Thanks to picking up random books based on the oddest of things, I sometimes end up reading very different storylines over the course of any given year. This one was not something I would have ordinarily liked, but strangely enough, I kept wanting to see the extent to which our lead protagonist, the mourning son, Luther trying to make sense of his world without his mother in it, would go.
We are left with no doubts about how much of a 'mama's boy' Luther is despite his advanced age and surprisingly stable romantic relationship with an intelligent woman. The story begins with Luther having to witness his mother's passing helplessly. This situation would have turned anyone's head, let alone someone who's life is very dependent on that parent.
Luther spirals out of control, obsessing over anything that he could do to clear his conscience, and things get remotely ridiculous. Despite hyperbolic reactions, as a reader, I never felt like the sadness was not real because it suited the character to mourn in that particular way. It was a distinctly different read but was written smoothly, and once I started reading it, I worked my way to the end quite easily. I would pick up something by this author again.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book:

I had a hard time connecting with this book. Luther van der Loom witnesses his elderly mother's death by choking and his journey through the grieving process provides the framework for the story. Luther is a classical musician and the parts of the book dealing with such went way over my head. I found myself growing impatient with Luther's obsession with blaming the restaurant they had ordered the food his mother choked on for her demise. He seemed immature although he's a middle aged man. The story did not flow well and took its own sweet time to make a point. It really wasn't for me.

REVIEW: If you love quirky characters and humor, this book will not disappoint. In addition to Luther, there are sub-characters who contribute to the dark humor. Piccolo Fabrizzi, a visiting music professor deserves his own book--plenty of rich character and so aptly described by the author.

If you are looking for intelligent writing, highly amusing characters, and ample humor, Someday Everything Will All Makes sense is a great fit!

A bold and unique book, but not quite my cup of tea. I see what LaHines was going for, but I think it just fell a bit short for me.

I received a complementary copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

LaHines' Someday Everything Will All Make Sense is good, as far as debut novels go. LaHines' writing is smart: it fuses modern concerns and questions regarding death and existentialism, with a macabre twist.

Whilst Hines' character development is done superbly (especially for the protagonist) and her writing is excellent, I found the book dragging on and on, almost as if the reader were undergoing obsessive phases regarding death themselves. However, the book was well-written and the plot was believable: 7/10.

This is a very odd book. It’s not bad, but it’s just odd. Luther has one of the most unique voices I’ve read in fiction, and Carol LaHines does a good job of immersing the reader in Luther’s thought process and emotions. Sometimes the book was a bit slow, namely when it went all hardcore into music theory stuff I just don’t understand, but I get that it was relevant for the character and for the novel. I wasn’t a fan of the Piccolo stuff at the very end, so whether that’s my lack of understanding its importance or not is still to be determined. Overall, this is an excellent book on grieving, guilt, and how to move on after a loved one’s death.

This book was different. Luther van der Loon will stay with me for awhile. I found him to be quirky, vulnerable, funny, and witty, in the same vein as Eleanor Oliphant and Ove. I don’t know that I will ever forget this book.

Unfortunately, I do feel like the book fell flat for me in some areas. I didn’t feel connected to Luther in the way I would have liked to. I didn’t find myself rooting for him or even incredibly concerned for the outcome of his story.

While I’m usually a fan of the satirical writing style with a splash of humor, the crowded sentences really kept me from connecting with the plot and characters. I felt the extensive vocabulary detracted from the heart of the story.

Overall, I’m thankful to have read it and can see the immense talent taken to write such a story. I’m just not sure it resonated with me as deeply as it could have.

Someday Everything Will All Make Sense is, Carol LaHines’ debut novel, on the surface about death from choking on a wonton. But what it’s really about is grief, the process of rehealing, and the profound impact that the loss of a loved one has on us.
Luther van der Loon, a harpsichord virtuoso and professor of medieval music at a New York university, is eccentric and already struggling, but he hits a low after his mother dies from choking on a Chinese takeway, and he failed to dislodge the wonton using the Heimlich maneuvere. His long term girlfriend Cecilia offers therapeutic support and discourages Luther’s obsession with sueing the Chinese as a way to assuage his own guilt.
The universality of love and loss flickers throughout the book, which is warm and funny. Luther’s neuroses are painted tenderly, even when he is at his most irrational. His early music obsession offers metaphors for emotions and is threaded throughout the novel, although sometimes a bit too heavily.
Eventually he gets there. But ‘there’ is not portrayed as a destination, rather Luther settles into a life where the wonton incident does not consume every moment of his day. He is able to accept the loss of his mother, and live his life. Because living is all any of us can do.

This book was just okay for me. It touches on subjects of greif and loss. The chatacters weren't that great but I did enjoy the satire.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

This was such a great debut, as it really explored the dynamics of grief and guilt. Luther is fails to save his mother from dying as she chokes on a wonton from a delivery order. This singular event influences his life immensely. The author did a great job writing about Luther's unresolved feelings for his mother, as well as his relationships with his grief therapist girlfriend amongst others.

Someday Everything Will All Make Sense by Carol LaHines is about a man who brings a lawsuit after his mother chokes to death on a takewaway. The plot is a bit thin and spending time with such a pompous character wasn't that enjoyable.

This felt like a flat, but funny (sorta) read. I think that's what the author meant for it. Different, but in a good way. Good book.

Thanks to author,publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free,it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

I'm not sure that I've ever read anything quite like this book, which certainly excels at satire from start to finish. I guess that for me it was a little too crammed with minutiae which, while serving as the obsession of the narrator, unfortunately rarely kept my interest as a reader. Some truly funny moments and an original, left of centre study on the depths of grief that struggled in my own opinion somewhere in between.