Evocative and beautifully written

books:

	• You're Not You: A Novel Michelle Wildgen Picador, 2007 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 36 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

great book

The conceit of this novel -- that Bec adopts the life of the dying Kate -- is certainly unique and gripping. I found the end of the book, after Kate's death particularly wrenching, as poor Bec tries to finish Kate's business for her with her husband; she comes off seeming to be the haunting ghost of Kate. Yet at the very end I was unconvinced by Bec's decision to become a cook; I think we are to believe that Bec has taken away the one aspect of life with Kate that she can maintain on her own, yet to me she seems as far adrift as ever. Still, a remarkable first novel, and I'll look forward to another by this author.

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Evocative and beautifully written

You're Not You is an wonderful debut novel that holds your attention from page one until long after you have finished reading. The book develops the relationship between Bec, a college student enrolled in a major she finds shallow and uninteresting and Kate, a successful woman entering the final stages of ALS.

Hired as an inexperienced caretaker for Kate, as Bec takes on more responsibility for Kate's life, they become immersed in physical and mental intimacy to the point where Bec sometimes needs to remind herself that she is to speak for Kate, not herself.

Wildgen provides a compassionate but unflinching perspective about the end of a life, made bittersweet by the juxtaposition of Kate teaching Bec how to cook gourmet meals--lifegiving food that Kate herself can not eat.

All the reviews that say You're Not You is an amazing effort for a first novel are correct. This is a wonderful, well written story and I hope we see more from Michelle Wildgen.

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Live, love, lose, learn

I am truly astonished that this is Ms. Wildgen's first novel. To have such an intelligent, sophistcated book that is also so accessible and non-pretentious is such a breath of fresh air for me. This book, more then anything, made me grateful. Grateful for my health, my family, my friends, my triumphs and my defeats. It helps you to remember that life is what you make it. To watch Kate embrace life as she does should remind us all that no matter what hand we are dealt, life is only what we make it. And Bec is that innocent in all of us, slowly discovering the sometimes harsh reality of life and humanity. I eagerly await Ms. Wildgen's sophmore effort for both entertainment and for what it may remind me about myself and the people and world around me.

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very well written!

This was a great book. I loved the writing style of Michele Wildgen. But I was still hoping for a different ending.

Excellent

Very well done. I was moved, cared about these characters and did not want the novel to end. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, page 6, 7, 8

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