Book Review: The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D.

This book jumped out at me from the recent acquisitions shelf at our library.  I think what appealed to me most was the idea of the epistolary format (I'm a sucker for that).  It turned out to be a pretty good read.

Kate Spencer loses her friend Elizabeth in a sudden accident shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 2001.  Almost a year later, she learns that Elizabeth bequeathed her antique chest full of journals to Kate because "she's fair and sensitive and would know what should be done with them."  Kate spends her summer vacation on Great Rock Island poring over the journals and getting to know her friend more intimately than she'd ever expected.  The new vision she forms of Elizabeth is quite unlike the person she thought she knew and secrets come out that are difficult to handle.

I loved how this novel explored the appearances we put up as mothers, that sense of having it all together when we really are drowning in the details of diapers and preschools and the minutiae of motherhood.  It made me really pause to think about who I would want to read my most personal writings.  It also made me wonder what sorts of things others are harboring secretly which would change my whole impression.  The novel is full of philosophical thoughts about fate, friendship, marriage, private dreams and ambitions, secrecy, and the fears of life.  I would probably give it 3-1/2 stars.