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There are currently 27 member reviews
for Making Toast
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Julie G. (West Hartford, CT)
The Power of Love
Although this book deals with the death of the author's daughter, it is ultimately the story of the power of love and family. After Amy Solomon's untimely and unexpected death, the author and his wife move in with her husband and three young children to help out. The story tells of the little, everyday things that make up life and how one must go on, even after tragedy strikes. It is a small story, but both heartfelt and heartwarming.
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Angela S. (Howell, MI)
Making Toast
It is easy to see how this book would appeal to people who have gone through the experience of losing a child, and the aftermath of living without that loved one. I expected to feel this family's grief and ache and I did, but it was not necessarily due to the words on the page. This book just did not have the depth I had hoped for, and seemed too choppy for me. There were funny moments and certainly sad moments, but none that made me laugh out loud or shed a tear.
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Iris F. (W. Bloomfield, Michigan)
Making Toast
Losing a child has to be every parents worst nightmare. In choosing to review Making Toast, a memoir written by a man who has suffered such a loss, I expected to be caught up in an emotionally charged discourse that would be somewhat difficult to read.
As an award written essayist, there is no question as to the quality of the writing. However, the book has no logical order and at times seems to have been written in a stream of consciousness. The narrative is told factually with little emotion perhaps due to the authors training an a journalist. It felt like he was an observer rather than a participant in the tragedy of this young family.
While sounding to be contradictory, the author's love and devotion to his deceased daughter and his extended family resonate clearly. I just wish he had been more forthcoming about his feelings.
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Peggy H. (North East, PA)
Toast a Little Dry
Making Toast is a gentle tale that reads like a reality show camera aiming at this heartbroken family. Unfortunately, although the story is tragic, it is curiously disaffecting. I couldn't help but think of how different this story would be if the family weren't so privileged and had fewer options available.
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Helen M. (Petaluma, CA)
Something missing
Roger Rosenblatt's Making Toast is a well written book concerning the death of an adult daughter, about grandparents becoming parents again. It was a good read but I had the feeling there was something missing. Character development to me went only half-way. I almost know these lovely people who so bravely changed their lives in a time of need. I think Roger wanted to relate some of the horror of their lives and fell slightly short. I wanted more meat. I would not recommend this to my book club.
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Beth M. (Scarsdale, NY)
A tragedy told with restraint
Roger Rosenblatt's memoir of the months following his daughter's sudden death is told with great simplicity and restraint. Unfortunately, for me that didn't work. I wanted to read more of the emotional pain and less of the day-to-day details of caring for his 3 young grandchildren. I did appreciate the sense of wonder as a new family structure is created. It was remarkable to see how Roger and his wife changed their lives to be there for their grandchildren and son-in-law. In a time when families are so fractured, it's inspiring to read about one that bonded with love following a great tragedy.
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