Ethan Joella

As long as we’re under the same stars, my dad used to say, there’s still a chance. from The Same Bright Stars by Ethan Joella

Jack Schmidt inherited the family beachside restaurant in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. His grandfather had built it, and after it burned down, it was rebuilt. His father took it over, and Jack literally grew up there, for after his mother’s tragic, early death he hung out there after school and worked there summers. Jack met his first love on the beach. The memory of the joy and the pain haunts him, as do the short years he had together with his beloved mother.

At fifty-two years old, Jack was married to the restaurant. His staff was his family. The long hours and responsibility are wearing him out. Someone has been stealing small amounts of money. It’s one more worry.

He has an offer to buy the restaurant. It would make him wealthy and give him time to enjoy life. But he feels a responsibility to his heritage and to his staff. The DelDine group buys family restaurants and strips them of the family atmosphere, turns them into upscale, trendy, efficiently run businesses.

Nicole is the DelDine representative working to close the deal. She appeared to be the enemy, but reveals a vulnerable side as she and Jack get to know each other better. She doesn’t change Jack–he changes her.

Jack’s long time girlfriend gave up on him and had moved away ears ago, but is back in town to care for her dying mother. The attraction is still there. But she reveals a stunning secret she had long kept from him. It turns Jack’s world around.

Deep psychological insight into the characters makes for a rich story. It starts slow, then builds up to scenes of great emotional intensity. It is a wonderfully satisfying story of a man adapting to change, to opening to new possibilities.

Thanks to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.… (altro)

A good character story focused on loss among three different characters. Chuck is dealing with the loss of his wife of many years, Kirsten is dealing with the sudden loss of her father, and Ella is dealing with the loss of her daughter from her life. All three characters will cross paths, as they journey through their loss on their quest to truly live again. There are good insights into living with loss of a loved one, and the story is uplifting.

I struggle between rating it three or four stars. I both read the book and listened to the audiobook, and I think that the reader for Ella is the one that gives me pause before leaning towards a four-star. When I listen to her character, I was put off. I did not have the same reaction to Chuck or Kirsten. I guess that just shows how important it is to have the right reader in an audiobook.… (altro)

I heard nothing but rave reviews for Ethan Joella's sophomore novel, A Quiet Life, so I picked it up in hardcover. It is exactly as it claims on the tin: a quiet life. It is a slow, introspective story about grief and loss and life.

Chuck, an older man who lost his wife to cancer and finds himself emotionally unable to go on the vacation they took together every year, Kirsten, a young woman whose whole life trajectory changed after her father's senseless death in a gas station shooting, and Ella, a hardworking, single mother whose young daughter has been kidnapped by her ex, all come together in this emotionally resonant story. None of these three know what to do with their grief and guilt, or, indeed, with their futures. All of them are stuck and suffering, trying to put one foot in front of the other.

All three characters are ordinary people and although no loss is the same, each of them is in a similar holding pattern. The novel is quite character driven, and rotates between the three characters' stories. The eventual intersections between the characters are convenient in that small town Hallmark movie sort of way and the book does read a bit like a heartwarming movie. The characters were often not much more than their struggles and the introspective writing means this likely won't be particularly memorable for me. The pacing was uneven with the ending speeding up significantly and it was predictably satisfying, the latter of which can be good or bad depending on your reading mood. If you're looking for a hopeful novel about people healing themselves with the help of community, you'll find what you're looking for in the pages of this one.… (altro)