Elegies for the Brokenhearted
Elegies for the Brokenhearted
Author: Christie Hodgen
Desc: A savvy spirited moving and surprisingly humorous novel in elegies. Who are the people you’ll never forget? For Mary Murphy there are five: A skirt-chasing car-racing uncle with whiskey breath and a three-day beard. A “walking joke a sitting duck a fish in a barrel” named Elwood LePoer. A dirt-poor college roommate who conceals an unbearable secret. A failed piano prodigy lost in middle age. A beautiful mother haunted by her once-great aspirations. In five quirky elegies to lost friends and relatives Mary tells us the story of her life. We begin with a restless childhood spent following her mother between multiple homes and husbands. Then comes the disappearance of Mary’s rebellious and beloved sister Malinda. By the time Mary leaves for college she has no one to write home to and we follow along on her difficult search for purpose. From a series of miserable jobs to her “reborn” mother’s deathbed Mary finds hope in the most surprising places. With a rhythmically unique voice and pitch-perfect wry humor Christie Hodgen spins an unconventional and moving story about identity belonging and family.