The Obituary Writer

First Line: If Claire had to look back and decide why she had the affair in the first place, she would point to the missing boy.

The Obituary Writer is the tale of two women in two different eras.

In 1919, Vivien Lowe has made a new life for herself after losing the man she loved in the devastation of the San Francisco earthquake. Now living in Napa, California, she is well known for writing obituaries that truly capture the deceased person's life and spirit. She has come to terms with her own grief by telling these stories of the dead.

In 1961 on the day John Fitzgerald Kennedy is inaugurated as President of the United States, Claire knows that her life is at a turning point. Should she stay in a loveless marriage, or should she follow show more the man she loves and whose baby she may be carrying? She's tried everything she knows to be the perfect wife and mother, but nothing seems to penetrate her husband's attitude of self-importance and entitlement. Soon a connection between the two women will change the life of one of them in ways she never would have imagined.

I enjoyed Ann Hood's writing style throughout this book, and although Vivien's story was touching, I found Claire's to be the stronger one in terms of holding my interest. It was as though Hood created an early 1960s time capsule that had me remembering so very many things from my early childhood.

Yes, the book is well written and flows smoothly to the end, but I never really found myself caught up in it. Vivien never really came to life for me; it was as if her grief had wrapped her in cotton batting that kept me from getting too close. Claire irritated me, and I freely admit that it's more my fault than hers. Although her story reminded me of so much from my childhood, unlike Claire, the women in my family never filled me with the "party line" on how to be a perfect wife and mother. Claire and I see the world in very different ways-- so different that it was impossible for me to identify with her. I also surmised the connection between the two women from the first few pages of the book, and that unfortunately stripped away much of the emotional power of the book.

Did I enjoy The Obituary Writer? Yes, I did, even though I did not bond emotionally with Vivien and Claire as I suspect I was intended to do. Ann Hood writes beautifully, and I'm definitely going to look for other books that she's written. show less

Hood connects the lives of Vivien, a woman who finds solace in the writing of obituaries following the loss of her lover in the 1906 earthquake of San Francisco and Claire, a young 60's suburban housewife and mother disheartened by the banalities of her predictable and unsatisfying life. Vivien is a poetic and haunting character as she navigates the complexities of loss and grief, while Claire and her story is predictable and somewhat tiring. The ending is predictable and relatively anticlimactic, but Hood's eloquent writing style and the vividness of Vivien is enough to salvage the novel as a whole.

Hood's two very independent, female narrators explore two very different ways to be trapped ( in a loveless, uninspiring marriage, or in a time warp of grief and in the oppressive expectation of female roles.) Both women have affairs with a married man, both suffer loss, and both move on. I found the female characters masterfully wrought- but was dissatisfied with how the one man who linked these wonderful women was portrayed. Over-all the themes of grief, love, female empowerment, and two very distinct periods of history make this a very satisfying read.
The Emily Post tidbits were a very nice touch.

This beautifully written book was captivating! Weaving two separate lives, we learn of Claire, who bored with her affluent life and her nit picking, negative husband, has an affair with a married man. Unlike her husband, he listens and cares.

Both obsessed with John F. Kennedy, they volunteer to help him become elected. As Claire, her married lover, and her friends find hope in this young candidate, she glamorizes Jackie Kennedy and the princes- like, fairy tale life she perceives Jackie to have.

When Claire's husband unexpectedly arrives home and finds Claire with her lover, he remains married to her, emotionally punishing her for her indiscretions. When she becomes pregnant, not sure of the father of this child, she cannot help but show more compare her sad life with the glamour of Jackie.

As she ends the relationship with her lover, her grief and loss is intense. Spending nine months of severe sadness, as the baby grows inside, she longs for release...and hope.

In the San Francisco earth quake of 1906, Vivien lost the love of her life. Single and very much in love with married David, she spends 13 years of her life longing to find him, in the hope he sustained amnesia, cannot remember her, yet survived the quake. In severe grief, she cannot move forward.

Through her pain and never ending loss, Vivien becomes an obituary writer. Listening to those in pain and shock, she brings loving, poignant stories of the life of loved ones, and through listening, assists those who cannot move on.

At the end of the book, these two lives of love and grief come together in a surprising, touching manner.

Five Stars for this amazing book that could have been a soap opera, but in the hands of a skilled writer, became a lovely tale of loss, grief, hope and redemption. show less

This very engaging novel alternates between 1919 and 1960 with two seemingly unrelated love affairs, and the women involved who attempt to navigate through the challenges of infidelity. Vivien becomes a writer of obituaries after her married lover goes missing in 1906 following the massive San Francisco earthquake, and Claire, during the early JFK years, becomes obsessed with a married man when her own marriage falters. Vivien's and Claire's lives converge in a most believable way in pivotal moments of their histories. Ann Hood has managed to create a novel that encompasses expectations of marriage in different eras while providing insights into grief.

This book just came in the mail one day. It wasn't an advanced reader copy or anything like that, it just showed up and I'm glad I did because I really enjoyed it. The story goes back and forth between Claire, a housewife gearing up for the hope that is the Kennedy inauguration, and Vienne, a single woman forever wondering what happened to her lover the day of the San Francisco earthquake. The two women are interconnected (how was easy enough to figure out). What made the book for me was reading their stories and hoping for the best for them. Something about them just drew me in.

This is a very beautifully written book about Claire in 1961 struggling with having an affair and not really loving her husband, and being pregnant with possibly her lover's baby. And Vivien around 1914 who writes obituaries for people and is struggling with not knowing what happened to her lover David in the earthquake. This book covers so many different emotions and pulls the reader into both women's lives.

I listened to this as an audiobook and when the book switched between the two women it was very clearly identified. I found myself lost in their stories and not wanting to stop. I actually uploaded this on my iPod so I could listen while cleaning carpets. I listened to a couple CDs out of order and it didn't seem to matter. I didn't show more feel like I got confused at all.

I highly recommend this and I look forward to more books by this author. show less