#1 - Leaving by Roxana Robinson

a book review

It was a race to see what book would be my first read of the year - I had four books in the running (two in print, one e-book, and one audiobook). For some reason, I want the first official read of 2024 (well, any year, really) to be a good one, and so I wait to see which one seems likely to be a hit. Starting the year off on the right foot, I guess.

This year the first book I finished was Leaving by Roxana Robinson.

Leaving is a story about love - romantic love and familial love - and the things that can bring people together and tear relationships apart. There are two main characters, Sarah and Warren, who were each others’ first loves in high school and into college. They break up and then bump into each other thirty years later, which is how the book opens. The story explores their bond and the bonds they each share with the families they made in their years apart.

What worked for me?

The writing just sucked me in. Every time I picked up this book, I was immediately absorbed right back into the story and didn’t want to put the book down. The characters are so honest with the reader, there is no issue of trust or unreliability. The author explores human emotions and really brings the reader into the hearts and minds of her characters.

There are so many passages dog-eared in my copy because they hit such a tender place in me - passages about motherhood, being in love, having relationships with little children and adult children, parenting your parents, seeing your children as their own people, sitting in the ICU worried about a loved one, being a daughter, being a mother, and being a woman. I can see myself writing many of them down in a journal, that’s how special Robinson’s writing is - it is relatable, poignant, and memorable.

What didn’t work for me?

I largely really enjoyed this book until the end. I of course won’t spoil it, but I find myself with mixed feelings. I thought this would be a five-star read for me - and maybe it will with time - but my visceral reaction to the end is holding me back right now. I could be convinced that it works with the arc of the book, but I found it so difficult. I may adjust my rating up in time but for now, I am having a hard time reconciling my feelings. Perhaps the sign of a great book. But I feel troubled in the moment.

I also had a quibble with the author’s use/treatment of Warren’s daughter. She is an only child (like me) and was cast as the cause of all the issues in the book - if she wasn’t so obnoxiously only-child-ish perhaps the lovers could have been together. As an only child and someone who is very close to my parents, I would have a hard time intentionally making one of my parents miserable (or threatening to cut them out of my life). This relationship plays into my confusion about the end as well - the choices made at one point in the novel seem misaligned with the choices made at the end.

So, did the end ruin it for me? Or was it something I could look past knowing I felt so compelled by much of the rest of it? I’m honestly not sure.

Would I recommend it?

Yes, but with reservations (sadly). Check StoryGraph for content warnings.

Overall, I gave it 4.25 stars.