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| Good-bye and Amen: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: Beth Gutcheon
Publisher: William Morrow
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $5.01
You Save: $19.94 (80%)
Buy New/Used from $5.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  (36 reviews)
Sales Rank: 150539
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.4 x 1
ISBN: 0060539070
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780060539078
ASIN: 0060539070
Publication Date: July 22, 2008
Release Date: July 22, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
In a summer cottage on the coast of Maine, an unlikely love was nurtured, a marriage endured, and a family survived. Now it is time for the children of that marriage to make peace with the wounds and the treasures left to them. And to sort out which is which. Beth Gutcheon's critically acclaimed family saga, Leeway Cottage, was a major achievement: a vivid and moving tale of war and marriage and their consequences that enchanted readers. Good-bye and Amen is the next chapter for the family of Leeway Cottage, the story of what happens when those most powerful people in any family drama, the parents, have left the stage. The complicated marriage of the gifted Danish pianist Laurus Moss to the provincial American child of privilege Sydney Brant was a mystery to many who knew them, including their three children. Now, Eleanor, Monica, and Jimmy Moss have to decide how to divide or share what Laurus and Sydney have left them without losing one another. Secure and cheerful Eleanor, the oldest, wants little for herself but much for her children. Monica, the least-loved middle child, brings her youthful scars to the table, as well as the baggage of a difficult marriage to the charismatic Norman, who left a brilliant legal career, though not his ambition, to become an Episcopal priest. Youngest and best-loved Jimmy, who made a train wreck of his young adulthood, has returned after a long period of alienation from the family surprisingly intact, but extremely hard for his sisters to read. Having lived through childhoods both materially blessed and emotionally difficult, with a father who could seem uninvolved and a mother who loved a good family game of let's you and him fight, the Mosses have formed strong adult bonds that none of them wants to damage. But it's difficult to divide a beloved summer house three ways and keep it too. They all know what's at stake?in a world of atomized families, a house like Leeway Cottage can be the glue that keeps generations of cousins and grandchildren deeply connected to one another. But knowing it's important doesn't make it easy.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 31 more reviews...
 Reality fiction? Great read! November 22, 2008
This book is structured like a documentary--a series of apparent interviews with the characters and observers that tell the story, narrated by a mysterious observer. Every single character rang true to me, and the story seemed real as well. The book is a sequel of sorts to Leeway Cottage, though the book stands on its own--I had not read the first book. Three siblings and their families have met to divide up their late parents' personal effects. Each sibling, and each member of the family, and each non-family member observer clearly experiences and recalls events differently, uniquely, and it is a tour-de-force to so accurately capture so many different voices, from Maine summer people to various types of Episcopal parishioners to Californian Buddhists. This would be extremely good for a book club----endless discussions! I'm ordering the first book now.
 Nice - but not my style October 17, 2008
I love books about New England - Maine especially, so it was with a particular joy that I received this one. It is a gentler read than I was expecting - not a bad thing, but not "my" thing. Gutcheon's style is fun and I appreciated it. Perhaps in a different mindset (or more familiar with the writer's other works) I'd have a better feeling about it. I'd recommend the book merely for its excellent details of a particular style of living alone. Not a bad read on a lazy fall day!
 The return of the Moss family... October 11, 2008
Beth Gutcheon
William Morrow, 2008
ISBN: 978-0060539078
Reviewed by Rita Goatley for ReviewYourBook.com, 10/08
2 Stars
The return of the Moss family...
Good-bye and Amen peeks into the life of the Moss family as they face challenges. Beth Gutcheon shares insights into situations, such as parents dying and adultery. Family members react differently to each situation.
I have not read the previous book in this series and might have enjoyed this book if I had. Good-bye and Amen does not stand well alone. There were many characters, and they were hard to sort out. The plot has great potential; when parents pass away people face the two G's: Grief and Greed. This book attempts to shed light of both. However, the plot falls short in capturing the reader's attention and holding it. Frankly, I had to force myself to finish this book.
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Thoroughly enjoyable October 8, 2008
Before I actually started reading this book, I was afraid the style (narration by many characters) would be difficult to parse and it sat on my shelf for about two months before I picked it up. But I am so glad I finally got to it. It was a very engrossing read. It was like sitting in a room with a big family and getting the same story from all sides. If you have a large family (and I do), you know how much fun this can be. Wives correcting husbands, brothers explaining what happened after sisters left the room. It was a beautiful type of chaos.
The characters were brilliantly brought to life. It was the sort of dysfunctional group you probably wouldn't want to spend time with in person, but was wonderfully amusing on the page. I enjoyed it from beginning to end.
 For People Who Have Strangers Called Siblings September 30, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I would have devoured this book in one setting if I didn't have to do pesky things like sleep and go to work. This is a story, told in wonderfully chaotic 12 or so voices, of a family. It begins with 3 grown children dealing with cleaning out their parents' houses after their surprise dual death (gas leak) and it blossoms into this complex view of their lives (and those of their children, friends, coworkers, etc) both past and present. What is truly amazing is that the author has even included photos of these fictional characters in one section of the book! It deals with family issues in every possible form: parents, children, step children, siblings, inlaws, grandchildren, marriage, money, divorce, addiction, depression, grief...it does on and on. The story is creative and exuberantly told and I would recommend it to anyone who has strangers in their lives that they happen to share parents with. Oh, and everyone else too!
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