On This Day

by Nathaniel Bellows

Warren is eighteen. His sister, Joan, is twenty. Their father has died of cancer, and their mother has committed suicide -- they're on their own, in a small coastal town in Maine, under desperate emotional circumstances, with the holidays approaching. Their situation worsens as their father's partner ruthlessly strips them of financial interest in the plant nursery they had owned together and a ghoulish uncle and aunt try to exploit them. Things grow even more complicated as Warren becomes increasingly puzzled by his attraction to a beautiful young single mother who used to work for his father. Told from Warren's point of view, On This Day is not only a moving story of two young people's struggle to make a place and a home for themselves, but a consideration of memory -- the necessity to face the secrets of a family's dark past in order to exorcise them.

272 pages

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Nathaniel Bellows has published a novel, ON THIS DAY, (HarperCollins), and a collection of poems, WHY SPEAK? (W.W. Norton), and NAN, a novel-in-stories (Harmon Blunt).

His fiction has appeared in The Paris Review, Narrative, Post Road, Redivider, Guernica, Cousin Corrine's Reminder, Memorious, and THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES 2005, edited by Michael Chabon. His poems have appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The New Republic, The Paris Review, The Yale Review, and many other journals. He also makes visual art and writes music. He lives in New York City.

http://nathanielbellows.tumblr.com/
http://www.facebook.com/NathanielBellows

Reviews

[abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well realized characters, very lifelike (ie, no tidy resolutions to any problems; no clearly definable plot).

[LibraryCin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars

Warren and Joan are (young adult) siblings and orphans. Their dad, then mom, died within a short time span (although the back of the book (and the blurb) says how, I feel like it is a bit of a spoiler, so I will not mention it here). They lean on each other heavily for support as they deal with their losses, but they were always quite close. They feel like they are getting along just fine, but it’s obvious that they are having some trouble.

It is told from Warren’s point of view and it went back and forth in time. It was decent. Slow-moving, definitely not full of plot, although there was one “surprise” (I had guessed it). There were some things I didn’t like about both Warren and Joan, but they were dealing with a lot. Things aren’t fully resolved, either, but I suppose that’s more realistic.

[Janice Workman · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was hard for me to get into. It jumped around, avoided landing before taking off on another tangent, leaving me wondering what I just read. It may be just what someone else wants to read - but that's the point - someone else.

[Amanda Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was given to me by my 8th Grade English teacher when my father had cancer. I had a hard time coping with his illness, and she knew my love of reading. It was a comfort to me at a time when I had no one to talk to or express my feelings. It's a bit scattered and out of order, like I was. A good novel with developed characters and complex emotional relationships.

[Lauren · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this book at all. It took me a long time to finish because it was boring and didn't have a great plot. The only reason I finished the book was because I was hoping it would get better. It never did. From reading the back it sounded interesting but in reality it really wasn't.

[Rose]

F Bel

[Melissa (Always Behind) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars--Well paced literary fiction about young adult siblings who lose both parents over the course of one year.