The Missing Letters of Mrs. Bright by Beth Miller is one of many books have been written recently about individuals at certain junctures of life deciding a change in needed. My reaction to these books has varied depending on the development of the main characters and depending on the authentic feeling of the emotions and relationships. For me, this one does not hit that note, and I don't necessarily want to follow along on Mrs. Bright journey to discover herself.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2020/05/the-missing-letters-of-mrs-bright.html

Reviewed for NetGalley. ( )

The Missing Letters of Mrs Bright by Beth Miller is a so-so novel about a woman having a mid-life crisis.

Kay Bright has been following the same routine day in and day out for twenty-nine years. She works in her husband’s stationery shop, she does the shopping and the cooking, she practices yoga, and every other month she writes a letter to her best friend Bear (Ursula) who is living in Australia. Every other month Bear sends a letter to Kay. They have done this since they were teens and Bear moved to Australia. Kay is now concerned because she hasn't heard from Bear in 6 months, that's three missing letters. This is the impetus that causes Kay to pack a bag, take her wedding ring off, and leave her husband. She is planning to travel to see Bear, and then travel, hopefully going to Vienna. She feels like life has passed her by, her husband is a bore, and she needs to escape to do her own thing. In alternating chapters Kay's daughter Stella is going through her own crisis - trying to find her way in the world.

What appealed to me was the epistolary aspect of the novel. Generally I like novels that tell part of the story through letters (or emails, texts, etc.). They did add to the plot, but not quite as much as I anticipated. Kay's reaction to not hearing from Bear was over-the-top nonsensical. Maybe Bear doesn't reply to emails or is hard to get a hold of on the phone. If her friendship means this much to you, Keep Trying. In the end, the life long friendship actually seemed a shallow one. Kay didn't even seem to have a real deep friendship with her other "best"friend, Rose. I was certainly expecting there to be more behind her leaving than the reasons given. She is able to talk and perhaps it would have behooved her to use her words and talk to her husband. She also was strangely competent and comfortable traveling for someone who longed to do it but hadn't done so for over 30 years.

I don't actually even know why I finished this novel as I generally don't like romance novels. I guess I was anticipating some depth of character and emotions that were both sorely lacking. Kay is a selfish, self-centered, annoying woman who seemed to have the missed boarding the maturity and deep-thinking boat years ago. Obviously this was not the novel for me. I actually bumped it up to two stars because it was so obviously a bad choice for me and lots of readers liked it. FYI: Don't fall for the hype; it is not as good as Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, A Man Called Ove, and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Bookouture.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2019/12/the-missing-letters-of-mrs-bright.html ( )

I often enjoy epistolary novels, and I was enticed to read this book because of that. The letters turned out to be more of an accessory to the main novel, but I loved the book as it was written. I liked the book being written about the lives of both the mother and daughter, their changes in circumstances, friendships and relationships. It was written in such a way that I raced through it, unable to put it down, yet it dealt with many serious issues. It had an interesting mix of characters. I think it would be a great choice for book discussion groups. I highly recommend this book. ( )

There was nothing exciting about this book and that isn’t a criticism. This is a frank admission and discussion about a tired marriage that is finally abandoned, a friendship that is winding down, another that is strengthening, and an exploration of the possible next chapters in life. Mrs. Bright ruminates “It was hard not having a single proper reason to leave..” and that pretty much sums up the book.

I have often had the notion that one day you wake up and realize things are different and it’s time to go. Beth Miller attacked this notion and turned it into a story that I can hold close and revisit. I liked all the elements and relationships within the story and the way they held together. I liked that friendships didn’t get put aside due to an unspoken word, a misstep, a greater challenge. It really holds true friendship up to a bright light.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookoutre for a copy. ( )