Olivia Donatelli has just lost her autistic son, Anthony and Beth Ellis's marriage has fallen apart. Unkown to each other, they both retreat to Nantucket to try to make sense of their lives and their futures; one without the son she loved deeply and the other without the husband who destroyed their marriage.
As each woman deals with her own grief and sense of loss, their paths cross only fleetingly before Beth begins writing a story in the voice of an autistic boy. Since Olivia has worked as as editor, Beth asks her to review her book and Olivia is shocked at the content. She's convinced that her beloved Anthony is speaking through Beth.
And that's why this book lost me. As background, let me say that I loved Ms. Genova's previous books, STILL ALICE and LEFT NEGLECTED. I read and reviewed both of these books, giving them high recommendations. The author's background in neuroscience lent great credibility to both novels which is why the mystical touch in love anthony was unexpected and jarring.
Needless to say, I was really looking forward to settling down with love anthony. Not in keeping with anything Lisa Genova had previously written, Beth's full book unfolds within the story of the women's lives, in a disjointed and disruptive way. I found myself skipping over the novel within the novel in order to even finish reading Ms. Genova's newest. This was a very disappointing purchase, but if you haven't read the author's previous works, you should. Each was terrific!
ISBN 978-1-4391-6468-6
Pub. Date: September 2012
309 Pages
Hardcover and eBook
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