Hannah Coulter

Somehow, everything I am reading at the moment relates to our relationship to place. This novel in the voice of an elderly woman, twice married, mother of three, looking back over a long life in a small Kentucky community, has a small frame of reference yet encompasses the big questions about how to live a life - and to let go of attachments - to parents, children, lost loved-ones, hopes, dreams and especially, the past. The protagonist sometimes seems like a ventriloquist for Wendell Berry in her wise observations but stays on the right side of sentimentality. The war, although off-stage - is another theme that underlies the novel - what actually happened and how it reverberates through the lives of those at a distance.

I loved this book - it tells the life story of one woman, it is happy, sad, reflective, humourous.... While I really enjoyed Jayber Crow and Nathan Coulter, this is my favourite.

I love this writer, who portrays rural America with realistic verve and a strong nod to the future, whilst recalling the past.

This was a wonderful novel, probably the best book I've read in a long time.It's a slow, sweet, sad and happy story of an old woman's life. She talks about what is important and what she learned over the years in regular family life.I felt that even though the book is set a while ago. It's got wisdom for now. That life isn't always perfect. That sometimes it isn't perfect because of the choices we made.It's a book full of wisdom and learning, and I want to read all of Wendell Berry's books now.

This was a good read for me. There is a lot of wisdom shared as an older woman reflects on her life, love, sadness, people who meant things to her, family, belonging, and the relationships people form with the land and nature. I'd recommend Hannah Coulter as a book club read, or just a good read that causes the reader to reflect on what is important in life.