Evensong

 

Evensong by Stewart O'Nan

Fiction

2025

Finished on October 27, 2025

Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

An intimate, moving novel that follows The Humpty Dumpty Club, a group of women of a certain age who band together to help one another and their circle of friends in Pittsburgh as they face the challenges of their golden years

The Humpty Dumpty Club is distraught when their powerhouse leader, Joan Hargrove, takes a bad fall down her stairs, knocking her out of commission. Now, as well as running errands and shepherding those less able to their doctors’ appointments, they have to pick up the slack.

Between navigating their own relationships and aging bodies and attending choir practice, these invisible yet indomitable women help where they can. They bake cookies, they care for pets, they pick up prescriptions, they sit vigil by the sick, and most of all, they show up for the people they’ve pledged to help. In the face of death, divorce, and the myriad directions our lives can take, the Humpty Dumpty club represents the power of community and chosen family.

Weaving together the perspectives of the four cardinal members as they tend to those in need, Stewart O’Nan revisits beloved characters from his past work -- most notably Emily Maxwell -- to fashion a rich and moving novel that celebrates our capacity for patience and care. Vivid, warm, and often wryly funny, Evensong reminds us that life is made up of moments both climactic and quotidian, and we weather those moments with the people we choose to keep close.

I rarely get any ARCs anymore since I no longer work in a bookstore. But every now and then I win a book from Goodreads, so I enter their giveaways whenever I see one for a book I'm eager to read. I was thrilled to win an ARC of Stewart O'Nan's new book, Evensong, setting aside another book that I had just begun in order to read O'Nan's before its publication date. I've read several of his books, some of which I loved, but others that missed the mark. When I saw that Evensong returned to Emily Maxwell's story, I was even more excited to settle in and read what I was certain would be another 5-star book. Sadly, it did not live up to my admittedly high expectations. 

I enjoyed certain aspects of Evensong, especially those told from Emily's point of view, as well as those depicting the characters' love of their pets, but much of the book was slow and dull. Some may find the backstories (or lack thereof) of a few of the characters confusing, so this may be a book that needs to be read after reading O'Nan's Maxwell trilogy (Wish You Were Here, Emily, Alone and Henry, Himself). I have always intended to read these a second time, but I now wonder if they'll be as good as I remember. 

My reviews for the books I've read of O'Nan's:

Emily, Alone (4.75/5)

Henry, Himself (5/5)

Wish You Were Here (3/5)

Ocean State (2/5)

Last Night at the Lobster (2/5)

I received a complimentary copy from Atlantic Monthly Press. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Ocean State

 

Ocean State by Stewart O'Nan

Fiction

2022 Atlantic Monthly Press

Finished on August 28, 2023

Rating: 2/5 (Fair) - reduced on 9/1 from 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Set in a working-class town on the Rhode Island coast, O'Nan's latest is a crushing, beautifully written, and profoundly compelling novel about sisters, mothers, and daughters, and the terrible things love makes us do.

In the first line of Ocean State, we learn that a high school student was murdered, and we find out who did it. The story that unfolds from there with incredible momentum is thus one of the build-up to and fall-out from the murder, told through the alternating perspectives of the four women at its heart. Angel, the murderer, Carol, her mother, and Birdy, the victim, all come alive on the page as they converge in a climax both tragic and inevitable. Watching over it all is the retrospective testimony of Angel's younger sister Marie, who reflects on that doomed autumn of 2009 with all the wisdom of hindsight. Angel and Birdy love the same teenage boy, frantically and single mindedly, and are compelled by the intensity of their feelings to extremes neither could have anticipated. O'Nan's expert hand paints a fully realized portrait of these women, but also weaves a compelling and heartbreaking story of working-class life in Ashaway, Rhode Island. Propulsive, moving, and deeply rendered, Ocean State is a masterful novel by one of our greatest storytellers.

Meh. I was tempted to give Ocean State a 2/5 rating, but rounded up since it kept me reading late in the night, eager to learn the outcome of the murder. [Dropped it down to a 2/5 after giving it more thought.] I didn't care for any of the characters, and thought both girls were naive and foolish, trapped in a love triangle gone wrong. I also found it somewhat difficult to keep track of the two main characters until I was several chapters into the book. I have read other novels by O'Nan, which were much more relatable. Emily, Alone and Henry, Himself are two of my favorite books by this author. 

If you don't mind a lot of teenage angst, and enjoy Stewart O'Nan's writing, borrow this one from the library. 

My reviews for the books I've read of O'Nan's:

Emily, Alone (4.75/5)

Henry, Himself (5/5)

Wish You Were Here (3/5)

Last Night at the Lobster (2/5)

Wish You Were Here

Wish You Were Here by Stewart O'Nan
Fiction
2002 Grove Press
Finished on November 12, 2019
Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

A year after the death of her husband, Henry, Emily Maxwell gathers her family by Lake Chautauqua in western New York for what will be their last vacation at their summer cottage. Joining her is her sister-in-law, who silently mourns both the sale of the lake house and a long-lost love. Emily's firebrand daughter, a recovering alcoholic recently separated from her husband, brings her children from Detroit. Emily's son, who has quit his job and mortgaged his future to pursue his art, comes accompanied by his children and his wife. Memories of past summers resurface, old rivalries flare up, and love is rekindled and born anew, resulting in a timeless novel by one of our most engaging storytellers.

Wish You Were Here is the first installment in O'Nan's Maxwell trilogy. I wouldn't normally read a series out of order, but I didn't know about this book when I read Emily, Alone several years ago. When I spotted Henry, Himself (the most recent book by O'Nan) on the shelf at the library, I was eager to read it since I loved Emily, Alone. I loved it, as well, so I decided to buy a copy of Wish You Were Here. I don't know why, since I rarely ever buy books anymore, but I was so sure it would be another winner. Well... it's probably a good thing that I didn't read this book when it was first published or I may not have gone on to read the other two. Not a lot happens in any of these books, as they are character studies of the Maxwell family, but this one left me wanting more. I was drawn in from the opening pages, but as I continued to read, I found myself bored with the characters' frustrations, jealousies and complaints. Emily and Henry are the stars of their respective books, but Wish You Were Here is told from all nine of the characters' points-of-view. Mundane details of a single week at the lakeside cottage are hardly riveting (as one reviewer claims), and I became frustrated with the multiple POVs, unable to keep track of which character (mainly the four children) was which. Yet, I couldn't quite give it up. Now knowing the backstory to the subsequent novels, I'm eager to reread Emily, Alone. If O'Nan decides to write another book about this family, I doubt I'll bother, that is unless it's told from Rufus' (the family dog) POV!

Henry, Himself

Henry, Himself by Stewart O'Nan
Fiction
2019 Viking
Finished on August 9, 2019
Rating: 5/5 (Excellent!)

Publisher's Blurb:

A member of the greatest generation looks back on the loves and losses of his past and comes to treasure the present anew in this poignant and thoughtful new novel from a modern master

Stewart O’Nan is renowned for illuminating the unexpected grace of everyday life and the resilience of ordinary people with humor, intelligence, and compassion. In this prequel to the beloved Emily, Alone, he offers an unsentimental, moving life story of a twentieth-century everyman.

Soldier, son, lover, husband, breadwinner, churchgoer, Henry Maxwell has spent his whole life trying to live with honor. A native Pittsburgher and engineer, he’s always believed in logic, sacrifice, and hard work. Now, seventy-five and retired, he feels the world has passed him by. It’s 1998, the American century is ending, and nothing is simple anymore. His children are distant, their unhappiness a mystery. Only his wife Emily and dog Rufus stand by him. Once so confident, as Henry’s strength and memory desert him, he weighs his dreams against his regrets and is left with questions he can’t answer: Is he a good man? Has he done right by the people he loves? And with time running out, what, realistically, can he hope for?

Like Emily, Alone, Henry, Himself is a wry, warmhearted portrait of an American original who believes he’s reached a dead end only to discover life is full of surprises.

Emily, Alone (which I absolutely loved) tells the story of Emily Maxwell after the death of her husband, Henry. Now O'Nan turns back the clock and gives us this remarkable prequel, showing us Henry's point-of-view as a husband and a father. This character-driven novel is comprised of short chapters (or vignettes), which share the details of everyday life ranging from concerns and worries for adult children (and grandchildren) to mundane chores such as tending a lawn, making an ATM bank deposit or outsmarting a mouse. At seventy-five, Henry is well-aware of his mortality, scanning the obituaries and paying close attention to the age of those listed in the columns. With all the struggles and frustrations that come with marriage and parenthood, Henry is patient and understanding while Emily is more brusque and testy. After nearly 50 years of marriage, they no longer need to fill their conversations with inane chatter or lengthy explanations. They know each other so well, they can speak in the briefest of sentences and know what the other is thinking. Well, for the most part. Even the closest relationships have misunderstandings. While their love is long-standing and faithful, O'Nan shares Henry's insecurities and weaknesses, creating one of the most well-drawn and vivid male character I've encountered in a novel.

I loved this deeply affecting book for its honest glimpse into a man's heart and mind. Not since The Arrivals (Meg Mitchell Moore) have I read something so profoundly real with regard to family dynamics.  I can't say that I always know what my own husband is thinking or feeling, but after nearly 31 years of marriage, I can guess what he will say after reading this review. "Sounds like an excruciatingly boring book!" I disagree and I look forward to reading Wish You Were Here (which is the first in this trilogy) before giving Emily, Alone a second reading. Bravo, Mr. O'Nan. This is a gem.

Click here to learn more about the novel.

Emily, Alone

Emily, Alone by Stewart O'Nan
Fiction
2011 Penguin
Finished 12/23/12
Rating: 4.75/5 (Terrific!)



 
Publisher's Blurb:

It's the fall of 2007 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The upcoming presidential race is starting to take shape. The Steelers are on the march to a division title. But on Grafton Street near Highland Park, the days and nights can be disturbingly quiet for Emily Maxwell, a woman in her late seventies still trying to adjust to life without her beloved and recently deceased husband, Henry. With her old cadre of friends dwindling one by one and her two adult children living far away and wrapped up in their own lives, Emily does her best to fill her days by listening to classical music on the radio, reading George Eliot and Thomas Hardy, and caring for her aging but obstreperous dog Rufus. She lives an outwardly placid life of visits to art museums, gossip at her club, and two-for-one buffet breakfasts at the Eat 'n Park with her sister-in-law Arlene. That placidity is shattered, however, when, one morning at the Eat 'n Park, Arlene's speech suddenly garbles and she collapses to the floor. Arlene, after a brief stay at the hospital, is fine, but is Emily? Forced more than ever to look to her own resources, more conscious than ever that her own remaining time on earth will not likely be long, Emily quietly and slowly resumes a more active control of her life, determined to fill the days that she has left with thought, emotion, and meaning.

In Emily, Alone, with supreme sensitivity and exquisite detail, novelist Stewart O'Nan follows Emily through the better part of a year, illuminating her daily tasks, her holiday celebrations, and her unspoken yearnings and disappointments. In the pages of Emily, Alone readers already familiar with the Maxwell family from O'Nan's earlier novel Wish You Were Here are reunited with Emily's recovering alcoholic daughter Margaret and diligent, eager-to-please son Kenneth. Those who are meeting the family for the first time may find themselves strangely familiar with both the ties of emotion and experience that bind the Maxwells together and the subtle tensions that complicate their interactions. With a rare deftness of observation and minuteness of description, O'Nan shows us not merely a family but family itself—the sturdy but sensitive web that assumes so many different shapes but is somehow everywhere the same.

Eager for love but also unable to resist her need to direct the lives of her relatives, Emily Maxwell continually walks an emotional tightrope, striving simultaneously to recruit affection from her children and grandchildren but also to remind them that grandmother knows best. Ever conscious of her age and the widening gap between her own ideas and the mainstream of her society, she walks other tightropes as well: between a consciousness of change and a yearning for stasis; between the lengthening past and the shortening future; between the enduring preciousness of life and the inevitability of death. In Emily, Alone, Stewart O'Nan infuses the everyday with a miraculous vividness and urgency. Through Emily Maxwell, he firmly declares that no life is ordinary.

I loved this book! It was just the right thing to read during the busy holiday season, as the chapters are short (almost vignettes) and I could easily pick it up and set it down without losing interest. I loved Emily (and her loyal dog, Rufus) and I found myself nodding my head, feeling a bit like I was seeing a glimpse of my future self in some of Emily's situations and emotions. It also brought to mind memories of my maternal grandmother (who lived alone for 11 years after the death of my grandfather), as well as reflecting on my relationships with my mother (who turns 80 this year) and my daughter (who will be 30!).

One might consider the subject of an elderly widow too depressing, but I thought it was an uplifting novel and one in which O'Nan deftly paints a realistic portrait of the aging. The only other book I've read by this author is Last Night at the Lobster and I wasn't terribly impressed, although I sure had fun writing my review. I doubt I would have given Emily, Alone a second glance, had I not read Nan's wonderful review. I encourage you to visit her blog and see what she has to say about this gem of a book. She has included several passages that will give you an idea of the author's superb attention to detail. 

Final Thoughts: This one's a keeper! I am definitely adding Wish You Were Here and The Odds to my 2013 reading list!

Last Night at the Lobster

Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan
Contemporary Fiction
Copyright 2007
Finished 1/30/08
Rating: 2/5 (Below Average)



Book Description

Stewart O’Nan has been called “the bard of the working class” and has now crafted a frank and funny yet emotionally resonant tale set within a vivid workaday world seldom seen in contemporary fiction.

Perched in the far corner of a run-down New England mall, The Red Lobster hasn’t been making its numbers and headquarters has pulled the plug. But manager Manny DeLeon still needs to navigate a tricky last shift. With only four shopping days left until Christmas, Manny must convince his near-mutinous staff to hunker down and serve the final onslaught of hungry retirees, lunatics, and holiday office parties. All the while, he’s wondering how to handle the waitress he’s still in love with, his pregnant girlfriend at home, and the perfect present he still needs to buy.

Last Night at the Lobster is a poignant yet redemptive look at what a man does when he discovers that his best might not be good enough.


Like most teenagers of my generation, my first real job was in the food industry; Carl's Jr., to be precise. I had been babysitting for relatives and neighborhood families since I was 11, but I was tired of crying babies and $2.50 an hour and decided to give the restaurant biz a try. My older brothers were making much better money working in real restaurants. (You know. The kind where the wait staff seats you and brings the food to your table in return for a nice tip!) David had worked at Smitty's Pancake House, as well as Sizzler; Neal and Mark both worked for Marie Callender's. (Mmmmmm. The day-old strawberry pies they got to bring home were such a treat!) Ok, I admit it. Working in a real restaurant was too intimidating for this klutz. What if I mixed up an order? What if I tripped carrying one of those huge trays of food?! (How do they carry those things??) Chris wound up at McDonald's, so I opted for Carl's, since it was less than a mile from our house -- close enough to ride my bike when I couldn't borrow Mom's car.


I enjoyed my three- or four-year stint at good 'ol Carl's. The crew felt like a close-knit family, complete with the favorites, not-so-favorites, and annoying siblings. And, of course there were the "regulars" that I can still remember like it was yesterday: The homeless man who came in every morning, absolutely filthy; matted, dirty hair and dirty hands that looked like they were tan, they were so covered with grime. He had a wild, crazy look about him and never said a word other than to place his order: One coffee and 8 sugar packets. He would count out his money, all dirty pennies and dimes, yet always enough for his order. We took pity on this man and occasionally pitched in to buy him a breakfast or lunch. He never made eye contact, wandering off into the dining area to drink cup after cup of coffee (refills were free) until he disappeared 'til the next time. I think he lived under the freeway overpass near my house...

And then there was the charming elderly couple who came in every morning, holding hands while they ordered their usual pancake breakfast and coffee. (He took his with two creamers, but didn't like them to be cold so we took them out of the dairy fridge when we opened at 6 am.) They would always chat with the morning crew, talking about the weather or their grandkids. They were the epitome of a happily-ever-after and I hoped to someday marry someone who would grown old along with me just like they had.

And as long as I live, I'll never forget the young woman with a cute, chubby little baby boy. He had the prettiest blond hair and huge blue eyes. We all loved to make him smile and laugh, and oohed and aahed over his first teeth and steps across the lobby floor. Such a happy little guy. And of course, we all loved to slip an extra hamburger or milk in his mama's bag since we knew she too was homeless. We all worried about her and the baby when they missed a day or two, wondering where they were and if they were warm enough. (Yes, it gets cold in San Diego!) It just occurred to me that that little baby is now somewhere around 30 years old! I wonder what ever became of him and his mama...

I had some good times at Carl's. Ate too many Famous Stars with Cheese (hold the pickles and onions), but it was fun, especially when someone called out, "We've got a bus!" There was a great sense of camaraderie, and while I don't remember too many of my co-workers' names, I do remember sitting back in the break room, gossiping or complaining about a customer, employee or corporate rules. I remember going home after closing, so wound up I couldn't fall asleep for hours. (So, of course I read.) I remember the stink of grease on my polyester uniform and the God-awful hairnet and hat we were required to wear. I remember learning how to do the supply order and how cold that walk-in freezer got when you had to spend 10 or 15 minutes inside, working the inventory numbers. (And trying not to worry about getting locked in and wondering if I was strong enough to use the ax that was mounted on the wall. Come to think of it, what was I supposed to chop, exactly? The door was metal!). I also remember when one of the assistant managers came rushing around to the back-line after close only to step right into a hot vat of fryer grease! Fortunately, I wasn't working that shift. I don't do well in emergencies and that would have been horrific.

So you'd think Last Night at the Lobster would resonate more strongly with me and score a much higher rating than I've given it. Unfortunately, slim as it is (146 pages), I was constantly flipping to the end to see how much more I had to slog through to get to the last page. Clichéd characters that failed to evoke any feelings of sympathy (along with a thin plot) left me hoping for something much more substantial. Maybe you really do have to have worked in a real restaurant to appreciate this book. I have a few friends who thought it was very good, so don't be too quick to dismiss it. You can probably read it over a nice slice of pie and coffee at your local diner!