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Almost
Almost
Author: Elizabeth Benedict
ALMOST, Elizabeth Benedict's fourth novel, is "her most spirited to date" (New York Times Book Review). — Forty-something narrator Sophy Chase has just begun a lighthearted, romantically adventurous life in New York City when she learns that her almost ex-husband has been found dead on the New England resort island where she left him just months ...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9780618231614
ISBN-10: 0618231617
Publication Date: 6/23/2002
Pages: 260
Rating:
  • Currently 3.2/5 Stars.
 50

3.2 stars, based on 50 ratings
Publisher: Mariner Books
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

sandiebee avatar reviewed Almost on + 6 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Loved this book. One of the few books I've read lately, maybe in the past year, that I didn't want to put down. That I carried with me rather than leave for bedside reading.

The main character, Sophy, is believable and accessible. Conflicted. Complicated. Imperfect. Her love life doesn't tie up neatly with a shiny ribbon. She revisits an earlier choice between saving herself and saving someone she loves, now struggling to keep the guilt at bay. And then faces an unexpected choice again. This character grows and learns to accept that which she can't control or understand, most typically what real life is about.

I would have liked to have known more about her marriage, some concrete examples of why she had to leave. More about her decision to enter recovery. I felt like one of her stepdaughters, protected from potentially too private or hurtful information.

But overall, I found the storyline engrossing and emotionally satisfying. At times a bit too unbelievable (too many momentous events happening in a few short days). Still, I wanted to follow her quest and get answers and like Vicki, I wanted to see if there would be a happy ending.
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reviewed Almost on
Great book, enjoyable, I liked her written style, I'd get more books of her!
reviewed Almost on + 17 more book reviews
I really enjoyed this book, and I ordered another by the writer before I even reached the halfway mark. I enjoyed her writing style immensely, and I was attracted to the narrator despite her caustic personality (but then, she was going through a divorce, and that will bring out that tone in practically anyone). I found Sophy to be realistic and interesting. I liked how the story seemed to reflect reality--there was no tidy sum-up at the end of the book, but I wasn't left wishing for more of an explanation. It felt like Sophy was simply telling the story the way it happened.

I do wish there were more details about her marriage, her desire to leave it, and more about Will himself. But then, that would have been a completely different book/story.

You should know before picking this one that there are long passages at the beginning of the book that examine Sophy's sex life in detail--not typical romance novel-esqu love scenes, but more a candid reflection on her partner and the version of herself that she revealed to him. The book jumps right into the graphic details, though.
reviewed Almost on + 412 more book reviews
Wonderful book--worthy of its accolades.


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