Life and Other Inconveniences
"A heart-wrenching page-turner told with warmth and humor."--People Magazine (Pick of the Week) "A rich testament to the power of second chances."--Women's World
A Publishers Weekly and USA Today Bestseller! From the New York Times bestselling author of Good Luck with That comes a new novel about a blue-blood grandmother and her black-sheep granddaughter who discover they are truly two sides of the same coin. Emma London never thought she had anything in common with her grandmother Genevieve London. The regal old woman came from wealthy and bluest-blood New England stock, but that didn't protect her from life's cruelest blows: the disappearance of Genevieve's young son, followed by the premature death of her husband. But Genevieve rose from those ashes of grief and built a fashion empire that was respected the world over, even when it meant neglecting her other son. When Emma's own mother died, her father abandoned her on his mother's doorstep. Genevieve took Emma in and reluctantly raised her--until Emma got pregnant her senior year of high school. Genevieve kicked her out with nothing but the clothes on her back...but Emma took with her the most important London possession: the strength not just to survive but to thrive. And indeed, Emma has built a wonderful life for herself and her teenage daughter, Riley. So what is Emma to do when Genevieve does the one thing Emma never expected of her and, after not speaking to her for nearly two decades, calls and asks for help?
A Publishers Weekly and USA Today Bestseller! From the New York Times bestselling author of Good Luck with That comes a new novel about a blue-blood grandmother and her black-sheep granddaughter who discover they are truly two sides of the same coin. Emma London never thought she had anything in common with her grandmother Genevieve London. The regal old woman came from wealthy and bluest-blood New England stock, but that didn't protect her from life's cruelest blows: the disappearance of Genevieve's young son, followed by the premature death of her husband. But Genevieve rose from those ashes of grief and built a fashion empire that was respected the world over, even when it meant neglecting her other son. When Emma's own mother died, her father abandoned her on his mother's doorstep. Genevieve took Emma in and reluctantly raised her--until Emma got pregnant her senior year of high school. Genevieve kicked her out with nothing but the clothes on her back...but Emma took with her the most important London possession: the strength not just to survive but to thrive. And indeed, Emma has built a wonderful life for herself and her teenage daughter, Riley. So what is Emma to do when Genevieve does the one thing Emma never expected of her and, after not speaking to her for nearly two decades, calls and asks for help?
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Community Reviews
Life and Other Inconveniences is a stunning exploration of the ways in which tragedy and the grief that ensues have the power to inform choices and transform lives, the resilience that comes from determination, and the importance of resolution and forgiveness.
Emma London is thirty-five years old and has struggled mightily to build a life for herself and Riley, a sometimes sullen sixteen-year-old. They live with Emma's maternal grandfather in a Chicago suburb. Emma toiled in a local grocery store while she pursued her studies and raised Riley. Although it took her a decade, she earned three degrees and her career as a psychologist is getting off the ground. Since learning she was pregnant, Emma's life has revolved solely around Riley, whose father, Jason, has steadily provided child support but little else. Emma's dreams of marrying Jason and creating a home for their child gradually dimmed as, rendered homeless by her grandmother's cruelty, she was taken in by Paul. Jason's plan to attend college was not, unlike Emma's, derailed. He graduated and ended up marrying the glamorous and successful Jamilah, with whom he has two sons.
After Emma's departure, Genevieve did what she always does. She carried on in her stately Connecticut home, Sheerwater, in tony Stoningham, Connecticut, surrounded by her live-in housekeeper and companion, Donelle; completely inept cook, Helga; and Charles, her driver. Now eighty-five years old, she sits on numerous boards and committees, and hosts cocktail parties every Friday evening for a small group of friends and neighbors. Stylish, caustic, and brutally frank, Gigi -- as only Emma was allowed to call her -- does her best to hide the deep sorrow she has carried for more than fifty years since her beloved favorite child, Sheppard, went missing, and Garrison died far too young.
As the story opens, Emma is stunned to hear from Genevieve after seventeen years. And even more surprised by the proposition Genevieve offers her. Claiming that she has been diagnosed with a brain tumor, Genevieve asks Emma to bring Riley and come to Sheerwater to spend time with her before she dies. In exchange for which, she will make Riley her sole heir. While Emma's integrity is not for sale, she does worry about how she will pay for Emma's college education given that she has a mountain of student loans to pay off herself, and Jason cannot be counted on to contribute financially. Emma would very much like Genevieve to see what a terrible mistake she made all those years ago when she demanded that Emma either abort her unborn child or place him/her for adoption . . . or be cut off. Riley is a beautiful girl with striking blue eyes and stunning red hair. An honors student with a bright future ahead of her. Thus, Emma, Riley, and Paul -- who, thankfully, insists upon accompanying them and providing moral support -- head off to Connecticut for the summer.
Higgins effectively relates the story through alternating chapters. Emma, Genevieve, and Riley reveal their pasts and inner dialogues through first-person narratives, while the focus is on Clark and Miller, Jason's cousin, in third-person narratives. Jason is a handsome forty-year-old widower who is struggling to raise his headstrong, tantrum-prone daughter, Tess, on his own. Higgins' dialogue is crisp, believable, and often hilarious, particularly concerning the mischief that out-of-control but lovable Tess, a full-fledged three-year-old terror gets into. Miller's vacillation between devotion to Tess and wishing his stubborn, unruly child had never been born is completely authentic.
While all of Higgins's characters are credible and endearing, each in his/her frequently eccentric way, it is, surprisingly, Genevieve who grabs the reader's heartstrings and does not let go. Her description of the losses she has endured, how living with loss has impacted her life and informed her decision-making, the secrets she has kept for so long, and what, in actuality, she has planned is compelling and frequently so searingly painful and raw it is difficult to continue reading. Higgins gradually reveals that the woman who is so sharply critical of others -- seemingly lobbing verbal jabs with no awareness of the harm they do to others, much less remorse -- has long shone the same critical light upon herself. Despite her outward demeanor, Genevieve is well aware of the ways in which she has failed those she loves. But some people find love and appreciation far more difficult to express than judgment. Higgins imbues Genevieve's story with grace, compassion, and empathy.
Over the course of the summer, secrets are revealed, bonds are formed, and it becomes clear that the dynamics in some relationships will never change so it is better to move on separately. Life and Other Inconveniences is, at its core, an engrossing story about four generations of women and the ways in which they react to life events. None of them are perfect, there are no heroes, and even Genevieve is not truly the "gorgon" that Emma perceived her to be when she was a young girl growing up with the knowledge that her parents both abandoned her and her grandmother only reluctantly agreed to raise her. Higgins deftly explores the hold that old wounds have over the women and whether they can find a way to heal and move forward. Higgins can be forgiven for some predictable aspects of the tale because her characters are fully developed and memorable, and the story's themes resonate. Higgins delivers the emotionally satisfying conclusion that makes taking the journey with Emma, Genevieve, Riley, and her fascinating cast of supporting characters worthwhile.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.
Emma London is thirty-five years old and has struggled mightily to build a life for herself and Riley, a sometimes sullen sixteen-year-old. They live with Emma's maternal grandfather in a Chicago suburb. Emma toiled in a local grocery store while she pursued her studies and raised Riley. Although it took her a decade, she earned three degrees and her career as a psychologist is getting off the ground. Since learning she was pregnant, Emma's life has revolved solely around Riley, whose father, Jason, has steadily provided child support but little else. Emma's dreams of marrying Jason and creating a home for their child gradually dimmed as, rendered homeless by her grandmother's cruelty, she was taken in by Paul. Jason's plan to attend college was not, unlike Emma's, derailed. He graduated and ended up marrying the glamorous and successful Jamilah, with whom he has two sons.
After Emma's departure, Genevieve did what she always does. She carried on in her stately Connecticut home, Sheerwater, in tony Stoningham, Connecticut, surrounded by her live-in housekeeper and companion, Donelle; completely inept cook, Helga; and Charles, her driver. Now eighty-five years old, she sits on numerous boards and committees, and hosts cocktail parties every Friday evening for a small group of friends and neighbors. Stylish, caustic, and brutally frank, Gigi -- as only Emma was allowed to call her -- does her best to hide the deep sorrow she has carried for more than fifty years since her beloved favorite child, Sheppard, went missing, and Garrison died far too young.
As the story opens, Emma is stunned to hear from Genevieve after seventeen years. And even more surprised by the proposition Genevieve offers her. Claiming that she has been diagnosed with a brain tumor, Genevieve asks Emma to bring Riley and come to Sheerwater to spend time with her before she dies. In exchange for which, she will make Riley her sole heir. While Emma's integrity is not for sale, she does worry about how she will pay for Emma's college education given that she has a mountain of student loans to pay off herself, and Jason cannot be counted on to contribute financially. Emma would very much like Genevieve to see what a terrible mistake she made all those years ago when she demanded that Emma either abort her unborn child or place him/her for adoption . . . or be cut off. Riley is a beautiful girl with striking blue eyes and stunning red hair. An honors student with a bright future ahead of her. Thus, Emma, Riley, and Paul -- who, thankfully, insists upon accompanying them and providing moral support -- head off to Connecticut for the summer.
Higgins effectively relates the story through alternating chapters. Emma, Genevieve, and Riley reveal their pasts and inner dialogues through first-person narratives, while the focus is on Clark and Miller, Jason's cousin, in third-person narratives. Jason is a handsome forty-year-old widower who is struggling to raise his headstrong, tantrum-prone daughter, Tess, on his own. Higgins' dialogue is crisp, believable, and often hilarious, particularly concerning the mischief that out-of-control but lovable Tess, a full-fledged three-year-old terror gets into. Miller's vacillation between devotion to Tess and wishing his stubborn, unruly child had never been born is completely authentic.
While all of Higgins's characters are credible and endearing, each in his/her frequently eccentric way, it is, surprisingly, Genevieve who grabs the reader's heartstrings and does not let go. Her description of the losses she has endured, how living with loss has impacted her life and informed her decision-making, the secrets she has kept for so long, and what, in actuality, she has planned is compelling and frequently so searingly painful and raw it is difficult to continue reading. Higgins gradually reveals that the woman who is so sharply critical of others -- seemingly lobbing verbal jabs with no awareness of the harm they do to others, much less remorse -- has long shone the same critical light upon herself. Despite her outward demeanor, Genevieve is well aware of the ways in which she has failed those she loves. But some people find love and appreciation far more difficult to express than judgment. Higgins imbues Genevieve's story with grace, compassion, and empathy.
Over the course of the summer, secrets are revealed, bonds are formed, and it becomes clear that the dynamics in some relationships will never change so it is better to move on separately. Life and Other Inconveniences is, at its core, an engrossing story about four generations of women and the ways in which they react to life events. None of them are perfect, there are no heroes, and even Genevieve is not truly the "gorgon" that Emma perceived her to be when she was a young girl growing up with the knowledge that her parents both abandoned her and her grandmother only reluctantly agreed to raise her. Higgins deftly explores the hold that old wounds have over the women and whether they can find a way to heal and move forward. Higgins can be forgiven for some predictable aspects of the tale because her characters are fully developed and memorable, and the story's themes resonate. Higgins delivers the emotionally satisfying conclusion that makes taking the journey with Emma, Genevieve, Riley, and her fascinating cast of supporting characters worthwhile.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.
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