Before I Go: A Book Club Recommendation!
by Colleen Oakley
- Used
- Paperback
- Condition
- 4.1 PB extra nice +5%
- ISBN 10
- 1476761671
- ISBN 13
- 9781476761671
- Seller
-
Peoria, Illinois, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Gallery Books, July 2015. Paper Back . 4.1 PB extra nice +5%.
Reviews
On Dec 30 2014, CloggieDownunder said:
Before I Go is the first novel by American author, Colleen Oakley. In February, almost three years after being declared cancer-free, twenty-seven year old Daisy Richmond discovers she has won the cancer lottery twice. And this second win is the big one: she will not survive. And once she accepts that fact, she suddenly begins to worry about Jack: how will her loving but disorganised husband cope without her there to manage his life, to scratch his back where he can’t reach, to cook him meals, bear his children and save him from suffocating in a sea of discarded socks?
As Daisy narrates current events, the reaction of family and close friends to this latest news, her own progress through the stages of grief, and her secret search for a wife for Jack, the reader is given glimpses of Daisy’s earlier life: her childhood with her widowed mother, meeting Jack, her first cancer diagnosis, her career. She actually finds the woman who ticks all the boxes for what she believes Jack needs, but when they meet, things don’t quite turn out how Daisy had anticipated. Is this a case of “be careful what you wish for….”?
Whether or not this is an authentic depiction of how a dying woman with a brain tumour would think and react can, of course, only be confirmed by someone in that situation, but this book will certainly elicit in the reader some consideration as well as laughter and a lump in the throat. There is plenty of humour in what could have been a sombre tale: Daisy’s inner monologue is sometimes serious, but often funny; her use of Capitals (“…now that I have Lots of Cancer…”), her vivid imagination, the banter with Jack and the honest brevity of her best friend Kayliegh, all create laugh-out-loud moments.
Oakley employs some lovely descriptive prose (“…the irreversible rush of emotions that overtakes everything when you first are falling in love. It’s like trying to stop a flood with a chain-link fence. Impossible.”) and while the characters are not all instantly appealing, and the end is predictable, the journey is enjoyable and worthwhile. Readers will look forward to more from Oakley.
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Details
- Bookseller
- The Book Nook (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 943395
- Title
- Before I Go: A Book Club Recommendation!
- Author
- Colleen Oakley
- Format/Binding
- Paper Back
- Book Condition
- Used - 4.1 PB extra nice +5%
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10
- 1476761671
- ISBN 13
- 9781476761671
- Publisher
- Gallery Books
- Date Published
- July 2015
- Pages
- 336
Terms of Sale
The Book Nook
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
The Book Nook
Biblio member since 2018
Peoria, Illinois
About The Book Nook
We started out as a small used book store about 20 years ago. We occupied a small storefront with approx. 1000 square feet. We would find books wherever we could. Frequenting estate sales, garage sales, and auctions was a normal occurrence for us. Bringing our customers the best quality books for an even better price was our goal.We now occupy four storefronts with approx. 7000 square feet and stock well over 200,000 items. We process approx 150-400 used books each day through our trade credit program. New items hit the shelves each and every day! Through it all we still strive for the same goal. TO BRING YOU THE BEST QUALITY BOOKS FOR AN AFFORDABLE PRICE.
Glossary
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