The Raising and The Widow’s Season Reviews
by Jenners • 03/18/2011 • 3 Stars, 4 Stars, B Authors, Contemporary, Fiction, K Authors, Mystery/Thriller, R Titles, W Titles • 64 Comments
Have you ever read two books back to back and found they had similar themes? That happened to me recently when I read Laura Kasischke’s new book The Raising and Laura Brodie’s The Widow’s Season. (OK … now I realize the authors have the same first name. FREAKY!!!)
Anyway, when you read two similarly themed books back to back, chances are that one is going to suffer by comparison. In this case, I found The Widow’s Season much more satisfying than The Raising. Let’s find out why!
The Raising by Laura KasischkePublisher: Harper Perennial, March 2011
Pages: 496
Genre: Fiction
Where I Got It: from NetGalley
My Rating: 3 stars
The Basic Story: Set on a fictional Midwestern campus, the novel weaves a rather complicated tale about a sorority girl named Nicole Werner who was killed in a car accident and whether her ghost has come back to haunt the campus. The book follows several characters. First, we have Craig—a snotty rich boy who was driving the car when the fatal accident took place and Nicole’s boyfriend. Then we have Perry—Craig’s roommate—who grew up in the same small town as Nicole. We also meet Shelley, the first person on the scene of the accident. Finally, we meet Mira—a professor of anthropology whose specialty is death rituals. The novel tracks how each of these characters are affected by Nicole’s death and the strange circumstances surrounding it—resulting in life-changing consequences for each of them.
My Thoughts: Oh, I so wanted to love this book! I was a big fan of Kasischke’s previous dystopic novel, In A Perfect World, and was thrilled when I saw she had a new book. The premise sounded so promising too—a ghost story set on a college campus! (And how intriguing is that cover.) At the beginning, I was encouraged; Kasischke does a great job of setting the scene and getting us into the heads of the different characters. However, things started to fall apart for me. The biggest problem was that Kasischke seemed to have trouble committing to what kind of novel she was writing: is this a gothic tale with supernatural elements? a conspiracy thriller? a good old-fashioned ghost story? This indecision on the part of the author led to a less than satisfying conclusion. In fact, I was still puzzling things out at the end as Kasischke seemed to want to have her cake and eat it too. There are some good elements here, but they didn’t come together in a satisfying way for me. (In fact, I would go so far as to call the plot as I understood it ridiculously ludicrous and unbelievable.) I ended up being very disappointed and can’t really recommend this book. This saddens me because I think Kasischke is a talented writer and—if she had fully committed herself one way or another—she could have had a wonderful book on her hands. (However, I would recommend In A Perfect World if you’d like to try a grown-up’s version of a dystopic book instead of a YA version.)
The Widow’s Season by Laura BrodiePublisher: Berkley Books, 2009
Pages: 303
Genre: Fiction
Where I Got It: Paperback Swap
My Rating: 4 stars
The Basic Story: The opening line of the novel sets the scene perfectly: “Sarah McConnell’s husband had been dead three months when she saw him in the grocery story.” Right away, we are thrust into Sarah’s confusing world—where her grief and mourning play tricks on her mind. When she confesses her “vision” at a widow’s group, she finds support and empathy. After all, it is normal to “see” your loved ones when the loss is fresh and new. (I remember “seeing” my dad everywhere after he died. I’d glimpse a man with his build across the room and it would take my breath away. Of course, they always turned around and the illusion would be broken.) Complicating Sarah’s loss is that her husband David’s body was never recovered after his kayak was swept away in a flash flood. As Sarah attempts to create a life without David, she is forced to confront the realities of their marriage and some of her long-buried feelings. And as she continues to sense and feel David’s presence, she begins to wonder if the fact that David’s body was never found means something different after all.
My Thoughts: Oooohhh…this was so good! It had everything a good ghost story should—unease, dread, longing, hope, uncertainty and (finally) closure. Brodie does such a brilliant job of keeping you guessing about what is actually happening that you’ll be captivated until the very last page. I thought Sarah’s journey felt authentic and fully lived in. Sarah realizes that her marriage to David was flawed and possibly doomed. Their inability to have a child had created a wedge between them, and Sarah is forced to confront the reality that she wasn’t the best wife. Complicating things further is the presence of Nate—David’s younger and very handsome brother. Although Sarah doesn’t want to admit it, she’s always felt attracted to Nate and now she has the opportunity to pursue that feeling. Yet guilt and David’s presence make things tricky. I got very involved in Sarah’s story—and found myself conflicted about where I was hoping it would go. In the end, I think Brodie handled things fabulously and made all the right choices. If you’re looking for an emotionally involving novel that deals intelligently with the issues of grief, mourning, marriage and love, this would be an excellent choice. Highly recommended!
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just finished reading The Raising last night and I have to say I completely agree with you. The premise was excellent and Kasischke is clearly a capable writer, but ultimately I felt she didn’t quite know…how to write a mystery? And I’m with you on her inability to make a decision about whether this is a ghost story, or a conspiracy, or what, as well as the fact that by the end I was like, this does not work. Also too many loose ends (yes, I realize sometimes it’s nice to let the reader speculate, but in this case, it felt more like, she didn’t quite know how to tie them up so she didn’t). As with you, the story as I understand it doesn’t really make sense. Very unfortunate. You should’ve seen me — I had about 60 or so pages to go when I had to get off my train stop, and I rushed home to finish reading it because I was like this is gonna be good I know it! and then … not so much =/ Sorry for the long rambly comment, just glad to see I’m not alone in my disappointment with this one.
Thank you for your “long rambly” comment. I like knowing that I wasn’t alone in my disappointment with this one. I’ve seen quite a few bloggers who really enjoyed it and I was thinking “Did we read the same book????” If she had just committed to a ghost story or the conspiracy, it might have worked but I don’t really know WHAT she was doing in the end.
I’ve actually read the synopsis of “The Widow’s Season” and was very curious about the book. Of course, I have no time for reading these days but now that you’ve given it a great review, I might add it to my “to-read” list and see if I can catch up to it one day.
Some day I hope you have more time to read and relax.
I definitely want to read A Widow’s Season. The Raising, not so much!
I think you are making the right choice!
The Widow’s Season does sound good. I’m curious to find out what happens with Nate. I’ll check it out. Thanks Jenners.
If you want, I’ll send it to you. Just shoot me your e-mail!
Hey! I don’t read ghost stories much but I just may pick this one up! I like closure!
It isn’t a ghost story in the traditional sense … more in an emotional grieving sort of way. I just loved it and it is haunting me long after I’ve finished.
Oh my goodness, The Widow’s Season sounds so, so good! I’m going to add it to my list right now!
It is so so good. I hope you like it as much as I did.
Nice way of reviewing – finding a similar theme (and author first name) The Widow Season does sound a lot more appealing. Glad you enjoyed it. Happy spring!
The similar themes just fell in my lap and it did make for a different kind of review to write. Happy Spring to you too!
The Widow’s Season sounds much more compelling to me than The Raising, from the way you’ve described them. I recently read a book where the author wouldn’t commit to a character scenario, and frankly, it just ticked me off and ruined the book for me. I have since spoken to others who felt the same way. Not only is the non-committal a problem, but the fact that you describe the plot as ridiculous and unbelievable also has me wanting to stay away from The Raising, whereas the plot and issues raised in The Widow’s Season really intrigues and leaves me wanting to find out more. Great comparison piece, Jenners! You have the most wonderful and creative ways with reviews!
Thanks for your kind words. It felt like the author of The Raising was afraid of really going down the supernatural route … and backed out midway through … but then veered back to it. It ended up being a mess as a result … especially since not committing made the whole plot seem just nuts!
Since both you and Staci didn’t care for The Raising it is safely off my wish list. I have the Widow’s Season around here somewhere…I just have to find it!
I love that you know you have a book … but aren’t quite sure where it is! : )
I just requested The Widow’s Season based on your review! I love a good ghost story and think that both of these books sound interesting. Thanks for sharing about them and for adding to my TBR list…LOL!
I hope you enjoy The Widow’s Season as much as I did! And if you are like me, your TBR list is miles long already! : )
The Widow’s Season sounds really intriguing! I’ll have to check it out!
It was so well done … and I’m still thinking about it weeks afterwards.
I hate it when I’m disappointed in an author I normally like. Darn. But I have done that, reading two similar books near each other.
It is so strange when you accidentally read two books with similar themes without planning to. I always think perhaps the Universe is sending me a message or something.
I don’t usually do ghost stories, but I enjoyed The Widow’s Season very much. It was spooky in a cool way, not a scary way.
Exactly! It wasn’t creepy scary but more like emotionally spooky. It stayed with me for a long time afterward.
Okay, I’m ready…to look into both authors!! Too bad that one was a disappoint, but great news on The Widow’s Season. Did you ever read Tell No One by Harlan Coben? It starts out with the same sort of premise and was my first foray into a real intense page turner.
I don’t know that I ‘see’ my dad everywhere , but I hear his accent in others and his turn of phrase. It does become intense. When I was recently in Texas it really upped the intensity scale. After my nephew died on his 19th birthday I ‘saw’ him everywhere though. I looked on it as my ‘gifts’ from him, because it really did help me heal.
Thanks for some great reviews….I’m ready to read!
I really like Harlan Coben but his titles are so generic that I don’t know if I read that one or not.
And how tragic about nephew. I’m glad you got some help in healing…that must have been so hard.
The premise of The Raising sounds good, too bad it dissapointed.
The Widow’s Season sounds very good. Nice reviews
I really wanted to like The Raising and I really really tried!
The Widow’s Season sounds like a great read and definitely something I would enjoy.
I can highly recommend Audrey Niffeneger’s second novel ‘Her Fearful Symmetry’ – it’s a gripping, different kind of ghost story.
I did read Her Fearful Symmetry and thought it was great …up until the middle where I started having problems with it. I loved how she dealt with ghosts though…very original.
These are both new to me. I’ve ended up reading books with similar themes on accident, and it seems to be happening more often this past year. The first name thing is kind of freaky! I think comparison is inevitable when reading books like that back to back, and I think it would be nearly impossible for one not to shine brighter than the other.
It makes me wonder if The Raising would have fared better if I hadn’t read it so close to The Widow’s Season. But I really do think I would have still had the same problems with the plot.
I just finished reading “The book of Tomorrow” and I must say that the subject of grief has not occurred to me from a kids point of view, as it had in this book, I requested The Widows Season as well. Thanks for your review. I was thinking of my dad yet again yesterday, thinking” he’d beat my husband up if he knew what I was doing, (painting a room) with out his help” I was struggling with a floppy screw driver, and that drives me nuts. I don’t know if I say my dad, but I often felt him and certainly dreamed or him.
I think reading about grief from a child’s perspective would be eye-opening. And I do think our loved ones who have left us are probably watching us and saying “jeez…now what isnshe doing?”
I loved The Widow’s Season, too, especially because I had no clue how it was going to turn out. I can’t wait to read more of Brodie’s work.
I was guessing up until the end too. She did such a good job of planting seeds of uncertainty.
I’ve been meaning to read The Widow’s Season (sits on my shelf); it does sound good. Thanks for the great review.
Get it down off the shelf and give it a read!
It could be a while. My TBR list is looooong.
Think I will look for In A Perfect World instead of The Raising. The Widow’s Season sounds great.
I had such high hopes for The Raising because of her previous book. I don’t know what happened. It felt like a different writer.
I’m putting The Widow’s Season on my TBR list.
Oh goodie. Let me know what you think if you read it.
Interesting! Think how often movies with similar themes come out at the same time. For example, the year we had “Mission to Mars” and “The Red Planet”. Seems like Gary Sinise was in the former (which I preferred) and Val Kilmer in the latter.
Oh I remember those movies. They were both pretty bad though as I recall!
It has been too long since I’ve read a good ghost story. I should really get on that.
The Widow’s Season is a very contemporary and emotionally driven ghost story rather than a traditional one but I thought it was so effective.
I don’t need any more ludicrous in my life so I think I’ll skip The Raising. The Widow’s Season sounds good, though.
I think you would really like The Widow’s Season. May I offer you my copy?
I felt the same way though I think i enjoyed it a bit more and gave it a more favorable review. It certainly had a lot going on in it!
Michelle
Oh I can’t wait to read your review. I also thought the end implied…well, I will email you about it as I don’t want to do any spoilers for others.
Very nice comparison. And I’ve read other reviews of the first book that were negative, by the way.
Good to hear that I wasn’t the only one with problems with The Raising.
Adding The Widow’s Season to my TBR…I still feel my husband’s father’s presence everywhere…he was such a dynamic and in your face part of our family…hard to ignore him
My husband’s family has gone through some major major changes since my father-in-law’s death and as the only original daughter-in-law left, I usually am the one his mother turns to.
Life is all about change, isn’t it?
As they say, the only thing that stays constant is change. I read this book for a challenge and it was such an unexpected treat.
Reading your two great reviews I’m more drawn to The Widow’s Season. Sorry, but for me, how could The raising compete with a first sentence of “Sarah McConnell’s husband had been dead three months when she saw him in the grocery story.”
In my opinion, you are drawn to the “right” one.
Oh I love how you compared the two! I have the raising to review from netgalley also…just haven’t gotten to that one yet. it’s a shame it didn’t do that much for you….darn it! now i wish i hadn’t gotten it…i trust your reviews =]
Well I will be very curious to see what you think of The Raising. The few reviews I did read were more positive than mine. Let me know when you are done, I want to run some things by you.
I like a good ghost story–if all the lights are on and somebody is sitting right next to me
I like how the second one sounds.
I’m the same way. I can’t read scary things at night and alone. These aren’t the really scary kind of ghost stories buts more emotional.