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Book Jacket

The Art of Saying Goodbye:
A Novel
by Ellyn Bache

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Publication date: 06/07/2011.
Novels, 352 pp.

Number of reader reviews: 18
Readers' Consensus: 3.5
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First Impressions: Page 3 of 3
Rated 3 of 5 of 5 by Gail L. (Maitland, FL)

Unexpectedly Disappointing
Initially I thought the book was going to be a story about women who were extremely close (having lived in the same neighborhood for a long time) going through the experience of losing one of their best friends. I was very disappointed that Ellyn didn't give the characters more depth because the story line was simplistic and had too many characters. As I read, the book just didn't hold my attention because I knew Paisley's ultimate outcome. I kept hoping the plot would go deeper, but it was disjointed and disorganized. I would not suggest this book to my book club.

Rated 3 of 5 of 5 by Mary Q. (Greeley, CO)

Left Wanting More
I felt initially that the stated ingredients in this book, close friendships and all of them dealing with one of the women battling a serious illness, would guarantee a satisfying read for me. However, the vast majority of this book was written in a very surface style which made me not care nearly enough about any of the characters. It was easy to pick up, yet also very easy to put down. I never considered giving up on it. It just won't be very memorable for me, nor will I recommend it to any my friends who prefer books with more substance to them.

Rated 2 of 5 of 5 by Marti F. (Coralville, IA)

Very disappointed
The brief intro at the beginning of this book does not accurately describe this book at all. It states that the four women, (who find ways to comfort their friend who is dying), "grow closer as the days go by." Actually, none of these four women are good friends, merely acquaintances. They rarely interact during the course of the book. If they had, there would have been some depth and interesting reading. But to me, it felt disjointed.

The last page was beautifully written and there was some sense at the end that each of the four women and their lives had been changed in a good way.

Rated 2 of 5 of 5 by Jo B. (DeRidder, LA)

The art of saying Goodbye
This book appealed to me with the description comparing it to authors that I like. It is a major disappointment. I find the characters poorly developed and the story line weak. I'm not going to finish it because I have too many other books to read. Sorry this one wasn't better developed.

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