This is Your Life, Harriet Chance! by Jonathan Evison
Some books come into your life at the right time. Though published in 2015, I’ve just discovered THIS IS YOUR LIFE, HARRIET CHANCE! after asking friends for recommendations of books with older female protagonists. They’re a rare breed, and Harriet Chance is one of the greats. THIS IS YOUR LIFE, HARRIET CHANCE! by Jonathan Evison is one of those rare books that manages to be both funny and reflective. Cleverly constructed, the novel alternates narrators with a Ralph Edwards-like narrator (remember him from This is Your Life – that 1950s show that flashed back to reveal guest’s lives through the stories of friends and family members?)
After her husband Bernard passes away, seventy-eight-year-old Harriet Chance sets sail on an Alaskan Cruise and discovers through a series of revelations that she’s lived the past sixty years of her life under false pretenses. Evison uses flashbacks with the assistance of the This is Your Life narrator to reveal the truths that lie at the center of Harriet’s life. With impromptu visits from Bernard’s ghost and the surprising arrival of her estranged daughter on board, Harriet must confront uncomfortable truths and long-buried secrets, reconciling herself to her new reality.
There is hope at the center of this novel. Harriet is an endearing character, her children less so, yet she ultimately finds peace and healing. When confronted by her own failings, Harriet must reexamine where she took the wrong turn. When faced with the betrayal of those she loves most, Harriet realizes that no one escapes this life without making mistakes. She’s no pansy, but for the first time in her life, perhaps, a realist.
Navigating dysfunctional relationships, sexual assault (trigger warning here), and inevitable disappointments and delusions, THIS IS YOUR LIFE, HARRIET CHANCE! presents us with a delightful female protagonist and the message that it’s never too late – revelation and redemption and reinvention are accessible at any age as long as we remain open to change. Highly recommended.
This is Lin Salisbury with Superior Reviews. Listen to my author interviews and read all my book reviews at superiorreads.com and on WTIP Radio 90.7 Grand Marais.
