Review: Etta and Otto and Russell and James

Etta and Otto and Russell and James: A Novel
by Emma Hooper
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The characters in this novel were compelling people and I loved the way their stories, past and present, were woven together. The book begins with a letter Etta leaves for Otto on the table of their Canadian farmhouse: "I've gone. I've never seen the water, so I've gone there. Don't worry. I've left you the truck. I can walk. I will try to remember to come back." This style continues through much of the book, which includes many letters between Otto and Etta written while Otto is fighting overseas. I thought this was a beautifully written book, but the ending was too ambiguous for me. There were also a couple of sections (in the later parts of the book) that were choose-your-own-type narratives. A paragraph saying what happened, then or, then another thing that might have happened. I found these a bit jarring and didn't think they enhanced the story at all.

This is my 4th book read for the 9th Canadian Book Challenge.