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Book Summary and Reviews of Losing Clementine by Ashley Ream

Losing Clementine by Ashley Ream

Losing Clementine

A Novel

by Ashley Ream

  • Critics' Consensus (0):
  • Readers' Rating (24):
  • Published:
  • Mar 2012, 320 pages
  • Rate this book

About this book

Book Summary

She's got the wit and sharp tongue of Dorothy Parker, the talent of Picasso, and an ex-husband who still wants her. But all that isn't enough to keep Clementine alive, and in thirty days she's going to turn out the lights of her life for good.

With the month she has left, renowned artist Clementine Pritchard will attempt to tie up loose ends - from coming to terms with the family tragedy that left her without a mother and sister to travelling south of the border to secure tranquilizers to finding the father that abandoned her. Settling accounts also means coming face to face with the reasons why she can't go on - and the truth hidden at its core. What she doesn't count on, though, is that in losing Clementine, she may actually find her.

A wonderfully entertaining and poignant novel, Losing Clementine is an addictive tale, by turns hilarious and tragic, involving a renowned artist's impending suicide. Ashley Ream takes a usually macabre subject and makes it accessible, relatable, and funny, and, in Clementine, has created one of the most endearing and unforgettable characters in recent fiction.

Paperback original

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"This novel, spiked with dark humor is an entertaining and moody whirlwind. Whether readers love or hate Clementine, they won't soon forget her." - Publishers Weekly

"[A] hip and hilarious portrait of a crazy person." - Kirkus Reviews

"An unexpectedly fresh and humorous voice. Fans of dark comedy should add Ream to their list of authors to watch." - Library Journal

This information about Losing Clementine was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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Carrie W. (Arcanum, OH)

Loosing Clementine
I enjoyed this book, very much. Clementine, has much to deal with, her life is much like many of us, confused, painful, often lonely. We find comfort in the most unlikely places as did Clementine. I'm looking froward to more books from this author.

Brenda S. (Grand Rapids, MN)

Prepare for Some Morbid Fun
Ashley Ream is now my new BFF. What a fantastic read she created with "Losing Clementine". This book is the most fun you can have while turning pages...a truly laugh-out-loud story of a macabre subject. Everyone has had challenges in life, this book may help you organize said life for the resolution you want...and have a good time doing it. Kudos to Ashley for the most entertaining book I've read in months.

Shirley D. (Amherst, MA)

LOSING CLEMENTINE
I loved Clementine from the very first page. I had been a little apprehensive knowing that this charming girl was sick enough to commit suicide. Initially I did think it was her illness that was prompting her to wrap up the loose ends of her life. While she made me laugh as she got rid of that tea set, deliberately punished the driver who left his car in the way and dumped her meds (I cheered at that) but I was so entranced, was so much a part of this woman’s life that I wept as she had to find a new home for her cat. I truly forgot that I was reading fiction so skillfully was I taken from laughter to an aching sympathy and to tears .I think Clementine is one of those literary personalities I will never forget and I have been reading and meeting characters for over 70 years. This is a very special piece of work to fit into that category.

Betsy A. (Lady Lake, FL)

A Clever Premise
Not many could take the subject of impending suicide and come up with a "page turner", but that's exactly what this first time author has done. The plot thickens, the witty dialogue sparkles, the pithy descriptions are such fun. I really liked the pace of the novel and the clever idea of using one chapter for every day in the protagonist's last month of life. I'd categorize this as a "chick-book" and caution readers not to look for too much in the way of symbolism or universal insights. It's fun reading in the style of a Janet Evanovich novel.

Janet P. (Houston, TX)

Losing Clementine ? No-o-way!
Ashley Ream's Clementine in her novel LOSING CLEMENTINE does what every woman wants to do at one time in her life: she eats everything she wants without guilt, dumps her kitchen ware out the window, and, in her despondency over a failed marriage, almost whispers goodbye to life on schedule, in thirty days to be exact in her case.. Her wry sense of dark humor aimed at her own weaknesses offers the reader plenty of food for thought. The novel is not "literature," but it's great reading.

avid (Springfield, IL)

don't let the subject matter turn you off
How can a book about the narrator's impending suicide make you laugh? Ashley Ream pulls it off with her sharp wit and incredible voice. There are life lessons here, but so much humor, you don't really realize it 'til the end. What a great read!

...18 more reader reviews

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Author Information

Ashley Ream Author Biography

Photo copyright Eric Stone

Ashley Ream got her first job writing for newspapers when she was 16. Since then her career has taken her all over the Midwest, Gulf, and West Coasts with more moves than she would care to count. She is now finally and happily settled in Seattle, where she lives with her husband, runs ultra marathons, and is finishing her next book. Her debut novel, Losing Clementine (2012), was short-listed for the Balcones Fiction Prize. Her second novel is The 100 Year Miracle (2016).

Link to Ashley Ream's Website

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