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Alternative Remedies for Loss
Alternative Remedies for Loss | Joanna Cantor
6 posts | 5 read | 10 to read
A slyly funny coming-of-age novel about a young woman fumbling her way into the mysteries of loss and the travails of adulthood as she tries to make sense of a vanished mother's legacy. When 22-year-old Olivia learned that her mother had only months to live, she pulled up roots, leaving Vassar and her career plans far behind to be with her mother for her last days. And yet, just four months after her mother's death, everyone in Olivia's family already seems ready to move on. Her brothers are settled comfortably in careers and families of their own; her father has already started to date again, inviting a woman named June on a family trip. Still reeling from the loss, Olivia looks for a new start of her own, throwing herself headlong into Manhattan's fast-moving media world, where she is alternately demeaned by bosses and pursued by men. But as Olivia tries to piece together an adulthood without her mother to guide her, she makes a shocking discovery: a secret romantic correspondence her mother had with a man who only signed each letter "F.? As she tries to untangle the mystery of F, Olivia will journey halfway across the world, to an ashram in rural India, on a quest that will reconfigure everything Olivia thought she knew about her family and her own place in an increasingly complex world. A profoundly moving and keenly observed contemplation of the debts we owe to the past and the ways we discover our futures, Alternative Remedies for Loss is the rare sort of book that can break and mend your heart in a single and unforgettable read.
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review
SandyW
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Panpan

Meh.

I did not like Olivia. I can give her a pass on some of her behaviors because she just lost her mother. But what she did with G and Marcel (clients of her employers)?!? That's not cute or excusable behavior, there's a word for it, and it's not flattering.

Olivia exhibits some character growth by the end of her story, but you barely get a hint of it before the book quickly wraps.

Cantor writes well so I'll definitely consider her next book.

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mrozzz
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It‘s a little birthday #BookHaul 🙂🙃🙂
Used gift cards and only spent $5! Win! 📚📚📚📚📚📚

Kaylamburson Happy Birthday!!!! Is that today?!? 6y
Melissa_J Happy Birthday 🎉🎂🎈 6y
mrozzz Yes it is! @Kaylamburson 🙂🙃💗 Thank youuuu 6y
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mrozzz Thanks!! @Melissa_J 😄💕 6y
Kaylamburson Awww yay!! I hope it was the absolute best day!!! Book deals always mean a good day tho!! 💜😊🎉🎂🎈 6y
mrozzz Too true! 💜 It was good, but yesterday was awesome! Still giddy over Amber Tamblyn @Kaylamburson 6y
kspenmoll Great haul! happy belated birthday! Hope it was wonderful🎉💕🎂 6y
Purrfectpages Happy belated birthday! 6y
mrozzz Thank you very much!! @kspenmoll @Purrfectpages it‘s been a great week ☺️💜 6y
rather_be_reading awesome! 6y
109 likes2 stack adds10 comments
review
tinaisreading
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Mehso-so

The writing and premise of this book are really great, and I enjoyed the beginning where Olivia is in the city. As the story progresses, however, I became frustrated at the lack of development or arc for the main character. She became too blatantly spoiled and obliviously self-indulgent for me to truly enjoy where this narrative went.

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StellarDoc
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Bibliosmiast
Mehso-so

Olivia is a young, strong, and surprisingly mature, woman who is in a constant state of search. Though many of her decisions are wrong, or at least not the best ones, she approaches them with determination and obligation. The writing and the novel were easy to read and I especially felt drawn to the descriptions of her time in India, and learning about the culture and the ashram.

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oddandbookish
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Pickpick

Incredible well written coming of age novel. Full review is on my blog: oddandbookish.wordpress.com

61 likes4 stack adds