Monday, December 6, 2010

Hannah's List

Hannah's List

Debbie Macomber

3 out of 5

I have been enjoying this series until this book. It's not because of the storyline, which flows well with the other books; it's not the characters because there are enough recurring characters that make this a nice story to come back to. My dislike comes from a purely sexist stance. This book, unlike the others, is from the male perspective. Somehow, this very female series hit a snag for me when it was told in Dr. Michael Everett's voice.

A year after his wife Hannah succumbs to ovarian cancer; Michael receives a letter with a list outlining the three women that she, Hannah, would like for Michael to get to know. Michael has a way of folding up into himself and with this list Hannah is asking him to meeting someone, fall in love and start a family.

At first Michael is appalled at the idea, but his love for Hannah is stronger and he quite reluctantly gives the three women a chance.
As I said, it's not a bad storyline, just not what I had been expecting. The novel follows all three women, in addition to Michael, so you get to know each woman and find yourself picking and choosing along with Michael who would be the best match for him. Sort of like a human version of the TV show House Hunters where you get to view properties and make a decision on which would suit the potential buyer best. I know, that was harsh, but that is the feel that I got.

Being a typical Macomber, there is a happily ever after feel to the whole book and it was a nice reprieve from the hectic world to just sit down and relax with an old favorite series and likeable characters. Even if it was from a male perspective and he was auditioning women.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I think I would probably have trouble loving it because of the male perspective too. I don't think it's being sexist, but more because she writes women's fiction and you expect a story about women, told from a woman's point of view.