A small independent bookstore in Minneapolis is haunted from November 2019 to November 2020 by the store's most annoying customer. Flora dies on All Souls' Day, but she simply won't leave the store. Tookie, who has landed a job selling books after years of incarceration that she survived by reading with murderous attention, must solve the mystery of this haunting while at the same time trying to understand all that occurs in Minneapolis during a year of grief, astonishment, isolation, and furious reckoning.
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A small independent bookstore in Minneapolis is haunted from November 2019 to November 2020 by the store's most annoying customer. Flora dies on All Souls' Day, but she simply won't leave the store. Tookie, who has landed a job selling books after years of incarceration that she survived by reading with murderous attention, must solve the mystery of this haunting while at the same time trying to understand all that occurs in Minneapolis during a year of grief, astonishment, isolation, and furious reckoning.
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Add this copy of The Sentence to cart. $11.48, good condition, Sold by GreatBookPricesUK5 rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Castle Donington, DERBYSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2022 by Harper Perennial.
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Good. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 400 p. May show signs of wear, highlighting, writing, and previous use. This item may be a former library book with typical markings. No guarantee on products that contain supplements Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed. Twenty-five year bookseller with shipments to over fifty million happy customers.
Add this copy of The Sentence to cart. $13.19, like new condition, Sold by GreatBookPricesUK5 rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Castle Donington, DERBYSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2022 by Harper Perennial.
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Fine. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 400 p. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Add this copy of The Sentence to cart. $16.45, new condition, Sold by GreatBookPricesUK5 rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Castle Donington, DERBYSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2022 by Harper Perennial.
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New. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 400 p. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Add this copy of The Sentence to cart. $21.22, new condition, Sold by Kennys.ie rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Galway, IRELAND, published 2022 by Harper Perennial.
Add this copy of The Sentence to cart. $17.56, new condition, Sold by Booksplease rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Southport, MERSEYSIDE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2022 by Harper Perennial.
Add this copy of The Sentence: a Novel to cart. $8.03, good condition, Sold by Goodwill of Greater Milwaukee rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Milwaukee, WI, UNITED STATES, published 2022 by Harper Perennial.
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Book is considered to be in good or better condition. The actual cover image may not match the stock photo. Hard cover books may show signs of wear on the spine cover or dust jacket. Paperback book may show signs of wear on spine or cover as well as having a slight bend curve or creasing to it. Book should have minimal to no writing inside and no highlighting. Pages should be free of tears or creasing. Stickers should not be present on cover or elsewhere and any CD or DVD expected with the book is included. Book is not a former library copy.
Add this copy of The Sentence: a Novel to cart. $9.02, fair condition, Sold by Goodwill of Colorado rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, UNITED STATES, published 2022 by Harper Perennial.
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Fair. This item is in overall acceptable condition. Covers and dust jackets are intact but may have heavy wear including creases, bends, edge wear, curled corners or minor tears as well as stickers or sticker-residue. Pages are intact but may have minor curls, bends or moderate to considerable highlighting/ writing. Binding is intact; however, spine may have heavy wear. Digital codes may not be included and have not been tested to be redeemable and/or active. A well-read copy overall. Please note that all items are donated goods and are in used condition. Orders shipped Monday through Friday! Your purchase helps put people to work and learn life skills to reach their full potential. Orders shipped Monday through Friday. Your purchase helps put people to work and learn life skills to reach their full potential. Thank you!
Add this copy of The Sentence: a Novel to cart. $9.35, fair condition, Sold by ClickGoodwill rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Indianapolis, IN, UNITED STATES, published 2022 by Harper Perennial.
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Fair. This is a paper back book: Used-Acceptable: All pages and the cover are intact, but shrink wrap, dust covers, or boxed set case may be missing. Pages may include limited notes, highlighting, or minor water damage but the text is readable. Item may be missing bundled media.
Add this copy of The Sentence: a Novel to cart. $9.73, good condition, Sold by Goodwill Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hillsboro, OR, UNITED STATES, published 2022 by Harper Perennial.
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'There are books that knock you sideways in around 200 pages. Between the covers there exists a complete world. The story is unforgettably peopled and nothing is extraneous. Reading one of these books only takes an hour or two but leaves a lifetime imprint'.
I tried with The Sentence, I really did, but I got to this paragraph at 50% into the book and it just reiterated the fact that it was doing none of those things for me. I'm sad to say it was my first DNF of 2022.
This book was marketed as a ghost story set in a bookshop, which for a book-blogger and bibliophile sounds like a brilliant premise. However, the ghost story isn't atmospheric or interesting and also takes a side-line to politics and the covid pandemic which seemed a bit of a shame. At 50% I still had no idea where the book was going and realised that I didn't really care either way - I wasn't gripped or hooked with the plot to want to find out more.
One of my main issues was the main character, Tookie. Although as a native American woman Tookie should have been a layered and interesting character, I just found that she felt very flat and one dimensional. Events just seemed to happen to her - whether that was going to prison, being released, getting married, starting a job in the bookshop, finding out she had a grandchild or discovering a ghost haunting her workplace. She seemed to keep the reader at arms length and didn't let us properly into her head. I didn't feel that I related to her or empathised with her in any way.
The book felt very jumbled as well that didn't help. Lots of drawn-out conversations that didn't seem to move the plot forward and then suddenly a major event would be introduced and skimmed over in a sentence which led to me saying 'wait, what?' and having to re-read. After reading a spoiler for the end of the book, I don't think I particularly missed much - the reader asking a question about it also seemed to have missed an important plot point which meant the conclusion made little sense so I think I may have made the right decision in putting it down.
Overall, The Sentence didn't work for me - with an unrelatable main character and jumbled writing style. Thank you to NetGalley & Little Brown Books UK - Corsaire for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for a (very) honest review.
