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Whiskey & Ribbons

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Whiskey & Ribbons

By: Leesa Cross-Smith
Narrated by: Larry Heron, Joe Bearor, Tunisia Hardison
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About this listen

Set in contemporary Louisville, Leesa Cross-Smith's mesmerizing first novel surrounding the death of a police officer is a requiem for marriage, friendship, and family, from an author Roxane Gay has called "a consummate storyteller".

Evi - a classically-trained ballerina - was nine months pregnant when her husband Eamon was killed in the line of duty on a steamy morning in July. Now, it is winter, and Eamon's adopted brother Dalton has moved in to help her raise six-month-old Noah.

Whiskey & Ribbons is told in three intertwining, melodic voices: Evi in present day, as she's snowed in with Dalton during a freak blizzard; Eamon before his murder, as he prepares for impending fatherhood and grapples with the danger of his profession; and Dalton, as he struggles to make sense of his life next to Eamon's, and as he decides to track down the biological father he's never known.

In the vein of Jojo Moyes' After You, Whiskey & Ribbons explores the life that continues beyond loss, with a complicated brotherly dynamic reminiscent of Elizabeth Strout's The Burgess Boys. It's a meditation on grief, hope, motherhood, brotherhood, and surrogate fatherhood. Above all, it's a novel about what it means - and whether it's possible - to heal.

©2018 Leesa Cross-Smith (P)2018 Audible, Inc.
African American Family Life Fatherhood Fiction Literary Fiction Marriage

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Haunting

Bittersweet and moving. This is a book that holds grief and love side by side. The story is told in three alternate but distinct narratives. Dalton and Envageline’s story is told after Eamon’s death and the aftermath of it. Eamon’s story is told before his death with the lead up to the birth of his first child.

Lines are very much blurred in this book between love, grief, brotherhood, friendship and what it means to be a family. The underlying feeling is hope and healing for the characters remaining who are adjusting to their new life.

The story is multi layered and parts of this book were exquisite but other parts were really slow so be prepared to take your time with this one. Lyrical in prose and heartbreaking in parts, it felt raw and tender. It then lost its way (in my opinion) after that and too much time was spent talking of sexual encounters and previous relationships. The story however regains momentum and I was enthralled with a reveal 3/4 the way through.

I love how the story was intwined and the narrative ran fluently between the three voices. Well worth a read for something to devour slowly and reflectively. Not to be read if you want a fast moving plot.

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