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Elegies for the Brokenhearted

Christie Hodgen

Hardcover | Pages: 288 pages

Rating: 3.98 | 802 Users | 153 Reviews

Mention Based On Books Elegies for the Brokenhearted

Title	:	Elegies for the Brokenhearted
Author	:	Christie Hodgen
Book Format	:	Hardcover
Book Edition	:	Special Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 288 pages
Published	:	July 19th 2010 by W. W. Norton & Company (first published 2010)
Categories	:	Fiction. Literary Fiction. Short Stories

Description Conducive To Books Elegies for the Brokenhearted

A savvy, spirited, moving, and surprisingly humorous novel in elegies.

Who are the people you’ll never forget? For Mary Murphy, there are five: A skirt-chasing, car-racing uncle with whiskey breath and a three-day beard. A “walking joke, a sitting duck, a fish in a barrel” named Elwood LePoer. A dirt-poor college roommate who conceals an unbearable secret. A failed piano prodigy lost in middle age. A beautiful mother haunted by her once-great aspirations.

In five quirky elegies to lost friends and relatives, Mary tells us the story of her life. We begin with a restless childhood spent following her mother between multiple homes and husbands. Then comes the disappearance of Mary’s rebellious and beloved sister, Malinda. By the time Mary leaves for college, she has no one to write home to, and we follow along on her difficult search for purpose. From a series of miserable jobs to her “reborn” mother’s deathbed, Mary finds hope in the most surprising places. With a rhythmically unique voice and pitch-perfect wry humor, Christie Hodgen spins an unconventional and moving story about identity, belonging, and family.

Point Books Supposing Elegies for the Brokenhearted

Original Title:	Elegies for the Brokenhearted
ISBN:	039306140X (ISBN13: 9780393061406)
Edition Language:	English URL http://books.wwnorton.com/books/detail.aspx?ID=15540

Rating Based On Books Elegies for the Brokenhearted

Ratings: 3.98 From 802 Users | 153 Reviews

Criticism Based On Books Elegies for the Brokenhearted

Interesting premise - five elegies written for different people in the main character's life - but just too depressing. Almost nothing remotely positive happens in anyone's life in the whole book. Just drugs, abandonment, mental illness, etc.

I ordered this novel after hearing it reviewed on NPR, and it was a pleasure from start to finish. I enjoyed the unique structure, elegies for five people that the protagonist knew over the course of her short life, all of whom died. She manages to sustain a narrative arc that's actually rather traditional and linear in spite of this unusual set-up, but also to achieve that short story quality of zeroing in on particular moments. I really liked the five eulogized characters, especially her

The narrator's isolation and somewhat distanced perspective reminded me of The Bell Jar--although it feels more optimistic overall. There are really perceptive and at times crushing passages on how people relate (or fail to relate) to each other. 2nd person is common throughout, which I found a refreshing change of pace. The sentence structure is often distended, but the text remains energized and engaging.I loved reading this book. Would recommend it to literary fiction fans.

This was really lovely. Having the book in five parts (for each of the five persons elegized) made it easy to read over 5 days.

4.5 stars. A very random find. I loved it, and was thus more frustrated by a few troublesome areas....an overly long middle chapter that felt in need of a stern red pen (which made me realize, at this late stage in my life, that cuckoo clocks are creepy).The dynamic between two sisters -- one wild, one meek, one bad, one good, etc...etc...keeps coming up in books I'm reading this year. And the now cliched unstable, beautiful, narcissistic, unstable (yes) serial monogamist mother, dragging the

oh what a great novel about a family that has its problems. mom gets divorced too much, big sis takes off and nobody knows where to, uncle was kind of nice for a drunk asshole, little sis goes to college and starts a miserable single teacher's life, but then you come to the realization that the only way you will be able to make it through this so-called life is to try and be nice and human to your friends and family. don't give up on them or yourself, you.