Dionne Pranger Pranger itibaren İnanlı, 79000 İnanlı/Kilis Merkez/Kilis, Turkey itibaren İnanlı, 79000 İnanlı/Kilis Merkez/Kilis, Turkey

A wonderfully imaginative book from one of America's great writers.

** I received a copy of this book free of charge via a Goodreads Giveaway** The Grief of Others focuses on contemporary families in crisis and the individual and collective manifestations of grief. The book sensitively deals with the topics and decisions connected to miscarriage, abortion and child birth, without delving into the political. Despite this sensitivity and a few moments of strong characterization, the novel is flawed. Cohen's writing is conspicuously "present" throughout the text, her use of descriptive language heavy-handed. However, the thickness of the text did contribute to the swampy, debilitating mood of the topic. In only a few rare instances the plot and character development were able to escape the weight of the writing and evoke true emotion. For example, the final family scene by the river leapt out of the text. A few instances of poor research distracted from the contemporary appeal of the book. For example, the author mentions a picture of Zaire from a travel magazine. As a quick Google search will indicate, the DRC has not been called Zaire in over a decade. More importantly, the horrific civil war in that country means that it is unlikely to be featured in a travel magazine. After some evocative and successful scenes towards the end of the novel, I was highly disappointed in the final chapter, which took the voice of a patronizing omniscient narrator. Although The Grief of Others contains some successful characterization and glimpses of intelligent and sensitive reflections on loss, Cohen's writing lacks the subtlety necessary to address the topic.

i'm 70 or so pages in.