One of Real Simple 's Best Books of 2019 "I loved this book. . . .Funny, heartbreaking and clever with a mystery at its heart." --Jojo Moyes "With an eye as keen for human idiosyncrasies as Miranda July's, and a sense of humor as bright and surprising as Maria Semple's, this is a novel of pure velocity." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) ?The adult debut from bestselling, award-winning young adult author Jaclyn Moriarty--a frequently hilarious, brilliantly observed novel--that follows a single mother's ...
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One of Real Simple 's Best Books of 2019 "I loved this book. . . .Funny, heartbreaking and clever with a mystery at its heart." --Jojo Moyes "With an eye as keen for human idiosyncrasies as Miranda July's, and a sense of humor as bright and surprising as Maria Semple's, this is a novel of pure velocity." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) ?The adult debut from bestselling, award-winning young adult author Jaclyn Moriarty--a frequently hilarious, brilliantly observed novel--that follows a single mother's heartfelt search for greater truths about the universe, her family and herself. Twenty years ago, Abigail Sorenson's brother Robert went missing one day before her sixteenth birthday, never to be seen again. That same year, she began receiving scattered chapters in the mail of a self-help manual, the Guidebook, whose anonymous author promised to make her life soar to heights beyond her wildest dreams. The Guidebook's missives have remained a constant in Abi's life--a befuddling yet oddly comforting voice through her family's grief over her brother's disappearance, a move across continents, the devastating dissolution of her marriage, and the new beginning as a single mother and caf� owner in Sydney. Now, two decades after receiving those first pages, Abi is invited to an all-expenses paid weekend retreat to learn "the truth" about the Guidebook. It's an opportunity too intriguing to refuse. If Everything is Connected, then surely the twin mysteries of the Guidebook and a missing brother must be linked? What follows is completely the opposite of what Abi expected--but it will lead her on a journey of discovery that will change her life--and enchant readers. Gravity Is the Thing is a smart, unusual, wickedly funny novel about the search for happiness that will break your heart into a million pieces and put it back together, bigger and better than before.
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Fine. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 416 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.
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New. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 416 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.
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Good. Former Library book. All orders guaranteed and ship within 24 hours. Your purchase supports More Than Words, a nonprofi t job training program for youth, empowering youth to take charge of their lives by taking charge of a business.
Ever since she was a teenager, Abigail has been receiving chapters of the mysterious "Guidebook" in the mail. Now she has a chance to find out the truth about it (or at least get a free weekend away, since the "Truth" is most likely just a sales pitch for an extortionate self-help course). When things turn out very different to how she expected, Abigail must decide whether to indulge a fantasy, or face the truth and let go of the past.
But perhaps the two can go hand in hand?
From page one, Gravity is the Thing had me literally laughing out loud. The tone of this book is so fantastically whimsical in a practical everyday sort of way, it's almost hard to describe. Abigail has a bit of a Miranda Hart thing going on, and I Iove the way her imagination works.The short snappy chapters were perfectly matched to the tone, and also highly effective at the whole "I'll just read one more" tactic.
This book is quick-witted, painfully honest, and miraculously heartfelt. I honestly don't know how Jaclyn Moriarty did it, because if I had read that last sentence before I picked up this book, I'm not sure I ever would have read it. Heartfelt and honest are not what I usually look for in a book, and I normally gag at the cheese and comfort of those sad but empowering real human novels that seem to always involve an unlikely romance and someone who has a terminal illness. Gravity is the Thing, however, seems to encompass everything good about those books without taking on any of the cheap emotive fluff. The raw pain and uncertainty of life shine through the often hilarious scenes of Abigail's life in a way that seems to relate to my own questions and fears.
I would absolutely recommend this book to a lot of people. Anyone who wants a break from heavily plotted novels to just have a good laugh at some quirky humour and enjoy a thoughtful, well-narrated story should definitely give this a go. For fans of quirky romances and stories like About Time, The Age of Adeline and The Dressmaker.
liccyh
Feb 22, 2020
Weird (and wonderful)
This is simply a really charming book. As some chapters are only a single paragraph long, it works well when you're on the go (as well as when you've got more time to read longer chapters too). We gradually piece together the life of Abigail over twenty years. She is a single parent and Happiness Café owner whose brother disappeared when he was fifteen and has never been found. Are there any clues in The Guidebook, a weird self-help book that has been mailed to Abigail over many years?
The story is not linear but wanders in unexpected directions, but it's worth joining the journey to get to know Abi and her young son Oscar. The tone is bittersweet and the characters are relatable. What's not to enjoy?
