This is a book I wouldn’t have picked up if not for one of my book clubs, and this is exactly why book clubs and stuff that makes you read outside your comfort zone are so fun. This book was so good! A real treat for book-lovers, and for humans who lived through (are living through?) the COVID-19 pandemic.
I didn’t get excited about this one until somebody told me it was about a woman who is haunted by her least favorite bookshop customer, who dies on All Hallows’ Eve 2019. The book then takes place over the next full year, up until All Hallows’ Eve 2020. It follows one woman and her family and friends over that year, as she deals with the haunting, which almost becomes a background trauma (or a reflection trauma) of the other things going on in the wider world. But the book isn’t depressing! It has a lovely sense of humor, and a real love for books and the people who love them. You can read this one shallowly and still have a good time, but there’s lots of layering going on as well for the people who like to dig a little further.
I’d read a book from Louise Erdrich before years and years ago (Tracks) and don’t remember it well. I also don’t remember that I liked it all that much, but I would read from her again, if some of her stuff is this good.
[4.5 stars]
CBR Passport: Books recommended by friends.