This was my first book by Lisa Moore and I just don't think it was for me, personally. This is one of those novels where it is objectively good and readers would enjoy, but I just don't think I was the intended audience. I love stories about familial drama and the relationship between Xavier and Jules was interesting. I did find points of this book to be a little confusing to me as well. One thing I will say is that there were a few too many characters for my liking and I found myself getting lost in keeping track of those instead of being invested in the story.

I couldn't get into this one unfortunately. I found myself not able to connect with the story or characters. I think this has a bit to do with the writing style as the story itself was very interesting to me at the beginning. I almost didn't finish this but hoped it would improve. I'd be willing to try another book by this author, but this wasn't for me.

2-3 stars. i was really excited for this but unfortunately it just wasn't for me. i DNF'd at 30%. thanks netgalley & the publisher for the arc, in exchange for an honest review

I had trouble connecting with this book and getting into the story. The premise sounded so interesting but lacked in its execution. DNF'd at 15%. The format was also a bit junky on my kindle.

I was so profoundly moved by the message and plotline in this article and am seriously so thankful to the House of Anasai Press and Lisa Moore for granting me access to this magnificent read before it was set to publish to the public. I always appreciate well-done literary fiction, and I definitely count This is How We Love as a well-done publication.

As the publisher's information states, this novel asks us to think about: What makes a family? How does it shape us? And can we ever really choose who we love?

This is my first book by author Lisa Moore. The underlying subject matter of the book was a devastatingly tragic event. Unfortunately, i found the style of the narrative too rambling and disconnected for me to really form a connection to the characters and feel true empathy. The various perspectives and timelines probably made for a unique narrative style for some but it precluded me from really connecting.

This gave me a sense of Moore's writing and storytelling ability and I would definitely consider trying another of her books in the future.

This book is about a family: what makes a family, what do we owe to one another, how much do our circumstances shape us? I initially found the writing too verbose but once I fell into a rhythm I enjoyed it.

Canadian author Lisa Moore's newest novel THIS IS HOW WE LOVE is a heartfelt exploration of family relationships, motherhood and a call for community. Moore's storytelling is honed to perfection as we journey along with Jules in the aftermath of a violent attack on her son Xavier. Moore is at the height of her game with THIS IS HOW WE LOVE. I was so sucked into this story and emotionally invested in these characters I flew through this one! Superb, may be my favorite of hers yet! I'm hoping to see this one on award lists. Big thanks to @houseofanansi for sending me this book opinions are my own.

DNF - I really could not get into this story, unfortunately. I appreciated having been given the chance to try.

The book opens with a vicious beating and stabbing attack on twenty-one year old Xavier during what is turning out to be the snowstorm to beat all snowstorms. His mother, Jules, rushed home from vacation in Mexico in the last available seat of the final flight out just before airports closed and flights were cancelled, leaving her husband/Xavier’s dad stuck in Mexico. She fights through the storm into the closed streets of St. John’s, Newfoundland, to get to her son. When a video of the attack comes out, Jules is unsure what to make of it. It is then that Xavier’s story slowly unfolds, weaving the love of family (blood and not) through the generations, along with the gritty details of joy, pain, abuse, and hardship that comprise this tale.

“This is How We Love” is written in a rambling, free-form kind of narration that is most definitely an acquired taste. The opening started fast and furious at the onset, then began to meander around the plot with the backstory. What started off as thrilling turned a bit monotonous for me. In some ways, its slightly verbose book style vaguely reminded me of “A Catcher in the Rye,” with Jules as Holden and Xavier and Trinity as lost innocence. I know there are plenty of five-star reviews that will disagree; but for me I believe the finer points of Xavier’s and his parents’ background was a bit overdone. We understand that love is love through the generations, whether the source is a blood relative, a step-parent, or a childhood friend, and that all love entails a multitude of negative and positive layers and emotions.

I’d like to thank NetGalley, Lisa Moore, and House of Anansi Press, Inc. for the ability to read and review this ARC.

When the story opens, Jules is flying home from vacation to be with her 21 year-old son who has been hospitalized following a brutal attack. Told from shifting POVs, moving between the past and present, we learn what led to this moment, the people affected by it, and what happens after it. Love can take many forms, and it is complicated. This novel honours that truth by not drawing straight lines. And yet, love matters, even if loving can be hard. I especially enjoyed the family histories, the digressions into stories about people not directly involved in the plot, because in this novel, those stories matter too. There's a generosity and warmth to Moore's writing. that radiates from each page. Just a really good novel about the ways love supports and creates family, relationships, community and choices.

I started this book several times. I read a bit then put it aside. I just can’t get into it. I’m so so sorry. It’s just not for me. I won’t leave feedback anywhere because I would have to give it a low rating and I just don’t like doing that.

Thank you for the copy and again I am so sorry.

Such a well written poignant novel, thoroughly enjoyed it. Although a bit rambling, the exploration of love and the way it affects our lives is well explored. I will look for more by this talented author.

I could not get into this book. The story is boring and it constantly jumps from character to character. Every time I felt like I could make a connection the book would move on to a different person and a different time. I ended up only reading half before just giving up.

This latest Lisa Moore novel is an examination of family and the nature of love.

Twenty-one-year-old Xavier is unconscious in a hospital in St. Johns, Newfoundland, after being badly beaten and stabbed twice. His mother sits by his bedside as the snowstorm of the century (January 2020) rages outside. While we wait to see if he will survive, we gradually learn what led to the attack and are introduced to Xavier’s extended family and friends and are told their backstories. We learn about Xavier’s parents, Jules and Joe, and his sister Stella; about Joe’s parents Florence and John and his siblings Nancy and Gerry; about Jules’ parents and sister Nell; about Trinity Brophy and her foster mother Mary Mahoney; and about Xavier’s relationship with his girlfriend Violet.

The structure is not linear; instead, the book moves back and forth among different timelines and the perspectives of various characters. The narrative often circles back to the present and Xavier’s condition. As a result, there is a great deal of tension: Who attacked Xavier? Why? Will he survive the infection that seems not to respond to antibiotics? Will Joe, stranded in Montreal because of the storm, be able to reach his son’s side?

“She wanted me to know the different kinds of family there are, an infinite number, arbitrary in shape and form.” There are families created by blood and others created by choice. By marrying Joe, Jules becomes a stepmother and gains a mother-in-law “raised by foster parents.” Trinity is largely abandoned by her mother but she is fostered by Mary Mahoney: “I’d never seen anything like actual love between Mary and Trinity, but there was something more durable and remote, a sense of inviolate duty towards each other. . . . They were family.” Jules also cares for Trinity: “[Xavier had] heard his mother on the phone once saying that Trinity was like her own.” When speaking of his employees, Xavier’s employer “used the word family. Or a kind of family.” An old man’s caregivers “said they felt like they were more than just caretakers. They were . . . family.”

And the people in these “families” show their love in various ways. Florence’s foster parents “had lavished her with love.” Yet Florence and her husband Joe do not speak of love: “the mentioning of such private feelings . . . was out of the ordinary in Joe’s family” believing “it was better to prove a love than declare it.” So Florence demonstrates her love for her grandson by gifting him his grandfather’s suit to wear to his graduation prom. Sometimes a neighbour shows love by helping take a young woman to the hospital. A boy Xavier helped years earlier saves him from being beaten and robbed. Xavier goes to great lengths to get Violet a duvet. All of these are ways people love.

Florence gives Jules “an edict about loving everyone who swept through. If you failed to love someone, you might be scathing toward them or hilarious at their expense, but even then, even if they were distasteful to you, even then, you were expected to attempt something that loosely resembled love.” In turn, Jules teaches her son “that some people came into your life . . . and . . . you were responsible for them.” Certainly, the novel has examples of what happens when someone is not loved. Trinity, abandoned by her mother, looks for love where she can find it, and that may explain her relationship with Bradley Murphy. It is not a stretch, for example, to argue that Bradley Murphy’s behaviour can be traced back to his upbringing; in his case, no one stepped in to show him love. Obviously, the message is that love (and lack thereof) shapes lives and motivates one’s actions.

The novel’s characterization is exceptional. Though many of the characters seem to flit in and out of the narrative, we do in fact get to know them well. I found myself being able to predict how characters would behave because their personalities and attitudes are so clearly delineated. For instance, even when Xavier thinks, “Trinity Brophy was not his family and not his problem,” I knew exactly what he would do.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Some may dislike the style which may seem fragmentary and disjointed but I think it reflects the surreal situation which Xavier’s loved ones are experiencing. The book left me thinking about love and “How it has nothing to do with blood or choosing or being chosen. It has to do with being able.”

Intriguing but also frustrating. This tale of a mother and her son who has been beaten wanders (yes wanders) off into the stories of their family and others. She lost me in the shifting perspectives, timelines, and so on. Regret that while I had high hopes, I DNF at about the 30 percent mark. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

I couldn't get into this book. I tried numerous times to get into it. The writing style was very confusing.

I wanted to love this book so much, but it was a lot of different perspectives for me. The book was intriguing and interesting and I did enjoy it, but I supposed the writing wasn't as much my style so I didn't LOVE it, if you know what I mean.

I am a fan of Lisa Moore's work but the multiple time lines and perspectives were just too much for me. I think the core story was fabulous but it got mired down in way too many secondary plot lines.

Lisa More is a wonderfully evocative writer. She is a great observer and able to put those observations, whether or human emotions or descriptive scenarios, down in print in such a way that they dig deep into your heart. Once again, I’d love to give you quotes but this is still a work in progress until publishing time.

This tells the story of the extended family of our narrator, Jules, and how they (we) love: an examination of the bonds that run through family and community and the importance of love throughout. Set in Newfoundland, the novel, though showing the life styles and difficulties of that area, goes well beyond regionalism to universality.

The structure of the novel is unique flipping through characters’ perspectives and timelines within those perspectives seamlessly. There’s no flipping back and forth for the reader; she is able to bring us to an understanding of where we are in the novel and what we as readers needs to understand about her overriding theme.
I highly recommend this novel and have enjoyed many many of the publications from House of Anansi Press. A thanks to them and to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.