Dec 02, 2021maipenrai rated this title 0.5 out of 5 stars
I wish that I had left Emily, Alone alone. One of the most boring books that I have read in years. Also if I wanted to read a screed about Obama and the Democrats, which I do not, I would prefer it not to be hidden in a novel. Kristi &…
Nov 01, 201522950005506308 rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
Dreary beyond belief. The only merit is that the author successfully captures the voice, habits and attitudes of a fussing and irritating old woman with every bleak miserable domestic detail. If you want to read about the loneliness of…
Sep 10, 2014WVMLStaffPicks rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This is a story that sounds bleak but is instead hopeful and lightly comic. Emily is aging, widowed, reflecting on her life, fearing infirmary, wishing for closer family ties and preparing for a diminishing future. No self-pity here,…
May 16, 2013uncommonreader rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
This is la vie quotidienne of an elderly, deeply conservative woman in Pittsburg. Although not a book I would normally enjoy, it was somehow honest.
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umschneider
Feb 20, 2013umschneider rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
O'nan treats his characters as he does his prose--unadorned, just right as is, and kind of amazing. Emily Alone, like his other books, is a slim volume, just the right length to coax the extraordinary from the ordinary without weighing it…
May 15, 2012branch_reviews rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Set in Pittsburg, Emily Maxwell is an 80 year old recent widow, mother, grandmother, sister-in-law and owner of an aging dog. Her life seems to have become stuck in a rut as of late. She is challenged to rediscover her independence when…
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patienceandfortitude
Mar 26, 2012patienceandfortitude rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
So who needs a plot? I don't. This is a very well-written portrayal of an elderly widow who lives in Pittsburgh, and her life, past and present. It is a bit of a cautionary tale, as in I don't want that to be my future. She if very…
Well laid out in respect to the feelings and concerns of an individual facing their twilight years.
For me, the story plodded along without much build to a climax; perhaps I was expecting something more? ~ I am not a qualified literary…
A true treasure. Builds to a moving crescendo. For all time, this book nails life in America in 2007/08 (set in Pittsburgh area). A mundane story—an elderly widow’s life. Getting the flu is one of the main events. O’Nan seems to have…
"Emily Maxwell is an 80-year-old widow, mother and grandmother; she's loyal to her late husband's sister, Arlene (although she doesn't always like her). (O'Nan first introduced Emily in his earlier book, Wish You Were Here, but it's not…
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Emily, Alone