3 out of 5 stars
This is a fairly slow-moving, unremarkable story about an unremarkable woman. It's actually marketed as the story of an "unremarkable woman's unforgettable life," which you would think would be kind of an advertising blunder, but if you're a 3x Pulitzer-prize nominee, maybe you can get away with it. At any rate, Someone is indeed captivating and quite interesting in a quiet NPR kind of way.
The time frame is between WWI and WWII, and it's set in Brooklyn, so that's kind of charming and becomes a bit of a character unto itself, and our heroine Marie is both milktoast and plucky at the same time.
While the plot is kind of vanilla (but who doesn't like vanilla?), the writing is really great. I was very much drawn into this character's world -- which spans pretty much her whole life from age seven until she's dying "in her own efficient, getting-on-with-it way" in an assisted living home. The minutia and seemingly forgettable moments in between those two bookends in time are indeed poignant and memorable.
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