Kiss the Joy as it Flies
by Sheree Fitch
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The award-winning, bestselling author takes readers on "a thrilling joy-ride through a week in the life of a self-made woman facing her deepest fears" (Sea and Be Scene). With all the wisdom, humor and joy we've come to expect from Sheree Fitch, Kiss the Joy as It Flies, first published in 2008, marked the well-loved author's move from children's literature to adult fiction. Set in the fictional Maritime town of Odell, with a cast of exasperating but lovable characters, Kiss the Joy as It show more Flies promises to be a remarkable debut and a reader's favorite. Panic-stricken by the news that she needs exploratory surgery, forty-eight-year-old Mercy Beth Fanjoy drafts a monumental to-do list and sets about putting her messy life in order. Among other things (hide the vibrator!), she's determined to finally uncover the identity of her secret admirer; reconnect with long-lost friend and rival Teeny Gaudet; and, most importantly, get her hands on the note her father left before committing suicide all those years ago. But tidying up the edges of her life means the past comes rushing back to haunt her and the present keeps throwing up more to-dos. Between fits of weeping and laughter, ranting and bliss, Mercy must contemplate the meaning of life in the face of her own death. In a week filled with the riot of an entire life, nothing turns out the way she'd expected. "Kiss the Joy as It Flies is funny and heartbreaking and thought-provoking and sometimes all three--and more--at once. Fitch made us wait a long time for her first novel, but it was worth it. It's a rare and lovely book." --January Magazine show lessTags
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Titled from lines in a Wordsworth poem ("He who binds to himself a joy Does the winged life destroy; But he who kisses the joy as it flies Lives in eternity's sun rise"), Sheree Fitch's first novel for adults tells the story of Mercy Beth Fanjoy receiving news from her doctor that they've found a lump on one of her ovaries and the subsequent weeks of waiting for biopsy results. But don't let the grim-seeming plot fool you--KISS JOY AS IT FLIES is much more comedy than tragedy and is laugh aloud funny in places, even while Mercy makes poignant observations about the important things in life that we don't always appreciate or even notice until we contemplate (possible) early death. My copy of the book is dog-earred in several places where show more I just had to mark spots I wanted to jot quotes down from later.
I really liked Fitch's exuberant use of language. Her background in children's fiction shows in how she skillfully and unabashedly throws over the top descriptions about and uses wordplay and just, well, shows a lot of enthusiasm as she brings us Mercy--a hyperactive, eccentric character who's a tad self-obsessed and self-pitying (though in the story's immediate circumstances who can blame her?), who ends up being one of those people you really love even though you have to occasionally roll your eyes at her. show less
I really liked Fitch's exuberant use of language. Her background in children's fiction shows in how she skillfully and unabashedly throws over the top descriptions about and uses wordplay and just, well, shows a lot of enthusiasm as she brings us Mercy--a hyperactive, eccentric character who's a tad self-obsessed and self-pitying (though in the story's immediate circumstances who can blame her?), who ends up being one of those people you really love even though you have to occasionally roll your eyes at her. show less
Mercy Beth Fanjoy is in a panic about her life and is trying to get certain things in order before she undergoes surgery. The characters were interesting and quirky and the town of Odell is based on Fredericton,New Brunswick, so it was cool to have a context of place. The author has stated she feels this book to be a tragicomedy. There certainly are tragedies but I expected to laugh more. Mercy got into some funny situations but nothing was laugh-out-loud for me. The first two-thirds of the book were each set one day at a time in sequence. The last third of the book jumped weeks and months ahead in time and I felt as though a lot of details were left out. The end seemed abrupt. This is Fitch's first foray into adult literature (she had show more been a children's author) and, overall, I did enjoy the story. My issues may have more to do with the editing. show less
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ThingScore 75
Kiss the Joy inspired me to think about what's important when we believe we're coming to the end of our days. What matters is not necessarily where you've been or what you've accomplished, the heights you've scaled or the deserts you've crossed, but that you don't reach the end with a laundry list of things you meant to do but never got around to.
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Author Information
34 Works 973 Members
Sheree Fitch was born in Ottawa, Ontario. She is a poet, lecturer and storyteller. Her first book Toes in My Nose was published in 1987. In1995 she was the featured children's writer at the International Writer's Festival in Vancouver, BC. Fitch has received numerous literary awards and prizes including: N.B. Writer's Federation President's Award show more for first prize for an unpublished collection of adult poetry 1988 (later to become basis for In this House Are Many Women); Atlantic Bookseller's Choice Award for Sleeping Dragons All Around, 1990; Mr. Christie's Children's Book Award for There Were Monkeys in My Kitchen, 1993; Canadian Authors Association Mariana Dempster Award for contribution to Children's Literature, 1995; Anne Connor Brimer Award for Mabel Murple, 1996; Nova Scotia Arts Council Grant, 1997; Silver Birch Award (Ontario's children's choice) and the Hackamatack Award (Atlantic children's choice) awards for If You Could Wear My Sneakers, 2000; Queen's Medal; Vicky Metcalf Award for body of work in children's literature 2000; Winner of the Saskatchewan Snow Willow Award and CBC Young Canada Reads for The Gravesavers. She is Honorary Spokesperson for the New Brunswick Coalition for Literacy and for the IWK Read to Me program in Nova Scotia. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Awards and Honors
Common Knowledge
- People/Characters
- Mercy Beth Fanjoy
- Important places
- New Brunswick, Canada
- Dedication
- For my mother. Her laughter, her wisdom, her love, her prayers.
- First words
- From the sky, looking down, were you a dove or a raven or a yellow-bellied sapsucker, were you a passenger in a plane or a helicopter or a hot-air balloon floating over the small North American city of Odell, it might appear ... (show all)that the city itself and all who lived there were tucked inside a nest of emerald green feathers.
- Blurbers
- Moore, Lisa; Ferguson, Will; Wolitzer, Meg; Crewe, Lesley
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Statistics
- Members
- 44
- Popularity
- 674,619
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.39)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 4
