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There are currently 27 member reviews
for Hieroglyphics
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Sheila S. (Supply, NC)
Hieroglyphics
Jill McCorkle is one of my favorite authors, and she never disappoints. I really liked this beautifully written book, particularly because it was written from four different points of view. Lil and Frank are particularly strong characters. Their marriage is a match made in tragedy, and as they approach the end of their lives, they are still trying to work out how those tragic events form the framework of their lives. Shelley is also the product of a tragic childhood and is trying to escape those memories and make sure that Harvey has a different upbringing. The title is perfect for a book in which the characters search for meaning through their various writings and mementos - Lil in her journals and notes, Frank in his jar of keepsakes, Shelley through her court stenography, and Harvey with his Klingon useage. I will recommend this novel to my book club and expect that it will elicit a lively discussion.
P.S. The colorful book cover is spectacular. Well done!
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Eileen C. (New York, NY)
Memories of love and destruction
Hieroglyphics is a multi-layered novel full of empathy and powered by a desire to understand what happens when parental ties are damaged prematurely. It is an exploration of how we make sense of our lives when there has been a major disruption in them and the role forgiveness plays in finding peace. Although it has an unusual structure—four characters take turn telling their own story in their own way—the strands come together in a satisfying way. It is a slow-moving book, but patience with it pays off.
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Barbara S. (Lakeland, FL)
Hieroglyphics, by Jill McCorkle
This story is told through the voices for 4 characters from three different generations who are connected together through the place which they live. The chapters go back and forth throughout time from the 1940s through the early 2000s as the author slowly develops their life histories and how they connect with each other using real life events, place names, and products. Book clubs would enjoy unraveling the characters and discussing how memories can evolve over time.
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Jill S. (Chicago, IL)
A deeply layered look into what defines a life
After a certain age, you begin to realize that life isn't a neat and linear progression of memories, but rather a series of disjointed artifacts, rituals, and language that make that life take shape. Digging a little deeper, you understand something else: that often, the story of your life is easier to fall into than your own life.
This is a mature work by a profound author, and more than once I stopped and wondered if I would have appreciated it if I were, say, 20 or 30 or even 40 years of age. The honest answer is, I'm not sure. But at this point, it resonated strongly.
The novel is a finely wrought deconstruction of lives that are lived partially in shadow with occasional artifacts that shine light on each person's carefully protected psyche. Jill McCorkle mines the hieroglyphics that define us and maybe, just maybe, offer a chance of redemption.
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MaryJane B. (Lynch Station, VA)
Hieroglyphic , difficult to decipher
This book has four characters who are bound together by circumstances or blood relationships. The author introduces one at a time and the reader finds herself engrossed in the story only to turn the page and another character is being introduced. There is the couple Lil and Frank who have been married many years. As the author jumps from one character to another there is also a time change. Sometimes you're with Lil in 1967,1985 or 2015. We follow Lil and Frank from before their marriage until they are in their 80s.
Turn a page and we are in Shelly's chaotic world where she is trying to balance being a single mother to six year old Harvey and her job as a court reporter. Shelly bears the scars of an abusive childhood which translates to difficulty dealing with her sons and long term relationships with men. She happens to be renting Frank's childhood home and she and Harvey are connected to Frank when he tries to visit that home before he dies.
Harvey's world is one of a vivid imagination colored by horror stories told to him by his older brother.
While I enjoyed the characters, the vivid descriptions and insight the author used, I found the disjointed threads of going from one character to another as well as a new time period made reading this book frustrating and difficult to follow. The author used another technique that was also confusing. She would state a fact, like Shelly had 2 sons long before the second son was introduced. It led me to think I had missed something earlier. I found that when I got about 3/4 through this book, I began to read just one thread at a time following Lil then Frank then Shelly and Harvey smoothly to the end of the book. It was at that time I found the characters more likeable and the book more enjoyable.
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Martha P. (Issaquah, WA)
Family history
Beautifully written, Jill McCorkle weaves the stories of four characters and their family histories. Lil and Frank, an elderly married couple who had both lost a parent tragically when they were very young and a commonality that drew them together, were the most interesting for me but Shelley and her young son, Harvey, grew on me as the story went along. Shelley's older son, Jason, came into the story too late, in my opinion. Sometimes I felt there was too much repetition of the characters' stories but the incredibly fine writing made it easy to overlook. A thoughtful look at how we never fully understand the parents who raise us. This would be a great book for discussion.
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Elizabeth P. (San Diego, CA)
Time travel
I would recommend this delightful book to all who like both mysteries and complicated family dynamics. Jill does a great job looking at how we relive our lives at the end and how much out parent child early relationships shape who we become. I loved her characters and really cared about them by the middle of the story. Thank you for a great Summer read!
