“This story was beyond moving”
With the craziness of today’s world it is always wonderful to get lost in a good book. Thankfully, “The Fruit Bowl”, was up to the task.
As usual Mr. Holland, your ability to weave so many stories and characters together into a seamless exchange is impressive and a joy to read through. This book was fantastic and something that I think the world really needs right now. So many lives have been drastically changed and torn apart by this pandemic that I think this story will serve as an excellent symbol of hope for many.
This story was beyond moving and I think a very accurate representation of the journey of grief. I believe often that people put too much emphasis on when grief will end and when a person might become “normal” again after dealing with grief. I love that you approached the topic in this book of grief being gut-wrenching and that a person might never become truly “normal” again. It was excellent though that paired alongside this harsh reality of grief, there was the hope throughout the story that things could indeed improve and get better for someone, even if it does not make sense initially. I also appreciated that you really had Tom’s character in charge of his own path to healing and that he really went with his gut to know what was right. I think people that are either currently experiencing extreme grief or have experienced it in the past will receive comfort and hope from this story of recovery and healing. I personally have experienced several losses in my life that were quite traumatic and I know I will return to this book as a form of healing whenever the grief becomes too overwhelming to handle.
So thank you Mr. Holland for writing this beautiful, tragic, emotional, and victorious story. It was truly an honour to read. Also once again with the main character being named Tom and that Paddy Porter had four sons with his youngest being named Paddy, it is wonderful to see you bring your family into your stories and into you art. Thank you again for another wonderful story.