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The Very Marrow of Our Bones
The Very Marrow of Our Bones: A Novel | Christine Higdon
11 posts | 6 read | 7 to read
Defiance, faith, and triumph in a heartrending novel about daughters and mothers On a miserable November day in 1967, two women disappear from a working-class town on the Fraser River. The community is thrown into panic, with talk of drifters and murderous husbands. But no one can find a trace of Bette Parsons or Alice McFee. Even the egg seller, Doris Tenpenny, a woman to whom everyone tells their secrets, hears nothing. Ten-year-old Lulu Parsons discovers something, though: a milk-stained note her mother, Bette, left for her father on the kitchen table. Wally, it says, I will not live in a tarpaper shack for the rest of my life . . . Lulu tells no one, and months later she buries the note in the woods. At the age of ten, she starts running and forgetting lurching through her unraveled life, using the safety of solitude and detachment until, at fifty, she learns that she is not the only one who carries a secret. Hopeful, lyrical, comedic, and intriguingly and lovingly told, The Very Marrow of Our Bones explores the isolated landscapes and thorny attachments bred by childhood loss and buried secrets.
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janeycanuck
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Pickpick

The back cover makes this seem more like a mystery novel that focuses on the community after two women disappear. I don't think that does this justice - this is about Lulu & Doris and how their lives unfold after Bette Parsons & Alice McFee go missing. It follows them over 40-ish years and then flips to tell you the other side of the story, which was brilliant. A slow, methodical read that unfolds in a very deliberate way.

EvieBee Sounds fascinating! Great review. 2y
34 likes1 comment
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Areader2
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Pickpick

Did some planting this weekend 🌸🌺🌼
This was a story of a small town in Canada that revolves around one family but there are other key characters.It is a story of secrets that shaped lives in many different ways, but family is what binds them together. Part mystery, part drama I would recommend it.

yeahnonotagain Your garden looks lovely ❤️ 5y
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Areader2
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”Through his grief I had begun to understand that loss and death were not twins. With time, loss could be understood; however torturous the path through it, it would soften. But death—it was inexplicable. That there was not even a second between life and death was what I could not comprehend. Trevor alive, then dead. Forever.”

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Areader2
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Lilacs from my bush love this time of year😊
Starting this today, I am halfway through Children of Blood and Bone, but not feeling it I can‘t put my finger on why. I think it‘s a good story, I like the characters for the most part,but there‘s a little more violence for a YA fantasy then I care for 🤷🏼‍♀️

stacybmartin Beautiful flowers! 💜 5y
SilversReviews LOVE lilacs!! 5y
kspenmoll Lilacs!!! 5y
28 likes3 comments
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Penny_LiteraryHoarders
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Pickpick

Loved it. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Will be hard to figure out what to do now that Doris, Lulu and even Bette are no longer in my life now.

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Penny_LiteraryHoarders
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Enjoying this one so far! Good reading for our Victoria Day holiday.

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Penny_LiteraryHoarders
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Now staring at my shelves wondering what to read next. I was thinking of starting this one, or wondering if I should pull an older one down? The dilemma! The decisions!

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Redwritinghood
Very Marrow of Our Bones | Christine Higdon
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Mehso-so

I received this through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. The writing in this novel is quite good and the main characters are well-drawn and distinct. The story, however, is not well structured. There are too many characters and scenes that don‘t move the plot forward. Also, the book should have ended after the first part. With some good editing, this could be an interesting mystery that focuses on the relationships of mother and child.

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