Emily and Einstein

Emily and Einstein falls into the fantastical realism genre that seems to be popular right now. Yesterday I blogged about Ellen Meister's The Other Life which falls into this category, and then read Emily and Einstein by Linda Francis Lee. I have enjoyed Lee's other books, and was at first skeptical when I heard what this one was about. You know I just don't do fantasy very well. However, I had enough faith in Lee's work to think that I might enjoy her latest book.

Emily and Einstein is a fast and fun read - one I liked a lot. This book is narrated by Emily and Einstein, a dog she adopts after the death of her husband. Emily's husband Sandy died unexpectedly and she is grieving his loss and trying to move on with her life. Sandy, who was not ready to die is actually inhabiting the body of Einstein, trying to make amends for his many mistakes. He is able to communicate different ideas to his wife and give her some guidance as she goes up against his parents who plan to evict her from the home she and Sandy shared. I loved reading the alternating narration between Sandy and Emily. Both characters share enough backstory about their life together that it becomes obvious that despite what appeared to be a picture perfect marriage, there were many flaws. While Emily really did love Sandy, it is clear that Sandy did many things he is not proud of and needs to atone for his sins.

While I wouldn't normally think a book with a talking dog would beckon to me, I did really enjoy this read. Emily and Einstein was fun and entertaining and hard to put down.