What a premise! The writing is gorgeous, as is the storytelling. Hannah is grieving the loss of her boyfriend and trying to cope with the trauma of her past. Unbeknownst to her, the ghost of her ex-boyfriend is watching this all unfold…

This started off with a hint of dark humor but soon become much heavier and serious. I am glad I read this and also expected most of the novel to be from Max’s perspective - instead, we get small glimpses from Max, and from others including Hannah, as well as chapters featuring her childhood.

Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

How to describe The Echoes? Beautiful, poignant, heart-breaking, eye-opening. Hannah is grappling with the loss of her beloved while haunted by the secrets of her past; her story and character are intensely compelling. I appreciated the different timelines and points of view allowing readers more insight in to Hannah; the prose is dripping with an intense longing that made my heart ache.

The Echoes is an excavation of past and present traumas; an exploration of grief; a tender, touching story that will be impossible to forget. I am immensely grateful to Knopf for the early copy.

A powerful and enthralling exploration of how those we meet and family pain reverberate (or, yes, echo) in us across time, and a rumination of what we hope of other people, expect of ourselves, and how often both of these fall short. "The Echoes" has tinges of the movie "A Ghost Story", with a partner becoming a ghost as the framing device, but it goes far beyond and despite its few pages it's so deep a read, with rich, flawed, complicated characters and a chance to be in each of their heads.

And it's a bit of a tense unraveling of puzzle pieces, but all in service of getting to know more about this person we're seeing as if we also were the ghosts in the room: the lemon dress, the teaspoons, the making coffee yet not drinking it; all parts of the picture being painted of how we can know someone but never truly know them completely.

I appreciated getting to know these people Evie Wyld has cooked up, with a partial setting that also introduced me to elements of history in Australia such as the Stolen Generations and some slang terms. A highly recommended read.

Generational trauma brilliantly told via multiple narrators: a ghost, his partner, and various members of her now-estranged family. The narrative jumps between time and characters fairly seamlessly given there are quite literal seams (alternating chapters). Loved this one.

"First off, I want to start by saying that I love Evie Wyld! Yes, she can be dark, but what a brilliant writer! That being said, I found myself put off initially when I read this was a "ghost story", because I'm not really into that. I should have known however, that if anyone can write a "ghost story" that is not really a "ghost story", it's Evie Wyld.
The book begins with a man who is a writing instructor, and who has recently died. He's contemplating his sudden demise and how he feels about this switch to an afterlife that he previously did not even believe in. As the story goes on, we watch him observe his girlfriend in their London flat, and her grieving process. But more than that, we become aware of a life that she had hidden away from him, the story of her growing up in Australia, and the many secrets she kept from him; some recent, and some long buried.
The author's use of multiple locations, time periods, and character perspectives can be confusing at first, but she is definitely a writer who knows what she's doing. She slowly and tautly, is able to weave all these aspects of her story together, and she does it like a boss! The last few pages were beautiful, bittersweet, and took my breath away. I wasn't ready to let go of the story, so reread those pages again and again.
I am so much looking forward to recommending "The Echoes" to book clubs because, as with all her books, it possesses all the elements for a great discussion. This novel is signature Wyld, the author at her best. A 4.5 stars from me.
Many thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for the early review copy!

Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for this ARC of Evie Wyld's 'The Echoes.'

This is a very cleverly structured book from Evie Wyld which spans decades, generations, continents, and cultures. The different timelines and viewpoints can be a little hard to juggle at the beginning but it's really well worth sticking with since it all falls into place and becomes an integral part of the experience of reading this novel.

We're introduced to the whole story by the ghost of Max, the dead partner of Hannah, an Australian whose many tragic secrets are revealed through a series of flashbacks and observations by Max who assumes the role of the (almost) invisible watcher. The character of ghost Max is really well done and injected with a liberal dose of humor.

Hannah is a complex character with a rich past that is revealed very slowly and beautifully. We learn of her mixed childhood in Australia and the layers are peeled back bit-by-bit and we understand why she is how she is and how much of her is rooted in grief and different types of loss.

This really is a lovely, sad, and funny book. It'll stick with me for a long time.

What a clever and intriguing book. It takes a little deciphering, but as the characters emerge, and the chronology too, so the skill of the author becomes apparent. Add to that the fluency and conviction of expression and you have something exceptional. There’s a lot going on in what is not an enormous work. But all of it is rich, smart, often funny, and appropriately haunting. Well done.

Such a good book! The ghost of the boyfriend is able to see the girlfriends life and he now notices just ho many things in her life that he was blind to. It was very eye opening for the boyfriend, and I hope for other people reading this book to help notice tings they might not notice day to day that their own partners may be going through. Loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review!!