy British mystery and are willing to not think too hard about the real world ness of many of the topics, this may very well be for you. Otherwise, you might want to pass it by and switch on the newest episode of The Great British Bake Off instead.
June 8, 2022
Fascinating, tales within tales within tales. I liked getting to know the widower, Robert, and all that is happening in his unexpected adventures. I wasn't sure where we were headed and I like that! I enjoy a book that is not linear sometimes. At the end we have an interesting friendship of three: Percy, his grandson, Robert, and a worker/now friend, Celestino. What struck me after letting the book settle on me for a while was how each man had a lover in the book that they were no longer with. The writing was so very strong in this novel. I want to pull an example but it is all so good. I would say that the author is both strong on dialogue (in different voices) and has a talent for excellent expository writing.
(A very small point, I did laugh at Percy's criticism of "modern" libraries. He was not impressed with library as activity center...)
I found my bookmark with favorite quotes listed:
p. 240 When I saw them deep in a volume of Fielding or Cheever, I felt a naive surge of comfort, as if this were proof that the world, whatever its troubles, was still protected by the human heart.
p. 255/6 Was his life being lived as a thread spooling out from that day? Could he cut that thread and begin a new spool--or tie a great knot in it, defy the silken, seductive unreeling over which he seemed to have little control?
p. 259 Crisis equals danger plus opportunity; isn't that what the Chinese say?
p. 261 If there's one thing my work has taught me, it's that we're all tribal in the end.
p. 282 To spot a personal letter among one's mail nowadays is rather like glancing out the window to spot a hummingbird dining at a blossom.
p. 292 L'absence au coeur, c'est comme le vent au feu. 'Absence to the heart is like wind to the fine.' A little fans the flames; too much puts them out...
p. 342 Why are you always so arch when things get serious? Because arch is like a straightback chair. Dependable. No give. The easiest seat from which to rise.
*p.223 The description of the Thanksgiving seating was helpful as a review mid-point in the book:
Granddad and Robert's father sat at the heads of the table. Robert sat between Sarah and his cousin Filo; across the table sat Mom, between Lee and Turo. Clover was between his dad and Norval Sorenson, Mrs. Sorenson on the other side of Sarah (Rico wedged between them).
(A very small point, I did laugh at Percy's criticism of "modern" libraries. He was not impressed with library as activity center...)
I found my bookmark with favorite quotes listed:
p. 240 When I saw them deep in a volume of Fielding or Cheever, I felt a naive surge of comfort, as if this were proof that the world, whatever its troubles, was still protected by the human heart.
p. 255/6 Was his life being lived as a thread spooling out from that day? Could he cut that thread and begin a new spool--or tie a great knot in it, defy the silken, seductive unreeling over which he seemed to have little control?
p. 259 Crisis equals danger plus opportunity; isn't that what the Chinese say?
p. 261 If there's one thing my work has taught me, it's that we're all tribal in the end.
p. 282 To spot a personal letter among one's mail nowadays is rather like glancing out the window to spot a hummingbird dining at a blossom.
p. 292 L'absence au coeur, c'est comme le vent au feu. 'Absence to the heart is like wind to the fine.' A little fans the flames; too much puts them out...
p. 342 Why are you always so arch when things get serious? Because arch is like a straightback chair. Dependable. No give. The easiest seat from which to rise.
*p.223 The description of the Thanksgiving seating was helpful as a review mid-point in the book:
Granddad and Robert's father sat at the heads of the table. Robert sat between Sarah and his cousin Filo; across the table sat Mom, between Lee and Turo. Clover was between his dad and Norval Sorenson, Mrs. Sorenson on the other side of Sarah (Rico wedged between them).
August 1, 2013
I struggled through the first part of this book and decided several times to stop the torture. But I was reading it for a book club, so I kept going because I wanted to participate in the discussion. Then, about half way through I began to develop an interest in a couple of the story lines; but once again before I finished the book I lost interest and started skimming through some of the paragraphs.
The central character in the book is a 70 year old widower named Percy and all of the other characters relate to him in some way. Through the other characters we are introduced to contemporary social issues such as illegal immigration, environmental concerns, homosexuality, and problems of health care costs as well as the problems caused by sibling rivalry. I believe any author would have been challenged trying to tie all of this together into a thoroughly interesting book.
The organizational style of the book is different - actually a little odd in my opinion. It starts out as a first person account told by Percy, then suddenly (and without warning) switches back and forth between Percy and a third person episodes about an illegal immigrant gardener, a gay school teacher, and Percy's grandson who is drawn into being a part of environmental protests. This organizational style of the book initially gave me some concern but I eventually was able to go with the flow. I am not sure whether my initial feelings of discomfort were the sign of poor writing or an inflexible reader.
Finally, I periodically had some concerns as I read the book that the story line in it paused ever so often to allow the author to insert an infomercial letting us know her point of view about the political hot buttons listed above.
P.S. I wish someone would explain the cover of the book to me – who is the young man gazing skyward, what is he looking at, and what does this have to do with the stories in the book?
July 20, 2019
I wanted to like this book more than I did. A little too rambling with characters that just didn't quite fit...anything or anywhere...meh.
August 3, 2017
This was an example of a pretty well-written book that just didn't do it for me. The characters were believable (if not really likable), the story was sort of interesting, but I just didn't feel the magic.
There are quite a few stories going on here, but all of them are related to the loss of the main character Percy's wife Poppy in the pond behind the house several years ago when their two daughters were younger. Now the two daughters (Clover and Trudy) are all grown up. Clover is sort of a screw-up who quasi-abandoned her two young children with her husband and now wants to remedy that situation. Trudy is an oncologist who treats women with breast cancer and has one son, Robert, who is a student at Harvard but ends up making a dangerous friend, the eco-crusader Turo. Percy, meanwhile, has agreed to allow his old barn to be fixed up and used as a preschool. There's a sort-of love story happening between Percy and one of the preschooler's mothers; there's another story involving one of the preschool teachers who's also gay; there's a story about an illegal immigrant who was romantically involved a long time ago with a rich American girl; there are some stories involving the town's transition from backwater to high-dollar real estate. Overall there are too many stories and none of them go deep enough to keep me really interested. Also, none of them really resolved to my satisfaction. Nevertheless, I will probably try one more book by her just in case this one was the worst.
There are quite a few stories going on here, but all of them are related to the loss of the main character Percy's wife Poppy in the pond behind the house several years ago when their two daughters were younger. Now the two daughters (Clover and Trudy) are all grown up. Clover is sort of a screw-up who quasi-abandoned her two young children with her husband and now wants to remedy that situation. Trudy is an oncologist who treats women with breast cancer and has one son, Robert, who is a student at Harvard but ends up making a dangerous friend, the eco-crusader Turo. Percy, meanwhile, has agreed to allow his old barn to be fixed up and used as a preschool. There's a sort-of love story happening between Percy and one of the preschooler's mothers; there's another story involving one of the preschool teachers who's also gay; there's a story about an illegal immigrant who was romantically involved a long time ago with a rich American girl; there are some stories involving the town's transition from backwater to high-dollar real estate. Overall there are too many stories and none of them go deep enough to keep me really interested. Also, none of them really resolved to my satisfaction. Nevertheless, I will probably try one more book by her just in case this one was the worst.
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