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Update: Today, August 6th 2019 - happy publication day for this novel.

There is so much I loved while reading this novel that it is difficult to know where to begin.

Perhaps I should state that for me, there are very few writers who can tell a story without side agendas getting in the way when it comes to the actual people who helped shape our world. Specifically the people who lived within the last couple of centuries: the scientists, artists, actors, inventors, musicians, sports heroes, reformers, and yes �� definitely the writers �� whose works reflect the time and pulse of our recent history.

In the haphazard scrimmage to the base-line of success, there are too many times when ethics and integrity are brushed aside to make room for the fast-paced thrill ride of innuendo, gossip, and other fabrications that result in what I call the Reality Show mentality of writing.

This novel is completely the opposite. Sigrid Nunez writes with thoughtfulness, accuracy, and definitely with integrity. While I read this story, I truly felt that I was experiencing life with Virginia and Leonard Woolf, their dogs, and their marmoset, Mitz. There is a noted absence of notoriety and scandal that I found very refreshing.

The Woolfs experienced some very sad and tragic times during their lives, and these are written about thoughtfully and compassionately without missing one heartbeat of the over-arching story itself. There are also some very funny moments and joyful ones. These may or may not result in laughs out loud or jumps for joy, depending on the reader.

Some readers may miss those moments altogether, because above all, Sigrid Nunez writes with such a subtle power that it is almost hypnotic. I felt drawn into the story she was telling without my own volition. To be more accurate, I was drawn in even despite my bias and misgivings. There is a seamlessness to how the author secured the threads that bound fact and fiction together. I could not help but feel awed, entranced, and charmed by this story.


With gratitude to Soft Skull Press for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of the re-publication of this novel, and to the author, Ingrid Nunez. Its publication date is August 06, 2019.

Personal note: Once upon a time, a little girl with the same name as I have, wanted a marmoset more than anything in the world. Her parents said no, and the little girl wondered if maybe among the cows, horses, geese, chickens, pigs, cats, and dogs . . . maybe marmoset had too many syllables to be allowed. I would like to think that if that little girl did get one eventually, she was smart enough to move to a climate where the marmoset could thrive and that perhaps she named it ‘Mitz��, just because.