"It's as if the body is a candle and the soul is its flame. When the flame is snuffed out, all that is left to prove that there had been a flame is the candle, and even that we only have for a little while. Even the candle is not ours to keep. And yet how we care for that candle for that stretch of time that it is still ours! How we want to remember the shape and fragrance of the little flame it held."
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"This flu is like a black shroud that has been flung across everything that breathes under the canopy of heaven, and if you could stand back far enough you wouldn't see all the people it touches, only the immense length and breadth of its expanse."
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I could keep posting quote after quote from this beautifully-written novel. I counted and I highlighted 25 quotes from this book. The concept of a family running an undertaking business during the greatest epidemic the world has ever seen was a subject I was excited to read about. They lived in Philadelphia, which of all the cities in the United States, was probably hit the hardest. I read the book The Great Influenza by John M. Barry last year and the author mentioned she read that book as research for this one. I think it would be a great companion read to this to better understand the impact the flu had. The first third of this book goes slowly, and I almost stopped reading, but I'm glad I didn't. The author spent time developing the characters and it really shows. Maggie was definitely my favorite character, but I also liked Pauline and cute little Willa. There was a plot point that was very predictable to me, but that didn't take away from the story too much. The strengths of this book were the characters and their awareness of how death brings a new understanding and appreciation of humanity. I wish I had been able to read this book years ago when I lost someone very dear to me. Its messages would have brought comfort to my heart trying to make sense of grief and loss. You will need tissues while reading this book, but the ending is a good one, I promise. I gave this book four stars out of five.
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"This flu is like a black shroud that has been flung across everything that breathes under the canopy of heaven, and if you could stand back far enough you wouldn't see all the people it touches, only the immense length and breadth of its expanse."
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I could keep posting quote after quote from this beautifully-written novel. I counted and I highlighted 25 quotes from this book. The concept of a family running an undertaking business during the greatest epidemic the world has ever seen was a subject I was excited to read about. They lived in Philadelphia, which of all the cities in the United States, was probably hit the hardest. I read the book The Great Influenza by John M. Barry last year and the author mentioned she read that book as research for this one. I think it would be a great companion read to this to better understand the impact the flu had. The first third of this book goes slowly, and I almost stopped reading, but I'm glad I didn't. The author spent time developing the characters and it really shows. Maggie was definitely my favorite character, but I also liked Pauline and cute little Willa. There was a plot point that was very predictable to me, but that didn't take away from the story too much. The strengths of this book were the characters and their awareness of how death brings a new understanding and appreciation of humanity. I wish I had been able to read this book years ago when I lost someone very dear to me. Its messages would have brought comfort to my heart trying to make sense of grief and loss. You will need tissues while reading this book, but the ending is a good one, I promise. I gave this book four stars out of five.