Reviews for One Vacant Chair

The average rating for One Vacant Chair based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-07-18 00:00:00 Leo Goulet I enjoyed this as I read it. I chuckled at everyday conversations and I mused about the troubles that occur and the topics that are touched upon. It felt genuine; what is delivered is what people really do say to each other. This is a book where it is the passage that is the point rather than the end. The central theme is relationships - primarily between husband and wife, but also within an entire family. The husband is unfaithful and the wife, well, she must figure out whether to leave or stay. Can she build something new from the life they had shared before? Does she want to? There are two daughters in college; they are in the process of leaving the nest. In this respect, the theme is broader. It is about how marital relationship change over the years and about gaining a sense of who you are as an individual. One is not merely an appendage to another. Sure you are a wife and a daughter and a mother and a granddaughter too, but who are you on your own? That is the central question of this book. What do you want to make of yourself? Other themes are covered. Art. Why does an artist create? For herself or for others? Who do you do things for? For yourself or for others? How do you perceive yourself? Should one stay where one is born or should one go out and see the world? Interracial marriage and euthanasia and illness and impaired senses and death and ultimately what you do with your life while you have it. There are no definitive answers, neither in the book nor in real life. Yes, the book has humor. - "That woman's kitchen is a one butt kitchen." - The phone call from the girls was just "one long complaint". - "I thought I was a real cup of hot chocolate." The humor is a comment on normal life and normal people. The lines switch from making you smile to making you think. - "Painting isn't for bill paying. Painting is for painting." - "What we see emanates from us." - "Nobody should make up rules about art, not even for beginners." - "It doesn't matter what you paint, Sarah, but your manner of treating it should be respectful." - "Everybody makes their hands with the kind of work they do." - "Nothing makes you feel more rotten than lying to your kids." - "The hurt doesn't dissolve the love." - "We are losing her, but she is losing all of us." - "At last, a chair is simply a stable platform for repose." I am not giving the book more stars because at times the lines drown in metaphors and because the book just sort of stops. I would have appreciated more of an ending. The audiobook is narrated by Lee Ann Howlett. There is an accent, and I am guessing that it is a southern accent I am hearing. The family is from Texas. The intonation used for Sarah gives a strong sense of who she is. It is she that is telling us what happens. This is her story. It is easy to distinguish between Sarah and her aunt, who is 18 years older. Sarah is 44. These are the two central characters. The older paints pictures of chairs, the younger Christmas ornaments. When the two women travel to Scotland we do not hear Scottish dialect. The narration is clear and easy to follow.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-06-08 00:00:00 Christopher Gilpin I decided to read this book after reading John's review a while ago. I'm glad I did. It's different than my usual in setting and characters and ultimately was quite different than what I expected. I won't go heavily into plot other than to say the primary characters are Sarah, a 44 year old woman who has left her husband because he cheated on her. She can't decide whether to reconcile or divorce. She is taking advantage, in a sense, of the death of her grandmother, by moving in with her Aunt Edna after the funeral, and offering to help distribute grandma's ashes to Scotland. The author, who is male, does an admirable job, in capturing these women, primarily through Sarah's narration and their conversation. Part of their bond is also art as Edna has been painting for years while Sarah has turned her art to working for greeting card companies. both women have expressed and unexpressed frustrations; the plot holds some foreshadowed changes. Very early hints are easy to miss. There are moments I chuckled and smiled at the characters (or with them). These are moments I always enjoy in any novel. I found this a quietly enjoyable novel with some twists and turns. I've seen quirky mentioned which also describes it. Probably not everyones cup of tea but it was good for me.