From the Publisher
Praise for The Things We Keep
“Devastatingly beautiful.” —People magazine
“Sure to appeal to fans of Jojo Moyes, Jodi Picoult, and Lisa Genova; book clubs will be lining up.” —Library Journal (starred review)
“An unconventional tearjerker of a love story...poignant and nuanced.” —Publishers Weekly
“This captivating story serves as a reminder of just how important those people and moments are that keep us going when it seems like our world is falling apart.” —RT Book Reviews on The Things We Keep
“Hepworth’s debut, The Secrets of Midwives, was critically acclaimed, and it’s always a formidable task to impress readers with a second novel. But with The Things We Keep, Hepworth proves that literary lightning can indeed strike twice.” —BookPage
“Sally Hepworth delivers a beautiful, moving story with thoughtful grace…A lovely novel about the depth of memory, The Things We Keep may leave very few readers with dry eyes.” —Shelf Awareness
“Stunning and beautiful, as well as heartbreaking and inspiring.” –Kirkus Reviews
“A rare gem.” –The Columbus Dispatch
“Heartwarming, fulfilling, and genuine.” –The Missourian
Kirkus Reviews
2015-10-07
A woman suffering from early Alzheimer's finds romance in an assisted living facility while an abandoned wife restarts her life in the intertwined narratives that make up this second novel. At 38, Anna is an energetic, tart-tongued, motorcycle-riding paramedic. Actually that's who she was, just before she starts telling us her story. Diagnosed with Alzheimer's, Anna leaves her husband and winds up in a residential facility in New Jersey called Rosalind House, which caters to frail old people and a couple of memory-challenged younger ones. Anna's voice feels very true; particularly in the early chapters, she's still cogent enough to describe her deterioration, and her descriptions are precise and harrowing. The second voice we hear belongs to Eve, 35, who finds employment as a cook/housekeeper at Rosalind House after her highflying financier husband flames out à la Bernie Madoff. Eve and her young daughter, Clementine, must adjust to drastically reduced living circumstances and endure the slings and arrows of those who know what Eve's husband did. (Clementine narrates a few chapters in a voice that seems less authentic than the other two.) At work, Eve takes a shine to Anna and eventually risks her job to allow Anna to pursue a relationship with Luke, an attractive, young fellow patient. Eve also finds a love interest, a development you'll spot miles away. Though likable and sympathetic, she's far more two-dimensional than Anna. Perhaps Hepworth, who got some positive attention for her debut novel, The Secret Lives of Midwives (2015), feared this book would be too grim with Anna as the main focus. A lot happens here—too much really, especially in the last, somewhat improbable chapters—but it's a definite page-turner. It's also uneven, with genuinely poignant moments brushing up against cheesy ones.
