Evening by Susan Minot

I’m a little bit indecisive about this book. Sometimes it has the strength of an Olympic runner. Other times it plods along with the sap-laden jog of a paperback romance. It’s basically the story of Ann Lord, who in the present time is dying of cancer. The narrative jumps back and forth between different time periods of her life, the most consistent being a wedding she attended in her 20s when she met Harris, the only man she ever really loved. The story sets you up with a secret that you’re hoping the author will reveal. And it’s a pretty good one. But, despite Minot’s artistry in the first two-thirds of the book, sometimes it was just too high in sugar content. The main sex scene, for instance, was so drawn out and predictable that I took a break in the middle of it and baked a chicken. But I accomplished my goal of reading the book before the movie came out and that’s what really counts. Favorite Quote: “It was important that someone always be talking otherwise the silence took hold like a Virginia creeper invading a garden and darkened the air with what was going on in the room, the battle with pain, the downhill journey. It was not discussed that they were all here to see her off. They brought in bits of the world and when there was silence the absurdity of conversation was too apparent.”