All That Is Solid Melts Into Air: A Novel by Carole Giangrande

(Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!)

about book:

In the morning fog of the North Atlantic, Valerie hears the frenetic ticking of clocks. She’s come from Toronto to hike on the French island of St. Pierre and to ponder her marriage to Gerard Lefèvre, a Montrealer and a broadcast journalist whose passion for justice was ignited in his youth by the death of his lover in an airline bombing. He’s a restless traveller (who she suspects is unfaithful) and she’s the opposite: quiet, with an inner life she nurtures as a horticulturalist. Valerie’s thinking about Gerard on assignment in her native New York City, where their son Andre works. In New York City, an airplane has plunged into a skyscraper, and in the short time before anyone understands the significance of this event, Valerie’s mind begins to spiral in and out of the present moment, circling around her intense memories of her father’s death, her youthful relationship with troubled Matthew, and her pregnancy with his child, the crisis that led to her marriage to Gerard, and her fears for the safety of her son Andre and his partner James. Unable to reach her loved ones, Valerie finds memory intruding on a surreal and dreamlike present until at last she connects with Gerard and the final horror of that day.

my thoughts:

Its 9/11 and Valerie is hiking on a French island, while her son and his partner are working in the Twin Towers. Her husband is also in NYC on a job.  News begins to spread about the terror occurring in NYC.  Valerie is unable to find out any information about her family.  She's filled with anxiety, panic, worry, and fear.  Her mind bends back and forth from the past to the present as she awaits any form of news.  And that is pretty much all I will write about the story.  Why? Because it is a fantastic piece of storytelling that I don't want to ruin for anyone.  It is seriously that good.

Giangrande has written a thought-provoking story that will have your heart racing, bursting, and breaking. The story is thoughtful, slow-going, and emotional.  The prose is beautiful.  The characters are interesting, flawed, and realistic.  And the ways in which this book explores life and death through the pain of waiting and not knowing is superb.  I just loved this book so hard.  It was terrific!

I would most definitely recommend this novel to fans of Giangrande and anyone looking for their next great read - you won't want to miss out on this MUST-READ book!! 

Here's the link to the TLC Book Tour schedule for: All That Is Solid Melts Into Air

Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!