Stewart O'Nan

It took me a few chapters to ease into the slow pace of this novel, but once I had I delighted in Henry's every day adventures as I walked with him the streets of Pittsburgh and the cottage in Chautauqua. The details and intimacy felt like an invitation to walk into Henry's shoes: his likes, dislikes, foibles and fears. I definitely felt like I knew him despite a certain distance. The world's dramas, including his family's, seem to circle him as he refuses to be drawn into them: perspective gained from old age or fear of emotion? Henry is definitely old school where the home and feelings are women's work.
The ending is beautifully done, gentle and restful with a tint of regret. This book is definitely a reminder to be present to every moment.… (more)

Stewart O'Nan is one of my favorite contemporary American authors. His genius is in how he illuminates ordinary lives, revealing the humanity, along with the wonder, of everyday life. I also love how he uses small, telling details to bring his characters and their stories to life.

Emily Maxwell is an 80 year old widow, living alone in the house she had shared with her husband and their two children in Pittsburgh. Her days follow a regular routine, and her most faithful companion, besides Rufus her dog (a wonderful character in his own right), is her sister-in-law, Arlene. The reader follows Emily over the course of several months as she contemplates her own mortality, her relationship with her children, her loneliness, and her regrets. It's a very quiet novel - nothing much happens - but Emily is a brilliant, fully realized character who felt incredibly real to me. How O'Nan managed to turn this story into a compelling page-turner is a mystery to me, but he did it.

5 stars

"She would be judged by how she'd lived her life, not how she wished it had been. She accepted that completely. She was painfully aware of her failings. Every Sunday she confessed them, and while by no means clear, her conscience was no heavier than most, or so she hoped."

NB: O'Nan's earlier novel, Wish You Were Here, introduces Emily and her family, shortly after she is widowed. It's a very good book, but Emily, Alone can stand on its own. And there is a related noved, Henry, Himself about Emily's husband. I haven't read that one yet, but I'm looking forward to it.… (more)