by Nell Freudenberger
Alfred A. Knopf, 2019, 315 pages, General Fiction
Helen Clapp is a physics professor at MIT who prefers to live in a world where everything can be explained by science. Helen’s best friend, Charlotte Boyce, was an up-and-coming Hollywood script writer until her life was ended suddenly by complications from lupus. Even though Helen knows her best friend is gone, she still occasionally gets random phone calls and texts from Charlotte. As Helen struggles to understand what’s going on, she also thinks back to her college days, and ponders what she knew about her best friend’s life from a different perspective.
On the surface, this book seems like it’s a supernatural mystery, and it does include a light mystery element. However, this book is really an exploration of friendship, of how relationships change over time, and especially of how different people deal with grief and loss. It was beautifully written, and I enjoyed savoring the story. I also appreciated that even though this is a book about grief and loss, overall, the message of this book is a hopeful one.
Since the main character is a physics professor, this book also includes a lot of complex science-related discussions, but they’re written in a style that makes them easy for anyone to understand. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes quiet stories that make profound points about life.
MB
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