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Book Concierge's Reviews > Letters for Emily
Letters for Emily
by
by
1.5 *
From the book jacket: Harry Whitney is dying. And in the process, he’s losing his mind. Afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease, he knows his “good” time is dwindling. Wishing to be remembered as more than an ailing old man, Harry realizes the greatest gift he can pass on is the wisdom of his years… And so he compiles a book of his poems for his favorite granddaughter, Emily, in the hope that his words might somehow heal the tenuous relationships in a family that is falling apart.
My reactions
I thought it was emotionally manipulative and predictable. The characters were out of central casting, and some of the events made little sense to me. Why write only to Emily (he has two other grandchildren), but provide three copies of the book?
But then, why leave such a complicated puzzle for a seven-year-old child to figure out? It seemed that he was intent on controlling his children and grandchildren, on “pulling the strings,” even from the grave. The cleverness of the clues / riddles left in the poems also is inconsistent with Alzheimer’s … unless he had penned all this years in advance.
Of course, Harry (view spoiler). Anyway, this just irritated me further.
I will say that some of the advice Harry leaves is poignant and resonated with me. I’d have less problem with the book if the letters were straightforwardly given, rather than requiring all these riddles to be completed to access them.
If it had not been a book-club read I would have abandoned it early on. Oh, well. At least it was a fast read; I finished it in within 24 hours.
From the book jacket: Harry Whitney is dying. And in the process, he’s losing his mind. Afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease, he knows his “good” time is dwindling. Wishing to be remembered as more than an ailing old man, Harry realizes the greatest gift he can pass on is the wisdom of his years… And so he compiles a book of his poems for his favorite granddaughter, Emily, in the hope that his words might somehow heal the tenuous relationships in a family that is falling apart.
My reactions
I thought it was emotionally manipulative and predictable. The characters were out of central casting, and some of the events made little sense to me. Why write only to Emily (he has two other grandchildren), but provide three copies of the book?
But then, why leave such a complicated puzzle for a seven-year-old child to figure out? It seemed that he was intent on controlling his children and grandchildren, on “pulling the strings,” even from the grave. The cleverness of the clues / riddles left in the poems also is inconsistent with Alzheimer’s … unless he had penned all this years in advance.
Of course, Harry (view spoiler). Anyway, this just irritated me further.
I will say that some of the advice Harry leaves is poignant and resonated with me. I’d have less problem with the book if the letters were straightforwardly given, rather than requiring all these riddles to be completed to access them.
If it had not been a book-club read I would have abandoned it early on. Oh, well. At least it was a fast read; I finished it in within 24 hours.
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