The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields

I'd seen the book The Stone Diaries for years on shelves at bookstores, the library, and thrift stores, but I'd never read it. I decided to check it out and started reading it last week.

I just finished it this afternoon on a gray day here in Arizona. We rarely get gray days here, even in the winter, so it felt like a good time to read the last 30 or so pages of this Pulitzer Prize-winning book. What a gem!

Daisy Goodwill is born in 1905 in Canada, and her mother dies in childbirth. Her life starts there and is lived more than 80 years in the U.S. and Canada. Husbands, children, grandchildren, gardening, a job, and hobbies fill her days. The story is both unremarkable and remarkable, just like a real life. 

If you've never read The Stone Diaries, set aside the time and do. It's subtle and beautiful and toward the end, perfectly thoughtful and insightful.
 

Book Read:  The Stone Diaries

Author: Carol Shields

ISBN:  978-0-14-310550-3