The Lives of Edie Pritchard by Larry Watson

Genre: Fiction

Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis via Goodreads:

From acclaimed novelist Larry Watson, a multigenerational story of the West told through the history of one woman trying to navigate life on her own terms.

Edie—smart, self‑assured, beautiful—always worked hard. She worked as a teller at a bank, she worked to save her first marriage, and later, she worked to raise her daughter even as her second marriage came apart. Really, Edie just wanted a good life, but everywhere she turned, her looks defined her. Two brothers fought over her. Her second husband became unreasonably possessive and jealous. Her daughter resented her. And now, as a grandmother, Edie finds herself harassed by a younger man. It’s been a lifetime of proving that she is allowed to exist in her own sphere. The Lives of Edie Pritchard tells the story of one woman just trying to be herself, even as multiple men attempt to categorize and own her.

Triumphant, engaging, and perceptive, Watson’s novel examines a woman both aware of her physical power and constrained by it, and how perceptions of someone in a small town can shape her life through the decades.

Review:

Thank you Algonquin Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For trigger warnings, see below.

This was my first Larry Watson book and also the first book I’ve read that took place in Montana.

The Lives of Edie Pritchard gave off an old-time vibe that I love, especially with the first setting in the book, when Edie is with her first husband, Dean. It’s not often that a male author can write female character that is strong-willed well, but Larry definitely accomplished that and I appreciate it because she was a very well written character.

I have to say that I did enjoy Part 3 the most, as Edie was older and obviously more developed as a person and it showed that Larry had her character develop throughout the book.

Please note, while the title may seem like a time traveling book, it is NOT time travel as I’ve seen some people assume.

The three timelines in which we follow Edie – 1967-68, 1987, and then 2007, are three distinct times in her life, but were very well interconnected with the inclusion of the Linderman brothers. Dean, the first husband, and Roy, the fraternal twin of Dean. Throughout the whole book, Roy was there to help Edie along the way when she needed help, but he wasn’t a complete lovesick, jealous man. Each timeline did not get boring. I enjoyed the family dynamic of Edie with her daughter and her granddaughter in parts two and three as well as the growth in the relationship between Dean and Roy between parts one and two.

I highly recommend The Lives of Edie Pritchard if you are looking for a book that follows a main character throughout their lives.

TW: Spousal domestic abuse, car accident, underage drinking

See my review post on Instagram.