Book Review: The Goodbye Quilt by Susan Wiggs

ISBN:978-0778329961
Publisher: Mira
Hardback: 250 pages
One Word Review: Thoughtful

Publisher's Description:

Linda Davis's local fabric shop is a place where women gather to share their creations: quilts commemorating important events in their lives. Wedding quilts, baby quilts, memorial quilts—each is bound tight with dreams, hopes and yearnings.

Now, as her only child readies for college, Linda is torn between excitement for Molly and heartache for herself. Who will she be when she is no longer needed in her role as mom? What will become of her days? Of her marriage?

Mother and daughter decide to share one last adventure together—a cross-country road trip to move Molly into her dorm. As they wend their way through the heart of the country, Linda stitches together the scraps that make up Molly's young life. And in the quilting of each bit of fabric—the hem of a christening gown, a snippet from a Halloween costume—Linda discovers that the memories of a shared journey can come together in a way that will keep them both warm in the years to come….

I had mixed feelings about this book.

First, the not so good. Let me preface by saying that this is most likely particular to my situation. I am a quilter, and I have worked for a quilt shop, and as a professional quilter, for 13 years. Because of that, I think the quilting theme, while possibly quaint to other readers (and something I thought I would enjoy as well), was somewhat tedious to me. I imagine it's like someone who works in a book shop reading a novel set in a book shop. I adore books like that. For booksellers, perhaps it just reminds them of work. That was an issue, not the only issue, but still something that lessened my enjoyment. The other problem I had with the book was that it seemed slow at times. It was almost like reading what could have been a short story that dragged for a bit too long. It was very emotive and not much in the way of action,. Lots more going on in the main character's mind than actually moving the story along. This isn't so much a fault of the book, more just a style preference of my own. I personally prefer more plot and less introspection.

Now, the good. The book was beautifully written, and the style was lovely. At times, I admit I had to look up a word or two - Ms. Wiggs obviously has an excellent vocabulary - but it never felt pretentious, just smartly written. While I would have liked to see the relationship between the husband and wife fleshed out a bit more, I found the characters to be well-written and easily relatable. On the whole, it is a quick and enjoyable read, and I believe those who appreciate introspective, emotional fiction will really love this book.

Book Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

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