PROMISES TO KEEP is a beautiful tribute to a dear friend of Jane Green who died too young, and it beautifully captures the conflicted emotions of friends and family who come together to help a friend struggling against a potentially lethal illness. While this is not a long book, Green is surprisingly able to develop eight characters very fully, so I found myself emotionally invested in the futures of many different characters.
Each of the eight main characters I found to be enormously likeable, which ironically was the only discordant note in the book - everyone was almost too decent, too happy, too self-aware, too good to feel entirely true. The only "bad guys" were a cartoonishly unreasonable ex-wife and a hyperbolically selfish soon-to-be-ex-wife, but those were just minor roles. Everyone else was someone I'd want to know, someone I'd love to have as a friend. And despite the great tragedy of a life-threatening illness that runs throughout the book, every character has an enviably happy, fulfilling life.
Having recently lost a sibling to sudden death, I found the suffering and worry of friends and family to be emotionally resonant, and found myself feeling jealous of the ability for loved ones to say a long goodbye. Ultimately, though, this book is about embracing life, and living it fully no matter what is happening, about joy amid sorrow, about how suffering and happiness can intersect. It is definitely worth a read.
Each of the eight main characters I found to be enormously likeable, which ironically was the only discordant note in the book - everyone was almost too decent, too happy, too self-aware, too good to feel entirely true. The only "bad guys" were a cartoonishly unreasonable ex-wife and a hyperbolically selfish soon-to-be-ex-wife, but those were just minor roles. Everyone else was someone I'd want to know, someone I'd love to have as a friend. And despite the great tragedy of a life-threatening illness that runs throughout the book, every character has an enviably happy, fulfilling life.
Having recently lost a sibling to sudden death, I found the suffering and worry of friends and family to be emotionally resonant, and found myself feeling jealous of the ability for loved ones to say a long goodbye. Ultimately, though, this book is about embracing life, and living it fully no matter what is happening, about joy amid sorrow, about how suffering and happiness can intersect. It is definitely worth a read.
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