The Wednesday Letters
by Jason F. Wright
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Book Reviews of The Wednesday Letters
Book Review: A Novel Menagerie's Perspective on The Wednesday Letters
Summary: 4 Stars
February is the month of love... cupid... Valentine's Day. This Monday, I revied Love In The Time Of Cholera, the movie and today I am reviewing The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright and the book is all about love!
I became introduced to his work when I recently read (and reviewed) Recovering Charles. While recently at Walmart watching the twins involved in a frenzy over the Twilight series books, I perused the book section for any cool little nuggets that I had to have. There was one copy of this book, behind stacks of others, that I happened to come across. "Cool!" I exclaimed, aloud. I really liked his other book and I have been seeing some good things about this book in our blogging community. In the cart it went.
This book is about so many types of love: the love of God, the love of your spouse, the love of your child, the love of your soulmate, and the unconditional love that presents forgiveness in face of adversity in the worst of circumstances. This is a story of Jack and Laurel Cooper who run a B&B in the quaint, rural community of Woodstock, Virginia (see video below). After nearly 40 years of marriage, they both pass away one night to be found by a guest of the inn the following morning. Their three children, Matthew, Samantha and Malcolm come from different walks of life to arrange their funeral and mourn their loss. When the three children reunite, we discover the heartaches and joys of these siblings as they search out peace admist their loss.
In going through their parents' belongings, they discover a box of letters that their father, Jack, wrote to their mother, Laurel, every Wednesday during the stay of their marriage. Through reading them, they discover the best and the saddest parts of their parents' lives and unearth secrets that will affect them all.
In reading this book, you will find a sense of calm, understanding, and forgiveness. You will root for the underdog, Malcolm, on his journey back to love and strength. You will find yourself rooting for love to be the one thing that makes everything right, in the end.
On Sher's "Out of Ten Scale:"
I am just a Jason F. Wright fan, now, folks! I really liked Recovering Charles and I very much enjoyed this book. You know, I have no choice now but to read The Christmas Jars because his style of writing is just right up my alley! There are facets of his works that remind me of Nicholas Sparks, whom I love, love, love! This book is an easy, peaceful read which I gobbled up very quickly. I do encourage you to read it for Valentine's Day this year, especially you married folk! One thing that the book brings forth is the suggestion to write the one you love, on paper, and faithfully to demonstrate the expansiveness of your heart and soul to them. If I ever fall in love again, I will do just that! Believe me, I will!
So, for the Fiction: Drama:Family/Love, I am giving The Wednesday Letters a 9 out of 10. I love this type of book!
Book Review: Return to Sender: The Wednesday Letters
Summary: 2 Stars
The concept was cute. A man, very much in love with his wife, writes her a letter every Wednesday and when they die, their children discover the letters and learn things about the couple they never knew before.
The concept was then dragged out over some poorly written language and trite, meaningless scenes.
Surprisingly "The Wednesday Letters" by Jason F. Wright is a book that was written by a man. Normally, we see these kinds of unrealistic sentences that women would want men to confess in a novel written by a woman who is living out one of her own fantasies through bad writing.
The novel takes place over the course of one day with numerous flashbacks to the past through said Wednesday letters. Thankfully the book is a fast read so if you find yourself like me, someone who hopes there's at least a good ending to the book you're not enjoying, then you can get there quickly. The couple, Laurel and Jack, have three kids: Samantha, a cop who has given up her dream of Broadway acting; Malcolm, the obvious black sheep who is always in some kind of legal trouble, mostly because he can't get over his ex-girlfriend, Rain, who is engaged to Nathan, an aspiring politician; and Matthew, the normal one with the happy marriage who we don't learn as much about because he's not as emotionally challenged as the other two.
The dialogue between the three siblings is at times laughable, along with some other elements to the book. There is even a family friend who helped out Laurel and Jack as they got up in age and they actually called her A&P, like the store. The "twist" at the end of the book is thrown in almost as a last-minute item and is entirely throwaway, as is most of the events that transpire over the course of the siblings getting ready for their parents' funeral. There is even a "confession" that takes place at the funeral and while you're reading it, it almost feels uncomfortable. Like, is this really the time or the place to be doing this? The epilogue is one big exposition between Malcolm and his son that instead of taking place over a few more chapters was thankfully, but tactlessly squished into two or three pages.
The only nice touch to the book was that inside the back cover lies an actual letter, on the envelope is written "Epilogue" and it helps flesh out the concept that the Wednesday Letters have inspired one of the children to carry on the tradition.
There is also a very strong undercurrent of Christian themes which, if you are not Christian, you may be annoyed by, especially since there is no mention of this on the book's cover.
The book is quite hokey and it's hard to believe the author is a national bestseller. But then, it appears that quality reading material has not been popular in quite some time.
Book Review: I wanted to like it but, alas, I hated it. Really, really hated it.....
Summary: 1 Stars
I read this book because it was recommended to me as an inspiring book with an unusual twist. It ended up inspiring me to throw it across the room. I really disliked this book.
SPOILER ALERT: Don't read if you don't want to know.
First, let me say that I am a Christian so the pro-life parts of the book were appreciated by me. I also find the theme of forgiveness a wonderful one to explore in the context of a rape. The premise of family secrets being revealed through the weekly letters was an intriguing idea. Alas, everything else about this book was completely preposterous. I believe in the power of forgiveness but one can forgive without embracing the offender as part of your life. I'm certainly not going to make my RAPIST my pastor. And, wow, how many plot resolutions can you have in one night: the quickie resolution of Matthew's troubled marriage along with his wife's surprise announcement; "Mr. Tweed" , the man Malcolm beat up, shows up after the funeral with a sudden, inexplicable case of remorse after two years with his surprise announcement; Malcom learns that dear 'ol bio dad - the man who raped his mom - is, in fact, the pastor of the church and he is okay with that. We learn that Mom and Pop forgave him ( which is good ) and then HELPED him get his job as a pastor and helped overcome other people's reservations about his appointment. Yeah, right.... What's next.... let's hire the pedophile as the youth minister? I was okay with the forgiveness part but it all seemed highly, ridiculously unlikely as were all of the resolutions occurring in one single night.
The characters weren't well developed either. I didn't get any sense of any real grief at losing both parents. There was very little personality development. Most of the focus is on Malcolm but he was just annoying. The secondary characters were mere stereotypes.
I wanted to like this book. But having a good theme regarding the power of forgiveness does not excuse the unrealistic plot, poor characterization, and pedantic writing.
Book Review: The Sappy Sunday Scriptures Story
Summary: 2 Stars
Writing a weekly letter to a loved one is a laudable goal. But isn't open communication better than hordes of papers? I wanted to like The Wednesday Letters but flat characters, ridiculous dialogue, and constant bombardment of Christian values dampened my enthusiasm.
Worse was the dismal treatment of the female characters. Sure, Laurel (the deceased wife/mother) received some loving letters but she was written as the sacrificial lamb and patron saint of the moral. Her daughter, Samantha, is a police officer but we don't get to see much of her in this role. Instead, she's constantly nurturing her brothers. Rain, the "almost family" manager of Jack and Laurel Cooper's B&B is painted as a sweet, virginal, young, lady with dreams of marriage and family. Each of these women are expected in some way to forgive the wrongdoings of the males in their lives and put the men's needs above their own.
Meanwhile, the "central" character, Malcolm is a man with a major anger management problem. He's more like a petulant teen than a young adult. And none of the children really seem to care that their parents both died on the same day. Instead, they're focused on the box of letters from their father that reveals a horrid family secret.
After being battered with all of the Christian morals running ramped in the book; I couldn't help but wonder where the values of truth, mutual respect, and open communication were? Also, how does this book merit Bestseller status when the characters aren't fully developed, dialogue is often sloppy and silly, and the swift conclusion is too easily knitted together? Boggles my mind.
I didn't care for the constant preaching. I wasn't aware of the pious nature of the story when I began reading. My aunt loaned the book to me. I'm glad I didn't spend money on it. The Wednesday Letters is very disappointing.
Book Review: Rachel
Summary: 5 Stars
The Wednesday Letters
A heartwarming story of true love and forgiveness, The Wednesday Letters by Jason Wright, is sure to bring wholesome enjoyment to any reader who picks it up. This intriguing book had me hooked from the beginning pages, and didn't fail to keep my interest right up to the last word. It is beautifully written and very easy to follow.
This book is about love, and understanding the true meaning of family. After an elderly, married couple pass away together on the same night, their 3 children come together to mourn and make funeral arrangements. However, they discover something that they didn't know about their parents. They find hundreds of letters written from their father to their mother and realize that he had written her a letter every Wednesday throughout their entire marriage. "...I'm making another promise tonight. I'm going to write you every week. No matter whether we're across America from each other or in the same room, I'm going to write to you." The book takes readers on a journey to the past, where the characters discover shocking secrets about the lives of family and friends. Relationships are built up and some are torn down with each new discovery. The book gives a new meaning to the words "loyalty" and "trust".
There is a subtle, yet powerful message throughout the book. It left me feeling inspired to improve my own relationships and not take life for granted. I believe this book has the power to move readers to take action. Whether it is to mend a relationship, or to simply remind someone that they are loved. This book is worth the time it takes to read it. Enjoy!