The End of Your Life Book Club
Ratings20
Average rating4.1
15
Ratings20
Average rating4.1
Mary Anne Schwalbe was an educator who worked at Harvard University before devoting herself to the cause of refugees, as founding director of an organisation that brought her to the world's most desperate places. But her story here begins at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where, accompanied by her publisher son, she is waiting for chemotherapy treatments to begin. As they've always done, they talk about what they're reading, and the conversation grows into tradition: soon they are reading the same books in order to talk about them as Mary Anne is given her treatments. The books they read range from classic to popular, from fantastic to spiritual, and we hear their passion for reading and their love for each other in their dynamic and searching discussions around each one. They also explore how books tell you not only what you need to do in your own life but also in the world. An inspiring and profoundly moving book: Will's love letter to his mother, and theirs to the printed page.
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Will Schwalbe's mom is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Will and his mom decide to form an informal two-person book club and set off reading and talking about books they wish to share with each other.
And that's this book. Will's mom, it turns out, is an amazing person, with a long history of working to help the unfortunate around the world, especially refugees. We get to know his mom so well that we are terribly saddened by her (inevitable) death.
Any reader will love this story, finding herself rapidly adding title after title to her wish list as she reads along. Beautiful.
I wanted to write a glowing review of this book, but I find that I feel as if I will be digesting it, and learning from it for days, weeks, and even months to come. I've gained some perspective on a few things in my own life, and a rather substantial list of possible books to read from it, and I know that those are not the only contributions it's made to me.
A review would simply not do it any justice as every single person who reads this is bound to take something completely different from it, as it affects the differing aspects of their life.
It was not life-changing, but I enjoyed it enough to read it in one sitting. First, because Mary Ann Schwalbe was really someone worthy reading about, the kind of person who makes you a bit ashamed of yourself. Maybe I'm being condescending. Maybe you have fought for refugees, raised money for a public library in Afeghanistan and helped in a refugees' camp. I haven't, so I did feel ashamed of myself for my small complaints of everyday life, especially because it doesn't sound as if she felt she was some kind of hero, but only she was privileged enough to be able to help, and did so.
That said, if you enjoy books, it is enough reason to read it; they discuss interesting ones, on different topics such as religion, foreign culture or contemporary fiction, and I ended up with a small list of titles to my TBR.
