By: Anna Quindlen
Narrator: Gilli Messer
Random House Audio
ISBN: 9780593229804
Pub Date: 02/27/2024
Publisher: Random House
Format: Other
My Rating: 4 Stars (ARC)
A wise and heartfelt novel of connection, of loss and love and the power of both."—Amy Bloom
Quindlen’s trademark wisdom on family, emotions, and the secrets of people in a small town are at the center of this novel about triumph over adversity and the power of love to transcend time, by the bestselling author of Alternate Side and Every Last One.
“A new Anna Quindlen novel is always cause for celebration. After Annie might just be my favorite one yet. It's a beautiful and deeply moving story about love, loss, friendship, marriage, family and community from one of our wisest chroniclers of modern life. I treasured every page." —J Courtney Sullivan
When Annie Brown dies suddenly, her husband, her four young children and her closest friend are left to struggle without the woman who centered their lives. Bill Brown finds himself overwhelmed, and Annie’s best friend Annemarie is lost to old bad habits without Annie’s support. It is Annie’s daughter, Ali, forced to try to care for her younger brothers and even her father, who manages to maintain some semblance of their former lives for them all, and who confronts the complicated truths of adulthood.
Yet over the course of the next year, while Annie looms large in their memories, all three are able to grow, to change, even to become stronger and more sure of themselves. The enduring power Annie gave to those who loved her is the power to love, and to go on without her.
Written in Quindlen’s emotionally resonant voice, and with her deep and generous understanding of people, After Annie is a story that ends with hope, a beautiful novel about how adversity can change us in profound ways.
My Review
Master storyteller Anna Quindlen returns with a heartfelt and poignant novel, AFTER ANNIE. The author takes us through all four seasons after a mother dies unexpectedly in this intimate portrayal of family, life, love, grief, and loss.
Annie Brown, late 30s, beloved mother of four (Alexandra, Anthony, Benjamin, James - ages thirteen, eleven, eight, and six), wife to (Bill, a plumber) and best friend to (Annemarie), suddenly dies of an aneurysm.
Annie was the glue that held the family together, and everyone in the family was at a loss, as well as her best friend, who depended on her.
The thirteen-year-old daughter, Ali, has to assume the role of mother, and every family member handles the loss differently.
An inside look at one family, grief, its struggles, and its search for hope to move on after the death of this special mother.
The author takes us through winter, spring, summer, and autumn and ends with winter (seasons) a year later with the aftermath and how each person is affected. How they deal with Annie's death; the loss, sadness, family, and friendship from the perspectives of her loved ones.
It is deeply moving and beautifully told, with the author's signature classic style, tackling emotionally charged topics. The novel is more about the human psyche as she dives deep. Psychological rich, the author's writing is lyrical and deeply moving.
AFTER ANNIE is sad, heartfelt, and thought-provoking. One of loss, grief, and hope. Life goes on even through our gut-wrenching times. You can never outrun your feelings, even though we miss and think of those who have lost that are close to our hearts.
Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance review copy.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pub Date: Feb 27, 2024
Praise
“After Annie is Anna Quindlen’s new wise and heartfelt novel of connection, of loss and love and the power of both. It celebrates the friends and family we have, mourns our great and small losses, and helps us find the unexpected light in the dark places we all have.”
—Amy Bloom, New York Times bestselling author of In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss
“A new Anna Quindlen novel is always cause for celebration. After Annie might just be my favorite one yet. It’s a beautiful and deeply moving story about love, loss, friendship, marriage, family, and community from one of our wisest chroniclers of modern life. I treasured every page.”
—J. Courtney Sullivan, New York Times bestselling author of Friends and Strangers
“After Annie is a novel about loss—and yet its pages are full of life and heart. With her deft interiority and spot-on depiction of the small moments that bring characters to life, Anna Quindlen tells a family story that’s at once candid and complex—and ultimately quite hopeful.”
—Claire Lombardo, New York Times bestselling author of The Most Fun We Ever Had
“The characters in After Annie are flawed, just as each of us is flawed, and as they fumble through their grief, as they make mistakes, their lives feel so authentically lived-in that I’d swear I’ve known them my whole life. And how I rooted for them! In Anna Quindlen’s hands, a story about the greatest of losses becomes a story of abiding hope above all. I predict this will be one of the best novels of the year.”
—Mary Beth Keane, New York Times bestselling author of Ask Again, Yes
About the Author
Welcome to AnnaQuindlen.com, a website devoted to the life and works of the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and bestselling author.
Anna Quindlen is a novelist and journalist whose work has appeared on fiction, nonfiction, and self-help bestseller lists. She is the author of many novels: Object Lessons, One True Thing, Black and Blue, Blessings, Rise and Shine, Every Last One, Still Life with Bread Crumbs, and Miller’s Valley. Her memoir Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, published in 2012, was a #1 New York Times bestseller. Her book A Short Guide to a Happy Life has sold more than a million copies. While a columnist at The New York Times she won the Pulitzer Prize and published two collections, Living Out Loud and Thinking Out Loud. Her Newsweek columns were collected in Loud and Clear. WEBSITE
