{"id":407,"date":"2024-09-18T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-18T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=407"},"modified":"2024-09-18T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-09-18T12:00:00","slug":"book-review-henrys-version","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=407","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Henry\u2019s Version"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Henry\u2019s Version<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

by Brett Shapiro<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong> Literary Fiction \/ LGBTQ<\/p>\n

ISBN: <\/strong>9798891323483<\/p>\n

Print Length:<\/strong> 190 pages<\/p>\n

Publisher:<\/strong> Atmosphere Press<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Reviewed by Elizabeth Zender<\/em><\/p>\n

A poetic novel looking back on a life well lived<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Brett Shapiro takes readers on a meaningful, touching journey about being human and looking back in Henry\u2019s Version<\/em>.<\/p>\n

As the 70-year-old narrator looks back on his life, readers get to experience it in full\u2014starting with growing up. From worrying about his appearance to his first crush on a boy and to and through his marriage, son, and granddaughter. Henry spares no detail the sometimes quiet, sometimes not moments of his life.<\/p>\n

In his adolescence, Henry is an anxious boy, concerned with a wide variety of things: whether or not he was adopted, the way his red hair makes him a target at school, the crush he forms on his only friend Donny.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He carries his anxiety with him throughout his life. His husband Len can even lovingly point out that he can be a little neurotic at times. In their story, Len and Henry adopt a son and settle into the joys of married life and parenthood. They even attend Henry\u2019s high school reunion, where they see Donny\u2014an interaction every reader will be dying to find out how it will unfold.<\/p>\n

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Among the best pieces of this book is Henry\u2019s relationship with his granddaughter. The relationship is lively and mysterious. He finds himself wondering whether or not she enjoys his company, especially as he feels he knows nothing about girls, let alone growing teenage ones. I won\u2019t spoil it for you, but I hope the idea of a firecracker teen and her straight-forward grandfather will entice you to see for yourself. It\u2019s heartwarming to say the least.<\/p>\n

Shapiro\u2019s detailed, poetic prose carries the reader smoothly from page to page, memory to memory. His writing brings about an important question: What causes us to look back on our lives and focus on the details that we do? <\/em>Henry\u2019s life is dotted with little memories: fond ones, hard ones, and dull ones alike.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In one particularly thought-provoking moment, Henry reminisces on his mother\u2019s tapioca. He has suffered a loss, and the tapioca in the hospital makes him think back to his childhood. Sometimes, it\u2019s the minute details in life that stick. Shapiro\u2019s flowing reflection gave me pause to think about my own experiences and what details have shaped me, no matter how small.<\/p>\n

Henry\u2019s Version<\/em> is a timeless story of life and memories, mistakes and reconciliations. It features a familiar inner monologue of worries, triumphs, and wonderings that makes Henry feel human. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the comfort it brings. And I think you will too.<\/p>\n

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Thank you for reading Elizabeth Zender\u2019s book review of Henry\u2019s Version <\/em>by Brett Shapiro! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.<\/p>\n

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The post Book Review: Henry\u2019s Version<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Henry\u2019s Version by Brett Shapiro Genre: Literary Fiction \/ LGBTQ ISBN: 9798891323483 Print Length: 190 pages Publisher: Atmosphere Press Buy from Amazon Buy from Bookshop Reviewed by Elizabeth Zender A poetic novel looking back on a life well lived Brett Shapiro takes readers on a meaningful, touching journey about being human and looking back in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":408,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}