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The Obituary Writer: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Ann Hood (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 1,568 ratings
Editors' pick Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
See all formats and editions

A sophisticated and suspenseful novel about the poignant lives of two women living in different eras.


On the day John F. Kennedy is inaugurated, Claire, an uncompromising young wife and mother obsessed with the glamour of Jackie O, struggles over the decision of whether to stay in a loveless marriage or follow the man she loves and whose baby she may be carrying. Decades earlier, in 1919, Vivien Lowe, an obituary writer, is searching for her lover who disappeared in the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. By telling the stories of the dead, Vivien not only helps others cope with their grief but also begins to understand the devastation of her own terrible loss. The surprising connection between Claire and Vivien will change the life of one of them in unexpected and extraordinary ways. Part literary mystery and part love story, The Obituary Writer examines expectations of marriage and love, the roles of wives and mothers, and the emotions of grief, regret, and hope.
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  1. Print length
    294 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    W. W. Norton & Company
  5. Publication date
    March 4, 2013
  6. File size
    524 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Best-selling novelist Hood (The Red Thread, 2010) has fashioned a diptych of two seemingly unconnected women. Claire, an unhappy suburban housewife and mother inspired by John F. Kennedy’s 1960 presidential campaign and Jackie’s glamour, has a brief, ultimately tragic affair. Lovely and romantic Vivien, an English teacher in San Francisco, falls in love with a married man who disappears in the Great Earthquake of 1906. Bereft, she becomes the most sympathetic and poetic of obituary writers. Vivien is hypnotic; her vocation provides moving testimony to the healing power of language, and her wrenching story offers fascinating glimpses into the prejudices and traumas of her time. Claire’s predicament anticipates the first stirrings of the second wave of feminism, but it’s a tired tale flattened by melodrama, and readers will discern the connection between the women long before its disclosure. Still, Hood’s language is fine and supple, the settings are lusciously rendered, the melancholy air is seductive, her use of quotes about bereavement from Emily Post’s 1922 Etiquette is bittersweet, and her intricate inquiry into grief, guilt, and love is haunting. --Donna Seaman

Review

Hood's language is fine and supple, the settings are lusciously rendered, the melancholy air is seductive, her use of quotes about bereavement from Emily Post's 1922 Etiquette is bittersweet, and her intricate inquiry into grief, guilt, and love is haunting.

-- "Booklist"

In this poignant and incisive novel, Ann Hood brings history back to life in the most intimate way, chronicling the love affairs and heartbreaks of two very different women in two very different times. Moving gracefully and persuasively between post-earthquake San Francisco and the early 1960s, The Obituary Writer makes unexpected connections between these two bygone eras, and in the process, manages to illuminate the present as well as the past.

-- "Tom Perrotta, New York Times bestselling author"

It is a rare novelist who can summon the creative nerve to plumb the depths of grief, but that's just what Ann Hood does here with such compassion and grace. The Obituary Writer is an unflinching exploration of loss and the love that somehow remains, one that both wounds and heals. This is a deeply engaging and moving book.

-- "Andre Dubus III, New York Times bestselling author "

Pushcart Prize winner Hood artfully blends two stories that converge in an emotional, poignant ending...A well-constructed story leading readers from secrets of the past toward illuminating truths of the present. Highly recommended.

-- "Library Journal (starred review)"

Hood's fluent storytelling and empathy will ensure popularity.

-- "Kirkus Reviews"

Remarkable...Narrator Tavia Gilbert captures each character to perfection...Gilbert's portrayal of Sebastian is especially strong; his gorgeous voice and heavy Italian accent fit his masculine yet compassionate character. Even the most minor character attains distinction through Gilbert's thoughtful narration.

-- "AudioFile"

Ann Hood gives us two women from very different time periods who share similar struggles in understanding aspects of love and grief...Reading this book, I felt acutely the sadness of loss, the deliciousness of gossip among a group of women friends, the frustration of miscommunication in marriage, the joys of sensuality. Creating such empathy on the part of a reader isn't easy: Ann Hood just makes it look that way.

-- "Elizabeth Berg, New York Times bestselling author"

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B007Q6XN82
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company (March 4, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 4, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 524 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 294 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 1,568 ratings

About the author

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Ann Hood

Ann Hood

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Ann Hood is the author of over a dozen novels, including the bestsellers The Knitting Circle, The Obituary Writer, The Book That Matters Most, and Somewhere Off the Coast of Maine; and several memoirs, including the bestsellers Kitchen Yarns: Notes on Life, Love and Food and Comfort: A Journey Through Grief, which was named one of the top ten books of 2008 by Entertainment Weekly. Her most recent book, Fly Girl, a memoir about her years as a TWA flight attendant, will be published in May 2022 by WW Norton.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
1,568 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Alyssa Donati
5.0 out of 5 stars No billowing gossamer fabric or sadists wielding handcuffs...
Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2013
Verified Purchase
THIS BOOK WILL PROBABLY APPEAL TO YOU IF YOU:

A. Do not like chick lit or fun flirty beach reads clogged with designer clothing and witty banter over lattes.
B. Do not like adjectives like flaxen, bronzed, swarthy, strapping, torrid, turgid, billowing, brawny or balmy.
C. Could do without sullen vampires, windblown hair, and sadists wielding handcuffs...

Thankfully, You will find none of the above in The Obituary Writer.

This book is about women however the writing surpasses the whole chick lit genre. The narration alternates between Claire and Vivien -- two women living in different time periods in the 20th century. Both characters struggle: Vivien with the loss of the man she loved, and Claire with the inability to move past an affair and revive her failing marriage. Hood doesn't make it easy. She forces you into the mangled lives of her protagonists. These women who wade through life as if it were molasses thick. They're frozen in one staggering moment. They're bandaged up in their skin, often wishing to escape. Ann Hood writes exquisitely of loss, and even though she puts them through hell, you can see she has genuine empathy for her characters. Avoid this book if you don't want your senses drenched. Hood will take you into a Howard Johnson's in 1961 and the frazzled and exhausted waitress will stand right there. Right next to you. Right over you. The menus in her hand casting a shadow on your face. You'll see the ketchup and gravy stains on her uniform and the smeared mascara under her eyes. You'll smell the bitter coffee, the greasy clams and when a sullen and pregnant Claire studies her husband's face you'll endure her despair. The whole novel is not bleak, but it isn't uplifting. I admired the main character's resolve and was surprised by the way the story unfolded. I could not predict the twists in the novel, but if you crave books with feverish plot machinations and explosive suspense this probably won't satisfy you.

The Obituary Writer is a profound, insightful tale that will especially appeal to you if you enjoy novels with durable and psychologically complex characters. It is a beautiful novel -- better than The Knitting Circle and The Red Thread.
9 people found this helpful
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Marion Marchetto, author
4.0 out of 5 stars Faith, Hope, and Love
Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2013
Verified Purchase
This is a story of hope. We begin with Claire, a wife and mother who does her best to be everything she was brought up to be. While she goes through the motions of her life -caring for her daughter and her husband, maintaining a clean and comfortable home, being the perfect social hostess - she feels there is something lacking in her life. She realizes that she needs something more to make her feel complete and, like so many other women of the time, she focuses her attention on the upcoming inauguration of John F. Kennedy and the promise of a bright future for the United States. Claire identifies with Jackie Kennedy and like her contemporaries emulates everything about the First Lady-elect. But at one of her crowd's dinner parties she meets Miles who will give Claire the excitement and attention she feels she deserves.

Going back to 1908 we meet Vivien, a single independent-minded young woman who takes on chance on a handsome man she meets quite by accident while shopping in San Francisco. They have dinner and end in each other's arms. David is married but that poses no problem for either he or Vivien. She becomes his paramour and they soon realize that they are meant to be together. But fate steps in and on a morning in 1908 Vivien bids David a sleepy goodbye as he leaves for his law office; when she is finally awakened by the rattling of dishes (she believes it is their Chinese housekeeper) she soon becomes aware that the rattling is more than she thought. The San Francisco Earthquake has struck, causing chaos and mass destruction in the city. Vivien's thoughts fly to David but who can she contact to find out if he's alive? She spends the next fifteen years living in the hope that David is alive and that she will find him.

I liked this book and found the characters to be interesting and in their own ways provocative. Although they live in different eras the two women are still alike - each searching for something to make them feel complete and hoping that what they need is just around the next corner. We follow their lives in a parallel manner, hoping for their happiness and somehow realizing that they just might find what they need when its right in front of them.

This was an easy read and would make a wonderful book to take on a business trip or vacation. It held my interest and I liked the plot twist towards the end. What made this book a winner for me was the spot-on descriptions of the 1960s - I won't reiterate them here as so many other reviewers have already done that. But for this child of the 60s it was a throw-back to my early teen years.
12 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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sandyamore
4.0 out of 5 stars storia molto avvincente
Reviewed in Italy on May 29, 2017
Verified Purchase
sicuramente un libro molto avvincente e particolare. la conclusione è un pò affrettata, ma altrimenti il libro è interessante e coinvolgente.
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Ann R
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 20, 2014
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Wonderful I couldn't put it down. Recommended it to a friend with the same result.
3 people found this helpful
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David J Gillies
5.0 out of 5 stars Ann Hood, A good read !
Reviewed in Canada on March 26, 2013
Verified Purchase
This was a great read. Moved along well and kept this reader wondering.
Have read a couple of other Ann Hood books and never disappointed.
I would recommend this author to any book lover.
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Avid Reader
4.0 out of 5 stars Good Story!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 27, 2017
Verified Purchase
I really enjoyed this book. It was quite a unique storyline and it definitely held my attention all the way through. I would recommend/
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V Kingsley-Pallant
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 26, 2015
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Brilliant and wonderfully written.
2 people found this helpful
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