Category: Fiction
Publisher: Grove/Atlantic
ISBN-13: 9780802142108
Pub. Date: September 2005
Date Read: July 2009
“Margaret turned over the bill and began writing. ‘Room for rent in large Capitol Hill home. $250. All utilities included. Month-to-month. Private bath…’ By the time she was satisfied with the ad, her appetite was back. She started with the crème brulee.”
When the novel opens we learn that Margaret has just been dealt some difficult news. She has brain tumor. As she leaves the doctor's office and tries to process the information she seems to have an epiphany about her life so far.
At 70 she's been living alone in her mansion with a lot of beautiful things but she realizes that she wants something quite different in life so she posts an ad for a roommate. After interviewing several women she decides to let Wanda have the apartment. Wanda is a newcomer to Seattle, she's there to look for a boyfriend who dumped her.
As the two women settle in to a new routine, Margaret begins to get rid of the beautiful things in her home by breaking them. Each beautiful piece of porcelain comes from Margaret's father's collection of items stolen during WWII from Jewish homes. She feels that by smashing the items she's freeing herself from a painful legacy.
What I found most delightful was actually Margaret's mother's ghost who intrudes on Margaret's thoughts. Her mother is controlling but it was wonderful to see Margaret do what she wanted to finally. She had courage and strength.
Unfortunately what I didn't enjoy was the ending of the book where more "quirky" characters are brought to live with them. I know the point is to show how we can form our families but I think the reader already understood that as Margaret and Wanda develop throughout the story. What I found most interesting is to see what they do with the broken pieces of porcelain.