This is the first book I've read by Lisa Moore, and I'm sorry to say I didn't enjoy it. I was intrigued, based on the synopsis of the book, but I don't think it was an accurate description. It is a story about a mother sitting at the bedside of her son who was viciously attacked and is fighting for his life, but that is a very small part of the story. I think what the author was attempting to do was portray the helplessness she was feeling. She does this by telling stories from the past about how her son got to this point, about the people who were a part of his life. But the stories are all very disjointed. I felt she jumped timelines too much - sometimes from sentence to sentence. Her writing style is not one I enjoy - lots of fragmented sentences and excessive detail. That all being said, I believe it is a good work of literature, just not my style. Thank your to NetGalley for the ARC. However, the format was very rough - jumbled letters and sporadic spacing, which may have made it more difficult to enjoy.

This is the first book I've read by Lisa Moore. I didn't know what to expect coming in, and I was happy that I requested this ARC from NetGalley and House of Anansi Press.

At the heart of this novel is family- those we don't choose and those we do. All the people are brought together because Xavier was beaten and stabbed, and is now lying in the hospital in critical condition.

Over the course of a few days, with a huge snowstorm in the background, Xavier's family and friends try to work out what happened, and why. In the process, they learn a lot about the different ways we love.

The writing style isn't for everyone- it meanders- but Moore can make the snowstorm a character, and is able to make the human characters feel very real.

I don't always go for such intimate and intricate storytelling, but in the case of This Is How We Love, it felt like pure artistry. This book is a story, but it is also a profound exploration of many relationships of all different types. It's an excellent choice for readers who thrive on quiet and deep personal connections.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

I was attracted to this book because of the cover and author. I'm so glad I read it. Themes include family, friendship and healing. The pace may be slow for some, it was just right for me.

The premise of this book caught my attention which is the reason I requested it but it was a struggle to get through, Overall I enjoyed the book but it was a slow mover for me personally.

“One of my characters rides a dirt bike through a forest path. I think of the cover painting as that path. The red in the sky appears ominous to me; it might look like the sun going down, or like a blood stain.”

Before telling you about the inside of this lovely book, let me tell you about the cover. The author of This is How We Love is also the artist behind the cover. The quote above is by the author (from the publisher’s website) and describes the watercolour that Lisa Moore painted for this story.

Twenty-one year old Xavier lies beaten and bleeding on a street in winter in Newfoundland. A woman pushes the crowd away and comes to the young man’s aid. Now, Xavier lies in a hospital bed in a coma during the storm of the century. His mother, Jules, makes it back from her vacation in Mexico to see her son in hospital.

This is how the story begins. While the reader waits to see if Xavier is going to survive, we are introduced to some of the people in Xavier’s life that brought him to this point. The narrative meanders between different time periods and characters. The emotion is high and we are always looking for updates on Xavier’s status.

We see how his mother and her mother taught him about what makes a family. How circumstance as much as genes can make a family.

I have previously enjoyed four of Lisa Moore’s books and when I learned this one was being published I added it to my library list and net galley right away. I was a tad surprised when my library hold came in first but have since discovered that this book published in Canada on May 3, 2022 and publishes in the US on August 16.

If you are a fan of My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout or have enjoyed Moore’s previous books then you will be sure to enjoy this one. There were points during the book where I felt it meandered a bit much and could have been cut a bit shorter but the reading was very enjoyable.

Thank you to @netgalley and @houseofanansi for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Lisa Moore is a treasure. Looking at the subject matter and themes of balance it feels specifically pertinent to this time we're currently living in.

I really liked this one! It was such an interesting look into family and familiar relationships. It really focused on the love we feel for one another outside of a romantic sense of love. We do not choose who we love but rather we fall into it until we need the other person in our lives. I thought it was beautifully written. The non-linear timeline confused me a bit but Jules' and her son's relationship was real and raw.

Interesting book. Centers around a young an getting badly beaten up. Entire book is about what led him and his loved ones to this point in their lives. His Mother, father, girlfriend, friends, extended family members.. The mother is the narrator, and she builds a picture of what her and her son's life has been to up til this point. Helps the reader better understand all of the underlying elements of her grief and fear, and what raising this young man has meant to her and to others who love him. Author does a good job of portraying the emotions that come into play when you have loved someone for so long and fear losing the spot they have held in your world for so long. It's like going through the grieving process with her. Nevertheless, I found myself wanting to know how it ends - does the young man survive or does he not. More so than with other books,I felt that reading the backstory was a necessary price to pay to get to the end, and the backstory was interesting, and yet, I kept asking myself "What happens to him? Does he live?" So I'm giving it three stars. Wish there were a 3.5 stars available.

This novel uses an incident where a son has been beaten and is hospitalized while his mother sits vigil as a vehicle to examine moments in their lives that preceded this moment and what is happening while they are in the hospital. It is well-written but somewhat meandering and confusing with all the jumps in the timeline and different characters being introduced.

This author is fairly prolific, and knows how to write. This is definitely literature, and is more than just plot. There are some subtle qualities, if readers pay attention, and thus may bore some readers at times. Probably best for serious lit fans.

Thanks very much for the free ARC for review!!

4.5 stars!

'This Is How We Love' is a beautiful story about the family we choose and the family bestowed upon us, as well as love, loss, violence, and everything in between.

Here's my review: ughhfhbafjhgbkdlsmvn sjhdalafkm <3

And my actual review: Lisa Moore paints her characters in such a raw and real way, so that you can't help but feel for them. Although the story centers around Xavier and the attack, everyone surrounding him is treated with care and attention by Moore, so that you end up with a kaleidoscope of stories, timelines, and people.

This is one of those books that is hard to put into words, so I won't try beyond this, but I will say that anybody who loves stories about communities and the private lives of the people within them should definitely read this book <3

This is How We Love sadly did not capture my attention. I don't know if it was the flow or the characters I'm struggling to connect with. Seeing how I was unable to finish the book, it is hard to write a proper review. My hope is, that once this boom comes out, I am better able to take more time to read i.t

This Is How We Love is the latest novel from Lisa Moore, the author of February and Caught. Moore paints in broad strokes a portrait of familial bonding and breakups which I found to be an intimate read with some beautiful passages. This is the first novel I've read from this author and I felt her character portrayals were heartfelt and true. An extended poem that reaches for the heart and never overstays its welcome.

This is one of those novels that is an acquired taste. The storytelling is not conventional. It roams, as in the details of a particular thing, place, person, stretch out, as if on a never-ending street. I enjoyed the words. They were lyrical, full of depth, full of meaning, purposeful and poetic. Moore is clearly a talented writer. But I didn’t love this novel. I have read that some reviewers found that it lacked a story, I disagree, but I do understand why they feel that way. There was a lot of pausing, to spend paragraphs on one moment, one detail that stretched out so far, too far, and the story got lost or buried. I never thought I would be one to say there could be TOO much detail but, in my opinion, this novel suffered from that.

But there was a story. Even underneath all that drawn out exposition. I think the synopsis was a bit misleading, it refers to a mother struggling through a snowstorm to get to the hospital to her son, who was brutally attacked. This does happen BUT it is a very small part of the novel. In reality, majority of the novel takes place in the hospital, but also in the past. We shift perspectives and timelines. The purpose is to take us through what led us here. What led us to this moment, to Xavier’s attack, to a mother sitting next to her possibly dying son. What people shaped this moment, what incidents led to his attack, was it inevitable? These are the things that his mother (and the other characters) are thinking about.

The storytelling isn’t linear. And as I have mentioned, it drags. But in my pursuit to rationalize why it was told this way, I concluded that it was a deliberate attempt to make us feel the uneasiness, and anxiety, chaos, confusion, and the slowing down of time, that his mother was feeling, was sitting in, was experiencing. Sitting next to her possibly dying son in a hospital with time and silence forcing her to reevaluate her life. To think about all the people and places and moments that led her here. And when one is reflecting during such tragedy, it will not be linear, it may drag at times, and jump around as you try to reconcile, as you try to understand.

Like I said, I adored the words, the writing itself, but I didn’t love the way the story was told. It took me a while to get through. But I am not saying you shouldn’t read it. If you enjoy character driven, introspective, lyrical, poetic reflections on family, love, and tragedy, then yes pick it up. The language will stimulate you. Will pull at your heart. And like I said there is a story, about a mother, a son, a foster child, and how their worlds collide. It takes a little more effort to weave through, but if you like a challenge, go for it.

Thank you to #netgalley, Anansi Publishing and author for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.75/5

A book about complicated family and personal relationships. Found it difficult at times to keep track of all the characters and who was connected to who . Also all the events from the past were not interesting as most were just life events that happen to everyone. Remember that storm in Newfoundland. The book was tedious at times .

I received an ARC of This Is How We Love from NetGalley and House of Anansi Press. It’s the story of love in its many forms from the love of family, the love of friends, and the differing love of neighbors and acquaintances. I can see how this story could be an interesting perspective on love, however, I could never get a handle on any kind of story, it just rambled on for far too long and jumped from one generation to another with no cohesive flow.

It starts out with a horrible attack on Xander and throughout the story told of the many people who loved him and the love he had for others. The story kept circling back to him in the hospital and I was left wondering if he’d die or survive this horrific assault. There are many characters introduced throughout but that only made the story drag on far too long.

I am giving this book only 2 stars, though I’ll definitely try another book by this author to see if maybe I can understand her writing style better.

I have long loved the writing of Lisa Moore — for how she captures truth on a large scale (the captivating day-to-day reality of living in St. John’s, Newfoundland) and truth on the personal scale (the absolute reality of the human heart in all its familiar variety) — and This Is How We Love did not disappoint. The story begins with devastation — Jules and her husband Joe were in Mexico when they learned that their son had been viciously attacked at a party back home — and in chapters that rotate through various characters’ perspectives (always from Jules’ first person POV and third person when focussing on another), Moore skillfully relates stories from across the generations that explain who these people are, what forces made them, and how they got to now. Exploring a wide range of family types, Moore asks just what makes a family, what do we owe to one another, and can we ever step off the path childhood circumstances laid down for us. The overall plot is compelling, the writing is technically masterful as the timeline jumps around, threads dangle and get tied up, and small moments frequently dazzle with their clarity and relatability; I loved everything about this.