Lisa Moore - February

The first book that came to mind when I read the description about Lisa Moore's February is Anita Shreve's The Pilot's Wife. And I don't mean prose style because I have not read Moore at all. Instead what struck me was this rumination on and coming to terms with loss that both books seem to have at their heart. I was terribly queasy reading The Pilot's Wife because it set me thinking about a lot of things. I am curious how I might perceive that book now, ten years after I first read it. Back to Moore, February, according to one of my favourite readers, DGR,

is a book about the excruciating pain of grief and loss, about tragedy and its long-term impact, about family and love, solitude and loneliness, memory and so much more, yet for all its inherent sadness it's also full of moments of hope and happiness. There can be no easy way to end a book like this, in fact it could all have gone horribly wrong, but to my mind Lisa Moore achieved something quite beautiful and completely perfect in the final pages, the significance of which will not be lost on anyone who decides to read this one.

You might want to cry for Helen...well I did.

I realize, as I do all these review readings of this year's Booker longlist, that I am more inclined to read a book that deals with a personal journey of some sort: physical, psychological.The most affecting events in life are seldom the most dramatic. Therefore too much drama in a book is a big put off for me. But, to the credit of this year's judges, the listed books seem very interesting, unique and worth reading. I am glad I chose a good list to explore.

Is February on my reading list? You bet.