Review: The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes (by Ruth Hogan)

My Rating: 4 stars

The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes is a thoughtful book that both surprised me and humbled me in ways that I wasn't expecting.   Going into this book, I knew that the story revolved around difficult subject matter such as death, loss, and grief, and so I thought that this would be a heavy read, since most authors tend to approach these themes in a manner that focuses more on the dark and tragic.  It turns out I was wrong, as Ruth Hogan has a unique style all her own where she is able to take such difficult subject matter and approach it in a manner that is lighthearted, yet absolutely respectful.  Hogan herself was battling cancer as she wrote this book and as she describes in her "Author's Note," she chose to stand up and fight, facing her situation head on and not letting it get her down.  It is this personal experience that inspires the story, which revolves around the character of Masha, who is still dealing with the grief and guilt over losing her son Gabriel 12 years ago.  Masha is surrounded by friends and family who love her and want nothing more than to help her, but she can't bear for the past tragedy to even be mentioned.  She finds solace in visiting the local cemetery, the only place where she is able to either keep silent company with the souls of the deceased or share her story with them as she feels comfortable.  She also takes refuge at the local town lido, where she finds safety in her "practice drowning" sessions underwater.  Slowly though, things start to change for her when she unexpectedly meets two women who open up a new world for her — a mysterious bag lady named Sally Red Shoes who loves to sing while feeding the crows that constantly surround her, and a seventy-something disco queen named Kitty Muriel whose vivacious joy and love for life belies a tragic past of her own.  Through these two extraordinary women and the various encounters she has with them, Masha's outlook slowly changes and she sees the chance to start living again.  

This was a lovely, heartwarming story with quirky, eccentric characters that I absolutely adored.  Hogan writes in a descriptive prose that paints a detailed picture of each scene and in so doing, also brings each of the characters to life, though at times this also required a little bit of patience to read because the descriptions would sometimes go on for pages, making it easy to get so caught up in the details that I would forget what point I was at with the story — with that said though, the effort was definitely worth it.  I also loved the humor that was interspersed throughout the story, which I felt was perfectly balanced — no small feat given the sensitive subject matter, but done amazingly well in Hogan's capable hands.  

Ultimately, this was a story that went beyond simply a meditation on grief and death — rather, this was a story about hope and resilience and finding the will to keep living in the face of tragedy and pain.  This was an uplifting and inspiring read, one that made me excited to read Hogan's other works (both of which are already on my TBR).  Definitely recommended!

Received ARC from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley.