Started this audiobook but after half an hour hadn't got into it. ( )

(52) I adored this book. A curmudgeonly old man lives alone in big restored farmhouse in a bougie suburb of Boston, defined by his wife's sudden death in her 30's many years before. At the book's opening he has reluctantly agreed to allow a preschool to open in his converted barn and a treehouse to be built in his yard. These connections bring several people in to his life and into contact with one another and lives are transformed. There are several other protagonists struggling with their own demons besides our widower, Percy Darling: The Guatemalan gardener, Celestino - also defined by a twist of fate many years in the past; the gay preschool teacher, Ira; and Percy's grandson, Robert, a Harvard pre-med student. Large chunks of the book are narrated by them as well and we are treated to their backstories and details of their lives as well. It is hard to see where things are going for much of the novel, but the world created is effortless and entertaining so this reader at least just enjoyed the ride.

I love Glass' writing - her characters do border a bit on caricatures but she does make you care about them and she includes excellent contextual details that make the story come alive - that chicken-brocolli casserole if Ira's mother! Of course. The pink-pineapple bathing suit. The feeling of being away at college with a bad head-cold. These are the kind of family strife type novels that got me hooked on fiction from the very beginning. For awhile, in my quest to elevate my reading I moved away from novels like these. But I am coming back! I love to get lost in the intricacies of a fictional town and family with well-written and heartfelt characters and drama (not melodrama, though.) For me, the perfect escape.

Not sure if I have read all her books yet or not, but I will work on reading whatever this author writes. Highly recommended for those who like Joyce Carol Oates, and/or Elizabeth Strout. I think a cut above the usual 'Women's book club" pick, but just a cut and still enormously entertaining and easy reading. ( )

The Widower's Tale is one of my favorite books to read again and again.

For the honest wit and humor, the realistic family dialogue and challenges,
the transformation of the barn, the compelling pond, the finely tuned characters and more,
it is one to be savored and shared.

That said, what feels off is The Widower's choice of a new home, so dangerously and loudly close to a noisy street.

HIs choice to move, while allowing and protecting both his grandson and his gardening friend, could also have been differently arranged -
house cleaned, repaired and rented out until both men were safe again.

Leaving his beloved pond was a letdown. The Pond feels as much a character as the people and The Barn.

Sarah was a character whose laughter and lies made her unappealing and somehow unworthy of Percy who
appears to think that he no longer has another choice. Likely there will be no welcome sequel (back to Pond and Barn and plant a new tree!);
if yes, let Sarah give her best to Gus and Rico while freeing Percy. ( )

The title of The Widower's Tale is a bit deceptive, because it is three stories rolled into one novel. As well as the widower's story, it is also the tale of Robert, the widower's grandson and the tale of Celestino, a gardener who works for the widower's next door neighbor. Other characters are also explored in the book, but it is primarily from the point of view of these three we see the world.

The widower is Percy Darling, a sixty-nine year old man who lost his wife when they were in their late thirties. He hasn't dated anyone since then, which might be due to a sense of guilt. Although he wasn't responsible for his wife's death there were some issues on the day she died. Percy starts seeing Sarah, a fifty-one year-old artist who works with stained-glass. The age difference isn't much of an issue, but the difference in the way they look at the world is.

Robert, Percy's grandson, has a roommate, Turo, who is involved in environmental activism, expressed through pranks some people see as vandalism. Robert gets sucked into Turo's activities and the story goes on from there.

Meanwhile, Celestino's life is also explored. He is an immigrant from Guatemala who came to America when a professor at Harvard noticed his potential. But a mixture of bad luck, bad decisions, and a romantic nature forced Celestino to run off and turn to manual labor for his income.

All three of these stories read well. I love the way the narratives touch each other throughout the book. I was also impressed with the way Julia Glass changes her style depending on whose point of view she's writing. Percy is a retired librarian and thinks in an scholarly style. The language in the Robert and Celestino sections is straight forward and reads faster.

Steve Lindahl – author of Motherless Soul, White Horse Regressions, Hopatcong Vision Quest, and Under a Warped Cross. ( )

I have to admit, I can't force myself to finish this. It was pretty good for about half the book, but I kept waiting for the plot to begin -- and it never did. Eventually I just got bored and set it aside.