This book. This marvelous book. Have you ever read a book and want to be friends with the main character? To give them hugs and reassurance? To remind them of the good in their lives? To be there to listen when they are feeling low? That is how I feel about Clover Brooks in The Collected Regrets of Clover, by Mikki Brammer. She is, in my mind, the perfect example of a sympathetic character. One whose pain you feel, who you want to see grow, and someone for whom you desire a happy ending.
She is the essence and life blood of this book. Which is ironic, considering her career choice, because Clover is a death doula. She describes it as someone privileged to help a person in their final days or weeks, to assist them in finding closure, and to prevent them from being alone when they take their last breath. Clover loves her job and takes it seriously, meticulously documenting her clients’ final words and categorizing them into advice, confessions, and regrets.
But just as the cobbler’s children have no shoes, Clover lacks closure and intimacy in her own life. She’s content with her own company, never dates, and her only friend is an elderly neighbor. Like many introverts, she lives in her head. She creates relationships in her imagination, looks for societal patterns, observes but doesn’t participate.
We meet Clover when her life is at a crossroads. After thirty six years of living a certain way, she is given new options. New people enter her orbit and she can either engage with them or not. Watching her navigate the prospect of friendships, something that seems so basic, is like watching a baby take her first steps. There is caution, stumbles, and hope.
Amazingly, this is a debut novel by Australian author Mikki Brammer. Filled with philosophy and metaphors on life, learning, living, and death, I found myself constantly underlining, pondering, rereading, and admiring all the elements of this story that weave together so perfectly. It is a gem. I highly recommend it. (Available on Kindle Unlimited.)
9.5/10 Stars
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