The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett

384 pages

English language

Published Nov. 16, 2020 by HarperCollins Publishers.

ISBN:: 978-0-06-302606-3

(1 review)

Eudora Honeysett is done with this noisy, moronic world—all of it. She has witnessed the indignities and suffering of old age and has lived a full life. At eighty-five, she isn’t going to leave things to chance. Her end will be on her terms. With one call to a clinic in Switzerland, a plan is set in motion.

Then she meets ten-year-old Rose Trewidney, a whirling, pint-sized rainbow of color and sparkling cheer. All Eudora wants is to be left alone to set her affairs in order. Instead, she finds herself embarking on a series of adventures with the irrepressible Rose and their affable neighbor, the recently widowed Stanley—afternoon tea, shopping sprees, trips to the beach, birthday celebrations, pizza parties.

While the trio of unlikely BFFs grow closer and anxiously await the arrival of Rose’s new baby sister, Eudora is reminded of her own childhood—of losing her father during World …

Eudora Honeysett is done with this noisy, moronic world—all of it. She has witnessed the indignities and suffering of old age and has lived a full life. At eighty-five, she isn’t going to leave things to chance. Her end will be on her terms. With one call to a clinic in Switzerland, a plan is set in motion.

Then she meets ten-year-old Rose Trewidney, a whirling, pint-sized rainbow of color and sparkling cheer. All Eudora wants is to be left alone to set her affairs in order. Instead, she finds herself embarking on a series of adventures with the irrepressible Rose and their affable neighbor, the recently widowed Stanley—afternoon tea, shopping sprees, trips to the beach, birthday celebrations, pizza parties.

While the trio of unlikely BFFs grow closer and anxiously await the arrival of Rose’s new baby sister, Eudora is reminded of her own childhood—of losing her father during World War II and the devastating impact it had on her entire family. In reflecting on her past, Eudora realizes she must come to terms with what lies ahead.

But now that her joy for life has been rekindled, how can she possibly say goodbye?

5 editions

pithypants reviewed The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett by Annie Lyons

Review of 'The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

This book belongs to a nameless genre I try to avoid: that of the quirky societal misfit who ends up finding redemption and connection through others' acts of generosity. That premise is so over-done in recent years that most books in this space start at an automatic "one star" in my world. So take my 3-star review in that context – if you, unlike me, gravitate toward these books, then this is one you'll probably enjoy. The two things that make this better than most: 1) The source of salvation is the neighbor's daughter, Rose, who is spunky and incorrigible; and 2) The flashbacks that help explain why Eudora has turned into a miserable old woman provide an interesting secondary story line.

The only REAL issue I have with the book (which is a spoiler) is how absolutely terrible one character is. I find it problematic when an author writes …

This book belongs to a nameless genre I try to avoid: that of the quirky societal misfit who ends up finding redemption and connection through others' acts of generosity. That premise is so over-done in recent years that most books in this space start at an automatic "one star" in my world. So take my 3-star review in that context – if you, unlike me, gravitate toward these books, then this is one you'll probably enjoy. The two things that make this better than most: 1) The source of salvation is the neighbor's daughter, Rose, who is spunky and incorrigible; and 2) The flashbacks that help explain why Eudora has turned into a miserable old woman provide an interesting secondary story line.

The only REAL issue I have with the book (which is a spoiler) is how absolutely terrible one character is. I find it problematic when an author writes someone who is pure evil without any redeeming qualities.