The Pharmacist's Mate

How this book manages to contain itself in Fusselman's open and engaging tone is a pleasant mystery. The writing is absolutely effortless, which is, of course, the hardest thing to do. Worth it for the restraint despite all appearance to the contrary.

A quick read, yet nevertheless manages to bring a development of heady themes such as birth and death.

The author depicts a tumultuous time in her life, when she was trying to conceive a child while coping with the loss of her father. The author's story is interspersed with her father's diary entries aboard a Navy vessel during Word War II. These parts could have used more development, and required more of a connection to the present-day paragraphs. I felt the author conveyed a better sense of who the father was in her own words, rather than letting the diary entries speak for themselves.

That aside, I enjoyed the structure of the novel, particularily why the author chose to number, then renumber, the paragraphs during an epiphany. show more Moments like that really connect author to reader, and for that reason, the afterword was a nice addition. The afterword depicted humerous moments during the author's book tour, including connections with her mother, a character previously kept to the background. The author comes off as relateable and humerous during the book, and despite the briefness of the work, becomes an enjoyable character. show less

The author’s dad had been a Purser-Pharmacist's Mate on a World War II ship. He is now dying of emphysema as the author attempts to become pregnant. Moving back and forth in time between her dad's war-time diary and her present situation, the author tells of her experiences in a sweet, dreamy fashion. Her musings seem to be her interpretation of the comings and goings of life. Even the chapter numbers reflect her thoughts. The story and ideas expressed within this small volume afternoon are perfect reading for one short and carefree afternoon.

This is a really beautiful, small book about a woman whose father is dying at the same time she is having a difficult time trying to conceive a child. The heartbreaking-ness is interspersed with excerpts from her father's WWII Navy diary. It is a really pretty and sweet book, from the usually pretty great McSweeney's.

This would be a bad caricature of a hip, smarmy (early) McSweeney's book, except it was published by (early) McSweeney's.

Her dad is dead, she is trying to get pregnant; after reading this book, I get the sense of how that might feel.