The Threadbare Heart

by Jennie Nash

Book Overview

Jennie Nash's "winning debut,"* The Last Beach Bungalow , was followed by The Only True Genius in the Family , a "page-turning delight."** Now she introduces us to two women who learn the lessons of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 042523410X
• ISBN13: 9780425234105
• Release Date: May 2010
• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.3" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Courtesy of Mother Daughter Book Club.com

In The Threadbare Heart, Jennie Nash has written a story of love, loss, family and the many forms each of those can take. There's love for a lifetime, love to help you heal, parental love, and love found when and where it's least expected. Loss comes from death, withdrawal of affection, and unmet expectations. Running through the core of the story is the relationship between Lily and her mother, Eleanor. They are totally opposite in many ways: Lily has had a lifelong love, and Eleanor never felt a strong enough connection with anyone to form a permanent attachment. Lily loves to sew, and she collects fabric to make clothes and quilts for the ones she loved. Embarrassed by her own mother's homemade clothes, Eleanor doesn't understand Lily's lack of desire for designer clothing. When Lily and Eleanor are forced by tragedy to take on a bigger role in each other's lives, they struggle to bridge their differences and learn to respect each other for the unique talents they each have. The Threadbare Heart is told from multiple perspectives, including Lily's husband, Tom, and their sons and daughter in law. This helps the reader see all sides to the story. It's a reminder that most situations don't feature good guys and bad guys, just people with different ideas of how they want to live their lives. In some ways I felt the ending to The Threadbare Heart was abrupt--I could have easily followed Lily and Eleanor's story for many more chapters--but when I finished it I found myself wondering what would happen next in each of the character's lives. I worried for them, and I hoped for their futures. I expect the issues brought up in the book will stay with me for a long time. While older teens may appreciate reading The Threadbare Heart, I believe it's a better read for adult mothers and their adult daughters. It should open interesting lines of conversation between them about their own relationships.

warm extended family drama

University of Vermont Professors Lily and Tom are in Santa Barbara visiting her octogenarian mom Eleanor along with their two adult sons, one daughter in law and one grandson in California. Their married son is having marital issues, but overall everything seems okay to the sandwich generation. Trice married and quite wealthy from her business, Eleanor offers to buy the nearby Halewood avocado ranch for her daughter, who initially says no as she prefers not to depend on her mother's money. However, she and Tom discuss the potential purchase and they agree to a change in lifestyle to pursue middle age dreams. She no longer will update the textbook she has published and he stops writing a new science curriculum. Instead he will start over with the ranch while she turns to her passion knitting. He will grow and sell avocados, she will stitch clothing and other items. The conversion seems smooth even with her commanding mom nearby until the deadly fire. The story line for the first half or so of the novel is a warm extended family drama with the cast having different personal crisis. The inferno that wipes out much of Lily's family changes the plot to a person struggling with grief as she slowly though her knitting finds some sense but wonders if her seemingly coldhearted mother is right that giving one's heart away is not worth the cost when death of the loved one is payment due. Although Eleanor is too harsh on her daughter at a time she can use hugs not tough love, she remains consistent that her theory is love hurts. Fans will enjoy the Threadbare Heart that reads more like two interrelated novellas starring a middle age woman trying to make a sense out of life. Harriet Klausner

Great Character-driven fiction

Jennie Nash is one of those authors who "gets" people, and as you read about the fictional characters, you can relate perfectly to their struggles, imperfections, hopes and dreams. The Threadbare Heart is a character-driven novel, and deals with such themes as * The nature of marriage (and how it changes over the years) * lifelong friendships * mothers and daughters * husbands and wives * sacrificing your dreams * following your dreams * grief The first sentence of the book is "Love was the one thing Lily always thought she did better than her mother" (page 1). And with that, the stage was set. Aren't we always comparing ourselves to our mothers? Or our sisters? Or our friends? Isn't there always a kernel of self-doubt as we evaluate ourselves and the choices we've made, especially in comparison to other women in our lives? Some people avoid novels dealing with grief, but if you like popular women's fiction, I know you will love The Threadbare Heart. It is smart, analytical, thought-provoking, honest and true, but avoids being grim or bitter.

A great love story

Not all stories have happy endings--but really good novels make us richer and let us look into our hearts. I could not put The Threadbare Heart down, even if Lily ended up losing Tom. In a flash of a second our lives can change--and this novel reminds us of that. The story truly touched my heart. The characters are interesting and their relationships and perspectives are insightful. Reading this one will not be a complete guilty pleasure--but it will certainly be a good experience. The perfect mother's day gift too!

The Threadbare Heart

Lily and Tom have raised their family and both are a few years away from collecting full pensions as university professors. During a visit with their family in Santa Barbara at Lily's mother's house, Tom expresses an interest in a local avocado ranch. Seeing this as an opportunity to bring the family closer to her, Lily's mother Eleanor offers to purchase the land for them. Not wanting to depend on her mother, Lily's first reaction is to decline the offer. However, after returning to their New England home Tom and Lily revisit the idea and agree that perhaps this move is a good idea and decide to go ahead with the plan, leaving behind their life's work in pursuit of a new life on the west coast. Lily plans to spend her time quilting and finally putting to good use all the fabric she has collected and saved over the years and Tom will learn to work their land become an avocado farmer. As with any family, there are problems and life's issues to deal with. Lily and Tom have always had a comfortable, loving relationship but at this point in their marriage, Lily is beginning to have doubts, and questions her marriage to Tom. She wonders if she really truly knows her husband begins fantasize about an old friend she's recently reunited with from high school, even going even so far as to visit him. Although she's hasn't been unfaithful, guilt over her thoughts and actions lead her to turn her feelings around on her husband accusing him of being attracted to another woman. Lily also has a complicated relationship with her mother. While Lily has lead a stable life with her husband, Eleanor had been married 3 times and believes love is fleeting cannot be counted on. Their mother daughter rivalry is laced with envy and even borders jealousy at times but remains civil and on some level is still a loving relationship. When a wild fire tears through the area, Lily and Tom have little time to pack up and get out. Tom rescues Lily who is suffering from a debilitating migraine at the time and then returns to the house where he is overcome by smoke and dies. Lily is left to sort our her feelings of guilt over the state their marriage was in when Tom died and to work through her grief along side her family. A Threadbare Heart takes the reader through a journey of complicated human emotions dealing with relationships, both marital and familial that truly tug at the heart. In her loss Lily finds a way to bridge the emotional gap between her and mother overcoming years of emotional turbulence between the two of them. The last cherished item her husband saved from their burning home becomes a gift to her mother and catalyst to their healing. This book was very hard for me to put down once I began reading. Even knowing from reading the blurb that Lily would indeed lose the love of her life, I still held out hope that it would not happen and Lily would not have to face life without Tom. Lily's grief and how she dealt with it left me sad but with a f