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There are currently 23 member reviews
for The Half Wives
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Sonja J. (Tupelo, MS)
Worth the time!
A wonderful story set in a very specific area of San Francisco on one day in 1897. The narrative holds your interest, the characters frustrate and delight, and the prose is elegant. Who would think that basing one of the novel's themes on a municipal action to move city cemeteries to new locations would elicit such a beautiful and often heart wrenching tale? Stacey Pelletier did and does so with great finesse.
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Yvonne K. (Magnolia, TX)
Stunning
There are so many great lines in this book that put you in the shoes and the emotions of the characters. What is even more stunning is how it accomplished over the course of one day.
This novel would make a great book club selection. It encompasses so many layers of loss.
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Barbara B. (Holbrook, NY)
The Half Wives by Stacia Pelletier
Between tears, as there is much sadness and grief in the story, the writing is so beautiful and the time in our history is described so precisely one feels like you are there. Regardless of the theme of grief and loss, this is a beautiful novel which does have an ending that is uplifting. I highly recommend it and intend to read the author's previous novel.
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Beverly S. (Chesterton, IN)
A Day in the Lives of the Half Wives
I was interested in reading this book because the story involved parents dealing with the loss of their child.
A couple suffers the loss of their two year old son. The father is a minister and the mother is a stay at home mom. The book covers the events as they unfold on a single day many years later, on the anniversary of their son's death. There are a few other characters introduced as the day progresses from 9 am until 3 pm.
Stacia Pelletier, the author, develops each character very carefully and their personalities spoke to me directly as i read their story. I liked her style of writing and I would be interested in reading other books by this gifted author.
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Beth B. (New Wilmington, PA)
The Half Wives by Stacia Pelletier
This novel is magnificent! You would have to be heartless to not love this book. Proof of my admiration for the author's skills is evidenced by many notes and turned-down corners -- sentences that demonstrate wisdom, poignancy, and well chosen words. Although set in 1897 San Francisco, this is so much more than a historical novel; it explores love, both gained and lost, the importance of truthful communication in a relationship, second chances, the many forms love takes, surviving grief, and moment-to-moment coping.
I am grateful to have received this book to review. I want to meet and have conversation with its gifted author.
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Shelley C. (Eastport, NY)
Can A Man Love Two Women At The Same Time?
I loved this book. I couldn't put it down. The lovely prose just sucked me in and drove me to find out more about the various characters whose lives were all bound together; whether they knew it or not. I just knew that everyone involved would have to come together at some point. But the outcome just left me breathless. I highly recommend this book and hope it achieves the success it deserves.
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Sharon R. (Deerfield, IL)
The Many Faces of Grief
A beautifully crafted story of profound grief, love, infidelity and cemeteries in the late 1800s in San Francisco. The novel is called "historical fiction" but it could happen to anyone at any time. The four main characters, three adults and one child, share their innermost thoughts through alternating chapters. You will want them to come to peace with their grief and circumstances. Some succeed, while others do not and will leave you thinking long after you finish the book.
This book is not for everyone. Anyone who has lost a child might have trouble with certain aspects of the narrative. The first two chapters were very depressing and I wasn't sure I could finish the book, however the writing is captivating and haunting, so I kept reading, wanting to know how it resolved, and finished it in one day. Book Clubs will have plenty to discuss.
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