My Name is Anton by Catherine Ryan Hyde

My Name is Anton by Catherine Ryan Hyde

ARC provided from Lake Union for an honest review.

Book Blurb:

It’s 1965, and life has taken a turn for eighteen-year-old Anton Addison-Rice. Nearly a year after his brother died in a tragic accident, Anton is still wounded—physically and emotionally. Alone for the holidays, he catches a glimpse of his neighbor Edith across the street one evening and realizes that she’s in danger.
Anton is determined to help Edith leave her abusive marriage. Frightened and fifteen years Anton’s senior, Edith is slow to trust. But when she needs a safe place to stay, she lets down her guard, and over the course of ten days an unlikely friendship grows. As Anton falls hopelessly and selflessly in love, Edith fears both her husband finding her and Anton getting hurt. She must disappear without telling anyone where she’s going—even Anton. If keeping Edith safe means letting her go, Anton will say goodbye forever. Or so he believes. What would happen, though, if one day their paths should cross again?” 

My Review: 4 stars – Guest Review

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My Name is Anton is a quiet, moving, and poignant novel that deals with the heartfelt and emotional journey of the wonderful protagonist Anton. The story is separated into time periods beginning in 1965 when 18-year-old Anton first meets 33-year-old Edith. Most of the story spans 15 years of their lives, and ends in the present, where the reader gets to see these characters in their old age. Very little action takes place since the story is character-driven, although there is a sense of suspense about where the story is headed. It was slow-paced but an easy read. 

This was a beautiful character study of two lost souls, and their enduring love, sacrifice, and selflessness. All of the characters were so well-developed, and real, but were also flawed and human, and I was totally invested in their lives. Anton was a wonderful protagonist who had depth and integrity as he overcomes life’s challenges through the support and valuable life lessons from his grandmother Marion and his great uncle Gregor, who were also great characters. Although many serious and “dark” topics were dealt with, the story was uplifting and hopeful. The wide variety of themes included: family dysfunction, love, coping with loss, physical disability, trauma/healing, mental illness, domestic violence, adoption, and society’s view of romance between younger men and older women. The beauty of the universe and stars was another theme that recurred throughout the book. There were many nuggets of wisdom about grief, and how it is important to be grateful for “what is not lost”. 

Some of the story read like a movie. The relationship between Anton and his parents reminded me at several points of “Ordinary People” (for those readers who may be familiar with that book or movie. Anton’s parents were very similar to the parents from “Ordinary People” in terms of the family dynamics and how they handled grief and their relationship with their son. The only drawback of the book for me was that at times I felt some distance from Anton. During these instances, I felt detached from his emotions, since his thought processes seemed like they were being “reported” to me rather than my experiencing it as a reader. It might have been interesting if the story was told from both Anton’s and Edith’s points of view.

I can’t believe that Catherine Ryan Hyde has previously authored more than 30 books, and that this is the first book I’ve read by her. It certainly won’t be the last. For many books I read, I have difficulty remembering all of the details after a certain length of time. Every detail of this story has stayed with me, weeks after reading it. This is not a typical romance novel. This gem of a book is full of heart and is a very worthwhile read. Review by Guest Fairy Ronna. 

Quotes I liked:

Looking directly at a painful truth hurts less than being stalked by it.”

“He was not accustomed to crying in front of others, and he could not have said more without crying. More accurately, he was not accustomed to crying, period. He had not indulged that release because of a deep fear that, having allowed the tears to start, he would never find the end of them, or would find they had no end at all.” 

“I’m not a fan of the concept. ‘Getting over it.’ Makes loss sound like a brick-wall, and like somehow you’ll scramble over the top and drop down on the other side and keep going, and then it’s all behind you.”

“Great tragedy brings great growth. ……It wakes us up. It makes us into someone a little different from who we were before……I ‘m not saying it’s good when tragedy happens-of course it isn’t. Only that we would do better not to resist its effects on us.”