"Off Season"-A Book Of Love And Loss

I normally read Anne Rivers Siddons when I need a "feel good read". While "Off Season" is a great book it's not neccessarily a "feel good" read as I like to call them. Instead this is a book about retrospect and finding one's self in a time where we would prefer to bury our head under the covers and sleep for days on end.

It is a book that delves into the lives of a happy family and then it  takes you through the pitfalls of the tragedies that befall them. The story's main character Lilly is at the center of the story often telling it from her point of view. It is an interesting story of a young love blossoming into something beautiful yet unattainable. Lilly falls in love with Jon only to lose him to a horrible accident that could have been avoided had Jon's father exercised better parenting skills and not given in to his own grief. This is to be only one of the tragedies I speak of.

Set first in Maine and then on to Washington DC the story unfolds as the family struggles to deal with the loss of Jon, Lilly's friend, and then the loss of Elizabeth, Lilly's mother, to a battle with breast cancer. A touching story but not always a happy one, shows us how love is not always an absolute but can sometimes be blinding. It is a story that attempts to teach us that "kindness" can be extended in many different ways, some surprising. It is a story that will have me question my own parenting in the future to assure myself  that my grief never spills over onto my children in a way that makes their grieving impossible. I think this is a book that leaves much unsaid and wants us to fill in some of those blanks.

I have always enjoyed Ms Siddons books and this one did not disappoint. There is much about this book that I have not touched on. I feel that you must read it to truly grasp what I refer to as a deeply thoughtful and touching read. Read between the lines in some cases and you will see what I mean, especially in the case of Lilly's husband Cam. Enjoy!