Unlike anything Joyce Carol Oates has written before, A Widow’s Story is the universally acclaimed author’s poignant, intimate memoir about the unexpected death of Raymond Smith, her husband of forty-six years, and its wrenching, surprising aftermath. A recent recipient of National Book Critics Circle Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award, Oates, whose novels (Blonde, The Gravedigger’s Daughter… The Gravedigger’s Daughter, Little Bird of Heaven, etc.) rank among the very finest in contemporary American fiction, offers an achingly personal story of love and loss. A Widow’s Story is a literary memoir on a par with The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion and Calvin Trillin’s About Alice.
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Author tells a real aftermath of what being a new widow feels like. The book is raw and gritty. I found it difficult to read at times because of the painful emotions about her loss. She tells exactly how one feels about losing the one closest. I think it took courage to write this look into one’s private grief. Only one thing bothered me: her …
Although the basic storyline of this book is sad and tragic, it’s so well written that I enjoyed reading it very much. It was relatable to me as a widow, hoewever; I think anyone who has experienced any type of loss will find it a good and even helpful story to read.
Very different. Being a widow of ten years I was curious about reading it. Could relate to some of it but we all grieve differently.
I felt it was an important story for women to understand what we should do to prepare ourselves for the same unexpected death of a husband. An excellent and honest account of one woman’s struggle to cope.
Fully captures the stages and depths of grief in losing a loved one.
Wonderful but repetitive.
Having just lost my husband of 52 years six months ago, this book failed to convey the true depth of feelings that you go through when you lose a spouse that you love deeply. I felt the book to be shallow. And in a rather short period of time, she hooked up with somebody else. The stories about the author’s daughter were repetitive and boring. …
I was highly disappointed in this book, not because of the way it was written, but because of the story she told. Her husband died, she thinks of medical errors, which she discusses quite a bit. However, she had declined an autopsy, which would have shown the truth. She only surmised the truth from her own experience, but kept blaming his death in …
I worked at a hospice for several years so I have an affinity for books on death and grief that may not be shared by the general public. This book is quite good. I also read Joan Dideon’s The Year of Magical Thinking and I think JCO’s book is equal in standing shoulder to shoulder with JD’s.
I enjoyed the book because as a widow myself, I found that she validated much of my own experience. Only a widow can know what it’s really like. I could really only recommend it to a widow.
Not my favorite by her, but good read all the same.
I ran onto this book by chance a few months after my wife died and wasn’t sure if that kind of reading was what I needed at that time. I started reading and found that, in spite of the difference in gender and social class, this is a book that speaks to anyone who’s gone through the experience of losing a spouse. I can understand if it’s not …
An honest, deftly written account of the loss of one’s spouse. A book not only for oneself but to pass on to others who have experienced this grief.
Did not finish it. Too depressing.
Depressing, overwhelming sadness, little resolution.
Love all her work
A haunting personal examination of death and becoming a widow by an acclaimed author.
Very informative and sometimes sad.
JCO at her finest , from the heart, beautifully written . A chance to see the woman and understand who she is.
I did not really like it very much. It kept going on and on. It was very sad that she lost her husband, whom she loved so much . In the end kind of boring. Did not even finish it.