I don't know what it is about Stewart O'Nan stories. I just love them. You live with these honest, real characters and are then so sad to move on. I love Pittsburgh and all it's quirks. I love the girls and how they take care of their community. I want to be a Stewart O'Nan old lady when I grow up

Stewart O'Nan has crafted yet another solid offering with Evensong. I was so happy to reconnect with Emily and Arlene, as well as other central characters of the Humpty Dumpty club. Now clearly, I'm in the demographic that this book might appeal to. However, I think the writing in this book would appeal to most.
Evensong is a meandering book, connected stories of the women and their activities. No real action, yet compelling in the way only a good author can create. The HDs worship together, share meals, attend concerts and generally show up for each other and their extended community. Would that we might all have our own HDs.
I'm particularly fond of the subtle yet visceral setting. No one paints a gray wintery Pittsburgh as well as O'Nan. I wanted to pull my scarves out!
I will be waiting for the next book by this author in hope that we might follow more of Arlene's story.
Meanwhile, many thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic Monthly Press for the ARC of Evensong

I unfortunately missed that this novel was part of a wider series of books about these characters before I started in. So, while I enjoyed the cozy, slow-moving world of this group of elderly friends as they navigate their lives, I certainly missed a lot of context that would have brought more color into the world O'Nan built. I've read a couple of his books before, most notably "Last Night at Lobster," which is one of my favorite novellas. "Evensong" has a similar familiarity and ease with a large cast of characters. They were all a joy to get to know. I just wish I'd realized this novel was part of an interconnected world!

Because I feel like I missed a lot of the world building by hopping into a later book in the series, this is very hard to "rate" with stars. I think, likely, this is a 3.5 for me, but I'll round up to 4. I hope readers who are looking for slow-paced stories with caring, nuanced depictions of aging find this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Evensong is a relaxing, gallivanting sort of novel following a group of aging women named "The Humpty Dumpties" who assist others in their community. Not a lot happens, and that's ok!!!

I overall enjoyed this reading experience but did find that I was a little jolted and confused at times trying to track characters. I think that if I had read the prior 2 books that this book's associated with I would have had an easier time following this. Going in blind, there was some backstory I feel was left out or unexplained.

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7503225137

Thank you to Grove Atlantic, Atlantic Monthly Press, and NetGalley, for offering me an ARC copy of Evensong.

Rating: 3.5/5

Evensong is set in contemporary Pittsburgh among members of The Humpty Dumpty Club, a group of older and elderly women who support each other through a community of care and social activity.

This novel is heartwarming and very moving. It is very literary, following the everyday lives of these women and those in their social circles. At points of transition in their life: whether changes in health, relationships, marriage or home. It details their relationships with partners, siblings, children, friends and even pets, offering heartwarming, intimate depictions of care between family members but also the members of this community they have grown together.

Evensong offers a profound portrayal of the communities of care which have emerged in American cities as a form of political resistance. Evensong is a politically anxious book, with its characters often sharing political worries, desires, and ideas with the reader, and the ways in which these women go on with their lives and help others enables O’Nan to explore care as an act of political resistance.

Quiet and reflective.

We follow a group of older women - the Humpty Dumpty Club, as they help each other and their broader network as their health essentially declines as they move through their 60’s and into their 80’s.

There’s very little plot, more like linked vignettes. But gorgeously written and I wanted to stay with the characters. A book to enjoy for the pleasure of reading 3.5 stars rounded down to 3.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Alcove Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An ARC of this book was provided for review by the publisher, via NetGalley.

Stewart O’Nan’s latest novel, Evensong, is a quiet reflection on mortality, faith, and the connections that make a family – be they biological, geographical, social, or emotional.

There’s very little action here, and not a great deal of plot. Mostly the story revolves around a group of older women connected by what they refer to as the “Humpty-Dumpty Club”. Ranging in age from early sixties to late eighties, they are all white, all Christian, mostly college-educated liberals, all moderately well-to-do – what O’Nan calls “comfortable East Enders” – who get together for a weekly bridge game and generally watch over one another's well-being. In the absence of spouses or nearby adult children, they ferry each other to medical appointments, deliver soup to the ailing, find plumbers for weekend emergencies, bring food to funerals, and otherwise keep themselves benignly occupied minding each other's business.

When Joan, the leader and driving force in the group, suffers a serious fall at home and is hospitalized for what will be a long and questionable recovery, responsibilities shift somewhat in the HD club and Kitzy, long second-in-command, steps up to see that the group continues to function. In fact, they pick up a major responsibility when a reclusive married couple that formerly asked only for routine delivery of their prescription medications suddenly faces multiple emergencies.

That’s about it for the plot. In carefully crafted quotidian detail, O’Nan follows several of the HD members as they move through late summer into the year’s end, contemplating their own mortality and adjusting, without a great deal of fuss, to the decline or loss of various abilities. Through it all, they are kept together through the group, and through the musical presentations of Pittsburgh’s Calvary Episcopal Church.

Ultimately, this is a deep and intricate character study of change and acceptance, and may be best suited to readers who are themselves seeking emotional closure of lives well lived.

4 stars

Joan Hargrove, the inimitable leader of the Humpty Dumpty Club of the Shadyside area of Pittsburgh, takes a bad fall, so the other members band together to help out, driving others to appointments, running errands and the like. This chosen family is always there for each other and O’Nan focuses on four women, Susie, Kitzi, Arlene and Emily, as they move into the last chapters of their lives.

This was a lovely book that I really liked and I would have enjoyed even more had I read some of O’Nan’s Emily books. But even missing some of the back stories I really enjoyed this. Especially poignant was the sorrow expressed, even four years later, over the Tree of Life shooting which happened in the neighborhood. My husband is from Pittsburgh, so I love the way the city is portrayed. Very nice read.

Returning to the characters we met in Emily, Alone and Henry, Himself author O'Nan has a lovely novel featuring a group of women who call themselves The Humpty Dumpty's. Originally a regular date for bridge games, their relationship has grown into a cooperative schedule of caring for each other - meals delivered when one of them is ill; hospital visits and vigils in times of more serious health issues; shopping for groceries and medications. The bridge game has shrunk to just one table, and the tasks of caring for those not present now consumes an Excel spreadsheet.
At the center of the story are Emily and her sister in law Arlene.
Like the previous novels in this series, not much happens. Instead the reader is presented a chain of episodic chapters as the friends move through the fall and winter season of 2022.
Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the advance review copy.

This story is primarily about a group of older women (ages 61-89) who have created the “Humpty Dumpty Club” to take care of each other and to take care of their church member friends who need assistance as they age. The story centers around several women: one who has the first signs of dementia, one who is hospitalized after a fall, one (the youngest) who is dating using a dating app, and one who is caring for her ill husband. While each of them has their own trials and tribulations, we also learn about the people who these women help. Throughout the story, there is also a focus on their church choir, which is important because that is how the group originally came together.
There isn't a lot that happens in this book, but it doesn't feel slow. I really enjoyed the theme of people taking care of each other in a community created just for that. The individual lives of each of the characters and those they helped were interesting (ex., a hoarder couple) and the reader is provided with interesting insights into the difficulties that come with aging at home.
However, there were central parts of the book that I didn't care for, mostly because I was unfamiliar with them: the references to their church and their choir. I felt like an observer without the proper training when the book delved into the choir themes. In addition to religious and organ references, which were foreign to me, the references to the musical scores and why they were relevant were inexplicable: Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Rather than being able to learn about a whole new world I was unfamiliar with, I felt completely left out. Even reading this on a Kindle, looking up terms like “kyrie” with ease, did little to bring me into the conversation.

Stewart O'Nan once again proves his mastery of the American quotidian with this quiet, funny, and deeply tender novel. He has an uncanny ability to illuminate the beauty and significance of everyday moments, and this book is a perfect example of his talent. Spending time with Emily and Arlene felt like being invited into the warm embrace of familiar company; they are characters who linger in the mind long after the final page. O'Nan presents a truly lovely slice of life, and the ingenious narrative structure, anchored by the recurring bridge club meetings, provides a rich context for exploring the themes of aging, friendship, and resilience. The bridge club becomes a powerful symbol of their interconnectedness, showcasing the myriad ways these women offer each other support, humor, and unwavering care as they confront the uncertainties and indignities that accompany their twilight years. This novel is a small but potent reminder of the enduring power of human connection and the quiet strength found in navigating life's challenges together – a true small light in the darkness.

Maybe this book hit too close to home, but I was not impressed. A quaint story of a close knit group of aging women and their card playing, volunteering, and daily lives. Sometimes the stories were just a little too mundane. The descriptions of their friendship and roles in the HDs (their volunteer group) was endearing but after a while seemed to just hit a wall. Just not for me.

Community, Change, and Memory in Evensong

Evensong: A Novel by Stewart O’Nan is a quiet, reflective story that finds its strength in the small moments of everyday life. Set in the familiar rhythms of a close-knit church community, the novel follows Joan, a longtime organizer at Calverley, as she recovers from a fall with the help of her friends. Their shared faith and history create a warm, lived-in atmosphere, where small acts of care and concern speak volumes about the bonds between them.

O’Nan excels at capturing the nuances of aging—both its burdens and its unexpected moments of grace. There’s a gentle but unmistakable sense of change running through the novel: physical limitations, shifting relationships, and the guilt that often comes with watching loved ones grow older. These themes weave naturally into the story, never overwhelming the narrative but always present in the background.

While the novel’s setting is firmly in the present, occasional references to the COVID era and contemporary politics can feel a bit jarring, as do moments when past books in the series are heavily referenced. Readers new to this world may feel slightly adrift at times, as the novel assumes familiarity with its characters and their history. Still, Evensong remains an inviting read, one that rewards patience with its quiet depth and emotional honesty.

At its heart, Evensong is a novel about resilience—not just personal resilience, but the strength found in community. The friendships at the center of the story, rooted in faith and shared experience, give the novel warmth and resonance. For those who appreciate a thoughtful, understated story about aging, connection, and quiet transformation, Evensong offers a rewarding and reflective reading experience.

Disclosure: I received an advance copy of Evensong: A Novel by Stewart O’Nan from Grove Atlantic via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Evensong is a lovely novel a story of older women who come together to help each other.They pick up each other’s prescriptions check on each others well being.They pick up characters are so well written loved getting to know them.Another wonderful Stewart O’nan novel.A really special read.# NetGalley #groveatlantic

This is a lovely and bittersweet story about aging women who take care of one another in their small community. Nobody writes everyday life better than Stewart O’Nan. I enjoyed all the women’s stories and it was nice to meet up with Emily again. The loneliness of the characters really comes through and how they are trying to enjoy their golden years as much as they can.

A warm and comforting novel about a group of women in their later half of life, coming together and helping each other out, being each other company and spending the time spreading love and comfort. Realistic and cosy, this novel felt so light and bright, flowing with the wind.
Genuine characters and proper plot development, this book is an exceptionally well written account on the lives of older women and the daily things they come across and had to go through. I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves a slow moving, comforting story with no cliches or flashy incidents.

Wonderful, comforting, real life story.
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 am a huge fan of Stewart O'Nan's 'Last Night at the Lobster' so I was very eager to read this work. Like Lobster, it is a very incisive slice of life type of book set in Pittsburgh in contemporary times. The church plays a big role as a setting in this book and some of that was confusing to me. And as a woman of a similar age as some of his characters, I found this to be a depressing read at different points. Yet, it is fascinating and the reader finishes with a very good sense of these four women and how they are living their lives: their joy, their loneliness, their pets, their fears and their health. In that sense it really is comparable to Last Night at the Lobster. I will be interested to see how it is received.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. It resonated.

Stewart O'Nan's latest is a collection of vignettes focusing on a bridge club in Pittsburgh who join together to help each other as they age. Among doctor visits, emergency room trips, and funerals, the women join together for the Calvary church's choral performances. The novel is an episodic reflection on aging entwined in the distinct personalities of a small group of women with good intentions.