People Who Knew Me

Product Information

Told in two timelines the reader learns about circumstances that led to the drastic choice Emily made and about her current life as Connie. Her daughter Claire has no idea of the changes she has made in her life.

It’s pretty bizarre, but this book has a lot in common with another book published this year, What Was Mine. Both books are set in New York and California, both are about a mother with a teenage daughter, both are about a huge momma secret that has huge consequences, both have the heroine making questionable choices, both have an abrupt ending that can be annoying. I liked both books, though What Was Mine really pissed me off and this one did not. I’m thinking that my reaction to these two books is sort of sexist. In What Was Mine, the birth mother missed 21 years of her daughter’s life. In People Who Knew Me, the father missed 14 years of his daughter’s life. I felt so much sorrier for the mom than the dad. What’s THAT about?! I must think that it’s more important for a daughter to know her mother than her father. That's terrible! Yep, sexist as all get out! Change the plan you will roll onto at any time during your trial by visiting the “Settings & Account” section. What happens at the end of my trial? And the fact that Hooper sets this all up around a national tragedy that is still so raw in people's memories is a brave choice. Her retelling of that day hit me hard. If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for 65 € per month.You may change or cancel your subscription or trial at any time online. Simply log into Settings & Account and select "Cancel" on the right-hand side. I possibly would have liked to know a little more about the fourteen years Connie spent in California before we rejoin her. Claire’s delightful so she’s done a great job with her, but shut herself off from everyone else. Episode 1 of People Who Knew Me will be available on first BBC Sounds on 23 May, with episode 2 dropping on the 25 May. New episodes will drop twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays and the entire series will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 from Monday 26 June. Rosamund Pike and Hugh Laurie star in poignant and heart-breaking audio drama People Who Knew Me coming to BBC Sounds And yet? I didn’t find it riveting. The main character is unsympathetic to a degree that I just couldn’t ever dig deep and care for her. And I couldn’t get past the idea of running away from your life, I’ve just never had that fantasy, and especially taking something as horrifically painful as the events of 9/11 and using them to disappear. The blurb asks what would you do? I believe I would face the music and deal with the choices that led me there.

Then it's September 11 2001, and when fate plays a part in her absence from work in the World Trade Centre, Emily sees it as an opportunity to start her life fresh in California as Connie. Oh, and she's pregnant. It's hard to really hate a character when they're acting in very human ways, and I found myself agreeing and getting angry when Emily began to resent her mother-in-law's dependence on her and her husband as caregivers. But as she starts to use this anger to justify cruel words and actions, I liked her less. It’s impossible not to wonder what would have been different had Connie stayed – admitting to the affair and everything else. I have goodread friends who enjoyed this book but I'll be the outlier. I don't mind an unlikable character if I find the story itself well-written and compelling. But in this case the protagonist was so selfish I couldn't get past it, maybe because my husband and I are/have been caretakers of elderly parents. What she ultimately decided to do to her husband was unforgivable. This story got me in from the outset, though I never warmed to Emily/Connie at any point. Despite not liking the main character I wanted to keep reading so that is a sign of good writing, especially when this is a debut novel. Interested to see what else this author writes.

Unfortunately, that piece wasn’t a big part of the novel. In fact, if I were to criticize author Kim Hooper, it would be in the way she glossed over how Emily was able to get a job, get paid, get insurance, etc. I 'dig' this Southern California author. ( if she is coming to the Bay Area in June - hint hint- for the Bay Area Book Festival .. I'd love to hear her speak on this book) This terrific book will be released in May, 2016. I was fortunate to win an advance copy in a Goodreads giveaway. Her writing is phenomenal. This story is about Emily Morris/Connie Prynne. Emily is a New Yorker who married her college sweetheart, they struggle throughout their marriage. Emily is unhappy, does the unthinkable, then September 11th happens and she decides to run away. Enter Connie Prynne who now lives in California with her daughter Claire, she has a happy enough life, just the two of them. Suddenly she get hits with terrible life changing news that forces her to confront her past. Hooper says in her dedication, "This book is for all those people -- cowardly and courageous -- who dare to imagine leaving it all behind."