On her sixtieth birthday, Ana’s mother sent her an email stating it was “appropriate” to inform her of the exact cost of raising her, adjusted for the current dollar value, and how, if she had invested the money, it would have been a quarter of a million dollars. “Being a parent is a great sacrifice,” she concludes.

Ana’s mother was a beautiful teenage model when she became pregnant with Ana. The father married her, but was unfaithful, and the marriage didn’t last. Ana was a disappointment to her mother, but she doted on her son.

Ana is married to a doctor, a good man, but addicted to pot after an accident left him him continual pain; their intimacy came to an end. For seven years, Ana has been involved with another man, a gorgeous hunk. Her best friend, Fiona, knows all Ana’s secrets.

Over the course of the day, Ana meets with a client, her lover, a niece, her mother, her friend, and the day concludes with a family gathering. Over the course of the day we learn about Ana and her family through her memories and those of her family.

Ana’s self-centered family has never been there for her, and the hurt remains. Her mother is bitter, her ‘ruined’ by a man and pregnancy. Ana’s father grew up in her father’ Swiss hotel, his father collaborating with Nazis to survive. Her cold brother George has never offered help or support when she needed it. With her husband withdrawn since his accident, they live separate lives. Ana’s only child has announced they are trans, throwing Ana off balance. She has her work, the nieces who love her, her best friend, and her lover.

At the end of the day, Ana acknowledges that her family is still family, to see them as they are, and to understand she alone is responsible for her happiness.

Ana turns sixty, and become wise, she turns to the future.

Lisa Gornick’s novel is rich in psychological insight, bringing her characters into sharp focus, allowing readers to be transformed with Ana. It is refreshing to read about a character who has reached the end of her middle years, still young enough to alter the shape of her future. There are so many things that could be discussed by a book club.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A family of flawed people who truly love each other are struggling through their convoluted feelings and misconceptions about each other. I love the novel. The characters are real and raw.

Ana Turns takes place over 24 hours - and a lifetime - as the title character gets ready to turn 60. Ana has lived an interesting life, from her 'broken home' childhood to her happy marriage, and sideline long-term affair. Her story is a look back at how she got where she is, and a bit of a look forward to where she may go next. Ana is a very compelling character, but in some ways I learned more about the characters around her than the woman herself. But then, maybe she's still learning who she truly is! I very much enjoyed her story, though there were a lot of people mixed up in it and a couple of the side stories probably weren't really necessary. Especially good novel for woman of a certain age who are continuing the work of coming into their own.

Could NOT put this book down. Absolutely loved it! Ana's "one day in the life" story was rich, compelling, and so well written.

What a brilliant read. I’m still left thinking about it several days later. Ana is celebrating her 60th birthday and reflecting on past friendships, her extra marital affair of several years, the fact her beloved son Simon wants to transition into a woman and be called Simona but most importantly she is grappling with a tense mother daughter relationship which has forever left her feeling short changed.

The interwoven threads of literature such as Mrs Dalloway really adds to the story and the writing is sublime. Many thought provoking quotes I have highlighted and keep finding myself going back to. Overall a five star read for me that I will enjoy re reading time and again.

A fascinating character study, one that will benefit from being read over and over again. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Ana is turning sixty. Using the day of her birth to contemplate her life, her job, her pot-addicted husband, her brother, and her elderly mother, Ana begins to wonder what’s next for her in this lifetime.

Such a raw novel about an aging woman and the people in her life. While Ana initially seemed like a well-balanced and enlightened woman, her flaws began to peek out with each story about her loved ones, essentially making her a more human character.

I didn’t enjoy this novel as much as I thought I would, as it bounced around too much, making it hard to follow the story.

Overall, it is a decent read if you have time to study each character and scene. The characters are quirky and maddening but likable nonetheless.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Marriage, motherhood and memories.

A contemplative insight into ageing, as protagonist, Ana turns 60.

Themes of marriage, infidelity, ageing parents, best friends, secrets, forgiveness, adult children, and transgender identification make for a fascinating reflection of one woman’s life.

I really enjoyed this story.

Synopsis:

A kaleidoscopic story, unspooling over the twenty-four hours of a very contemporary woman’s sixtieth birthday.

Nine years have passed since Ana Koehl had sex with her pot-addicted anesthesiologist husband, seven since she began an affair with a gonzo journalist. She’s gratified by her work as a book doula, but burdened by her belief that she need always be on call. Her elderly mother’s birthday greeting is an inflation-adjusted calculation of the cost of raising Ana in a mice-infested house, her brother has hijacked the will of their recently deceased starchitect father, her adult child is changing rapidly before her eyes, and her best friend advocates for “the truth in lies.” Gazing out at the dark moat of Central Park from behind her desk, Ana sees that she can no longer postpone making peace with her past or confronting her present.

Narrated by Ana and the key figures in her life—her husband, her brother, her lover’s wife, to name a few—Ana Turns spirals through issues from capital punishment to the dynamiting of the Bamiyan Buddhas, culminating in a watershed dinner party, with Ana’s family members’ true colors on full display. By day’s end, the bounds of her own collaboration and forgiveness illuminated, Ana turns towards a vision of what she wants next in this blink of a life.

Thank you @netgalley and #lisagornick for the opportunity to read and review.

Publication date: 7 Nov 2023

#anaturns #lisagornick #netgalley #books #arc #bookreview #booksbooksbooks📚 #booklover #lifeasabooklover #bibliophile #bookstagram #booksofinstagram📚 #midlife #midlifewomen #booksofinstagram

This was such a lovely read. I thought it was a rich and multilayered story that took many unexpected turns. I did find some of the timeline and perspective jumping jarring in places and I had a hard time keeping things straight at first. However I thought it was interesting to get varying perspectives! Worth the effort to keep up :)

In "Ana Turns" the characters are so intricate and robust that after finishing the book in one sitting I felt compelled to go back and reread the beginning. Ana's family of origin, her marriage and adult child are filled with nuance, and their conversations are so realistic it sometimes made me cringe. Beautiful writing and insights including this one, "...the kindest act is to see people as they are. To want from others only that which they require to be themselves." I learned a few things about mothering, in particular with Ana and her child but will not write anything further as it would give away the beauty and pain of that relationship. Highly recommended. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. #AnaTurns #NetGalley

It was appropriate that the book opened with Virginia Wolfe as the novel reminded me of Mrs Dalloway, but alas not handled quite as masterfully. I was a little overwhelmed by all the stories. When it comes to an older lady reflecting on her past, I’ll stick with Moon Tiger

An interesting take on looking back on your life! While it wasn’t a 5 star read for me, I am interested in looking into Gornick’s other works

It's Ana's 60th birthday, and she is reflecting on her life. She has been married for many years, and has been having an affair for 7 years. We get to know her mother, grown child, best friend, and the husband and lover. There is not a lot of action. this was just okay for me. #anaturns #lisagornick #bookstagram #booklover #reader #bookblog #lovetoread #fictionreader #bookreview #bookrecommendation #readersofinstagram #bookloversofinstagram #takeapagefrommybook #readallthebooks #booksbooksbooks #booksofinstagram #bookwormproblems #bookaholic #booknerd #whattoread #readingtime #bookaddict #ilovetoread #ilovebooks #needtoread #readallday #netgalley #advancedreaderscopy

I was excited to start a book about a woman turning 60, but Ana Turns turned out to be just a little more than I bargained for. The book begins on the morning of Ana's 60th birthday, and the story shoots out of the gate with more characters than I could keep up with. After about 15%, I just couldn't do it anymore, unfortunately, because other reviewers seem to love the whole book. Ana has had a lot of folks in her life, and as she began remembering people and events, I couldn't help getting confused, and I somehow couldn't get with the storyline.

Thanks to NetGalley for letting me have a chance at Ana Turns.

This is a rich and moving meditation. The book takes place during the twenty-four hours of Ana’s sixtieth birthday., We look back on various points in her life from various points of view - her husband, her lover, her family, and then forward toward what the next chapter may bring. A few different novels are mentioned along the way (Ana and her best friend met in an English graduate program, and Fiona has dubbed the work she does now as being a “book therapist”), but the most resonant is ‘Mrs. Dalloway’, which Ana reads throughout the day.

The novel, at its heart, is about family and human connection. What it means to be in a family, to be a parent, to be a child. There are a lot of missed connections here, and failures to reach out. And some lovely examples of the opposite. It’s all expertly, sometimes hilariously presented, with that stab of sadness that makes up the best humor. I recognized a lot, found myself shaking my head up and down and back and forth in equal measure.

I wish I could have read this book faster, maybe even within one day. It’s certainly possible - it’s not a long novel - and I wonder if it may have made the reading experience even more rich. But I really enjoyed it, in any case. It makes me want to re-read Mrs. Dalloway in order to find even more parallels. It is a really beautiful novel.

A lovely and sprawling story of a woman turning 60. It took place on Ana’s birthday, but it was also full of the stories of the characters in her life (parents, grandparents, husband, lover, lover’s wife, one of Ana’s clients) and their past histories and present lives. And many of the sentences - the author’s writing, about the characters and their histories, were long and convoluted, although interesting! - and often very hard to follow. I frequently forgot who various characters were.

One of the characters is trans, and Gornick does a nice job of presenting Ana’s feelings about that.

I enjoyed the character of New York, as I always do when a novel is set in the city. The story of Ana was interesting enough; I wish it had been simpler, honestly.

I am grateful for NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in advance and to offer my honest review.

Ana Turns by Lisa Gornick

Fiction | Dual Timelines

•Ana Koehl has been having an affair with a gonzo journalist for the past seven years. Her husband, Henry is a pot addicted anaesthesiologist who she hasn’t had sex with for the past nine years. On her 60th birthday, she revisits her past and reflects on how her life has been spiralling before her own eyes.
•There were so many interesting stories told in this novel. I found that I really needed to concentrate when reading this, as the timeline would shift without warning. I liked the structure, as it was different from my previous reads. I think this would be a great book for a bookclub of women in their late 30’s upwards as there is so many topics to unpack.

Feels: intriguing and carefully crafted. (I love the fact that Torrey Peters supported Lisa Gornick)

4.5 stars - what an excellent novel! Such a modern and fresh take on the classic tale of Mrs. Dalloway, and the incorporation of real world events and references really makes the novel feel at the very cusp of fiction. Ana Turns tells the story of Ana over the 24 hours of her 60th birthday, predominantly from her own perspective but with chapters from her friends and family. The majority of the novel is Ana reflecting on key events in her past and deciding how her future will evolve before her.

Every character in the novel is so multi-faceted, and you really gain a deep understanding of how their past has shaped them. The themes of addiction, culture, death, friendship, guilt, parenthood and forgiveness are handled with such care and incorporated seamlessly in the events of the book. In particular I really enjoyed the depiction of Simon and their coming out story - it is a breath of fresh air to see the 'other' side of coming out. Ana wants to be supportive as possible, but naturally has a lot of questions and hesitations about how to best approach their transition. It does a great job encompassing how our culture and social norms have evolved over the last few decades, and does an excellent job acknowledging the balance between supporting someone's coming out journey while also having concerns about their safety and future. I especially appreciated the author directly acknowledging the lived experiences of trans individuals and conducting her own research while writing the novel - it definitely shows and ensures not only is there representation in the novel, but it is also authentic and included with clear intent.

Ana's life is quite mundane and the experiences that shape her are not too dissimilar from what many people experience. However, I think this is a key reason why the narrative so successfully achieves its goal; it ultimately shows that each of us are built upon our kaleidoscopic pasts and offer such a unique perspective of the world. The idea of sonder is heavily present in this novel, with Ana starting to unpack her relationship with her parents and affair partner in a way she hadn't previously considered. While no character is strictly good or bad, the layers of dimension are so interesting and I had an excellent time reading this. Certainly not the most fast paced or 'exciting' read, but it achieves what it sets out to do and does it very well. This was my first read by Lisa Gornick and I will certainly be diving into some other works by this author after reading this. My only critique is the novel is fairly linear, with an expected ending, and I would have preferred some deeper explorations into some relationships which felt a bit underdeveloped (notably George and Ella).

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Absorbing, the narrator felt believable to me and I was compelled by relationships in her life. "Modern-day Ms. Dalloway" definitely rings true as a description.

I loved the structure of this book - a lifetime in a single day. Ana was so compelling. I savoured her chapters and loved hearing from her - I took notes of so many lines written from her view. I'd also very much like a Fiona in my life.

Some characters felt all bad - Rolf, George and Ana's mother. Some, like Henry, Ana herself, Simon and Ana's nieces were almost angelic. This may be down to my own strong reactions, though.

Chapter 9 felt like an ending with us being back with the clock, in the study with a little left to the imagination. I felt the final few chapters took a little too much from her? At 60 I may have more compassion and wisdom, but right now I'm not so forgiving of the much awful behaviour from her mother and brother, and even Lance.

I found some of the scenarios a little whimsical - Rolf sometimes felt like a character from a dark Wes Anderson film. I sped through the chapters from Lance and Alice. There was so much in Ana's life, I felt the storyline with Alice's grandfather distracting.