Received this book as a Christmas gift from a member in my bookclub. Although it wasn't something I'd normally choose for myself, I read it easily in two days. Stephen Lovely's story of how one family's loss of a loved one enables another to live through the gift of organ donation was truly heart-wrenching (no pun intended). It makes me wonder how closely he's had to deal with it. If you're looking for a light read with a flowery ending, this isn't it. But if you're looking to delve into the real world of losing or gaining a loved one through tragedy, Mr. Lovely tells the story brilliantly. I have mixed feeling about this one - yet another novel about organ donation. Sigh. It's the first one I've seen however that paints a picture of the problems of life post-heart transplant. Not a happy picture but realistic and worth capturing. On the other hand I found it too drawn out and wordy, and the connections with the guy who killed Isabel improbable. Would a mother-in-law behave as Bernice did? Unlikely. I was left with a rather low feeling at the end of it.
Very good if you can get through technical descriptions of heart transplants.
—turtlesarealive
Too slow. Got bored and quit 1/3 of the way thru.
—madi
Gave it 50 pages before I gave up. Boring!!
—Dae
Tedious writing concerning organ donation.
—theroseandthefeather
Depressing. Interesting, but depressing.
—bakahui212
