Losing Julia

Take too long about it and the looks begin; subdued impatience at first, then glares as though you've been lingering at a window table in a crowded upscale restaurant long after your coffee has gone cold, the table cleared of everything but stains and crumbs. It pulls no punches, and isn't shy about showing how awful and horrible war is. It's not romantic or virtuous or glorious. Patrick talks about what it is to be a part of something so terrible, and what it is to survive it.

This book touched me on so many different levels. It was beautifully written, heart-breaking and heart-warming at the same time, and shows us that loss is maybe subjective. If we love someone enough, they are always with us, even when they are not. View all 9 comments. Sep 12, Suzannabanana rated it it was amazing Shelves: I actually underlined insights the author expressed via Patrick's character -- wise words about life and living, about pain and forgiveness.

I found the male perspective enlightening.

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Some of the passages describing the reality of war were excruciating, yet beautifully written. I see others found his lusting after Julia to be tedious. I found it to be so very true to life and representing perfection, unattainable - like the perfect butterfly that got away.

This is honest writing. Patrick is a ve I actually underlined insights the author expressed via Patrick's character -- wise words about life and living, about pain and forgiveness. Patrick is a very "human" character. I read other reviews and feel I must defend Patrick. To judge a character is silly. A character is a vehicle through which a thought or message is conveyed and it may not be what one expects or wants, for that matter.

One doesn't have to agree with everything to enjoy the wisdom, beauty or the ride. I find reading with an open mind allows one to appreciate more, but this is just an opinion. I realize this is my personal perspective and others may see things differently.

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We all read through lenses of our unique experience, after all. I guess this book is one that one either loves or hates. I felt gratitude for a wonderful read, and wanted to thank him. Aug 05, Heather rated it really liked it Shelves: The only thing that stopped me from grabbing the highlighter and going to town was that I would have been highlighting pages, not just passages, so I resorted to post-its instead. And at the heart of it all is a love story, which surprisingly enough, is what kept me from giving this a 5 star rating.

I think a lot of that had to do with some of the circumstances surrounding the relationship that kept me from really enjoying and connecting with it. It was only at the very end of the book that I finally felt some emotion where this relationship was concerned. I absolutely loved the rest of it. I loved that this was written with simplicity and not dripping in over-the-top drama, which it could have easily been. It was heartbreaking to see firsthand what it feels like to grow older and to feel trapped in an aging body. And also being inside the head of a soldier and experiencing what it feels like to be down in the trenches with war erupting all around you.

In both of the situations there was an overwhelming sense of helplessness that was just so sad and so tangible I could feel it. What it was, was real. Not some dressed up, candy-coated version of a life, and I really loved that. This story reiterated for me the importance of living each day as though it was my last and making the most of each and every moment I have left on this earth.

View all 19 comments. Sep 07, Deborah rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: This is a very poignant story of a man's life as told by himself in hospital in the early s , which was shaped very much by his experiences as a soldier of the U. Army in France during the First World War. Sensing that death may be near, the narrator Patrick Delaney shares with the reader the full scope of his long life. Rather than go into further details, I would strongly urge anyone who has r This is a very poignant story of a man's life as told by himself in hospital in the early s , which was shaped very much by his experiences as a soldier of the U.

You'll be so glad that you did. Aug 18, Joy Adams rated it it was amazing.

Losing Julia () - IMDb

This is one of the best books I've ever read. It is on my to keep shelf. About every two or three months I take it down and reread it and cry all over again. Since my daughter gave it to me in ,I've read it six times. It is underlined,highlighted and written in the margins of every page and everytime I read it I find some new gems. I can honestly say it is the best book I have ever read. Altho the love story is great,In my opinion it ranks third. The telling what WWI was like would be second. For This is one of the best books I've ever read. For some reason,I've never read much about the first world war.

What a horrable time those poor boys had. It was so hard to read. Because of this book,I have now read quite a few books on this war. The main thing that stands out for me was the completely believable story of what it is like to be old. How you, as a young man, could write so true to life is dumbfounding.

Losing Julia

And I should know! Iam 80 years old and the words written in this book rang so true. It was like you took my own thoughts and put them in this book. This Jonathan Hull is one great writer And I must get a hold of the other two books he has written. If you like a good love story ,read this book. If you are interested in history and WW1 ,read this book. And last but not least,If you are old or approaching old age please read this book.

It will blow your mind. I forgot I was supposed to name the tittle and author. The title is "Losing Julia" and the author is Jonathan Hull Aug 05, Ann rated it really liked it. I found this book profoundly sad. A beautiful and heartwarming story, with a protagonist who is in his 80s and winding down his remaining days in a nursing home and spending most of his time wondering what might have been.

Perhaps because it reminded me of my dad, perhaps because I have a soft spot for stories about the young men who fought in the world wars, at the end I was drained. This Isn't meant to deter anyone from reading it-- it's a wonderful book. But I think I need to watch a comedy o I found this book profoundly sad. But I think I need to watch a comedy or read something light to cheer up: Mar 22, Louise rated it really liked it Shelves: An amazingly written love story with a mixture of loss, refinding love, losing love again and of history and destiny. For a debut novel, Jonathan Hull has done an incredible job.

I'll be looking for more of his work. But on the stark battlefields of France, amid the horror and the chaos, Patrick forged a bond that would shape the course of his life. Daniel was Patrick's best friend, So unbelievably heartbreaking!! Daniel was Patrick's best friend, his comrade-in-arms. But it was Daniel's lover Julia, who would change Patrick forever. Julia's letters, shared by Daniel in the muddy trenches, touched Patrick in ways he never could have expected. But years would pass before he finally met her at a war memorial in France.

There, on a field still scarred by battle, Patrick closed his eyes in silent prayer and opened them to the woman he had never seen but always loved: After a brief, passionate encounter, Patrick made a fateful choice and Julia slipped away, perhaps never to return. It is just the beginning of an astonishing story that will span almost a century, a story of memory and desire, history and destiny-and of the people who slip from our grasp only to hold us forever.

Sep 08, AJ rated it it was amazing Shelves: I have just finished this book and feel like my heart has been ripped out of my chest! I read it in a day, it's so wonderfully written. Patrick's insights into his life, and life in general are so poignant, at times I needed to put the book down to think about what I just read.

I loved the stories told from his days as a soldier in the Great War, although these are graphically descriptive, and at times hard to read as you try to imagine what the men are going through. His friendship with Daniel I have just finished this book and feel like my heart has been ripped out of my chest! His friendship with Daniel and his love for Julia are beautifully written and, combined with his interactions with others as an older man in a nursing home, are the bright lights of this stunning story.

View all 3 comments. The book starts in the present with Patrick, a WWI veteran, in the nursing home reviewing his life. What better way to see who really gave a shit? I still wonder if the depth of his love for Julia had everything to do with her. My thoughts kept going to the question, would Julia have meant as much had he not known her through Daniel first, whom he idolized. Through the perspective of the bonds of war For me the most impactful part of this story was the perspective from the front during WWI. It was brutal reading about the battles and injuries, and yet it happened then as it happens still today.

And then I looked behind the boy and I saw hundreds of thousands of children, just standing there. Even if it was the best we could do it was not adequate at all; not even if not another single drop of human blood is spilled again in anger. Philosophically romantic Such an enthralling love story but more importantly the importance of living life to the fullest. How do we look back near death and review our life? May 27, Laura rated it it was ok.

I had a very hard time starting this book, which I think I got by searching for highly rated books on amazon. Let me sum up the beginning, where the married Patrick meets his dead best friend's fiancee for the first time; Julia smiled; I wanted her. Julia walked; I wanted her. Julia picked her nose; I loved her completely and totally. The Julia part of this book is total drivel, like a Harlequin romance written from a guy's point of view. Zero stars for the Julia part. So, I picked this book I had a very hard time starting this book, which I think I got by searching for highly rated books on amazon.

So, I picked this book up and put it down at least a dozen times over 2 years. I finally decided I had to read it or donate it just to get it off my nightstand. Fortunately, the Great War sections made it somewhat worth it, although the plot is very thin here. The horrors and uselessness are well depicted, as well as the unreality of people dining in beautiful, civilized Paris in earshot of the guns at the Western Front, where thousands of soldiers were mowed down a day. There is some very eloquent language here. I'd give this part 4 stars; but the zeroes for the other 2 parts drag that down to 2 stars.

The retirement home scenes also have a uniqueness to them. They are interesting in describing a young spirit trapped in a body which is falling apart, but they are tarnished by excessive descriptions of Patrick lusting after the young nurses. Aren't they young souls in old bodies like he is? Unfortunately, you can't read the WWI sections by themselves; everything is too integrated.

Jan 14, Nikki rated it it was amazing Shelves: This book was completely absorbing and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The intertwining of the different stages of Patrick Delaney's life was well done and very convincing. The writing style allowed you to actually be able to sympathize, even empathize, with the emotions the characters were going through. The book was definitely one to pull at the heart strings.

I was surprised that the heaviness of the WWI inclusion did not bother me more as I generally avoid such movies and books. However, it was writ This book was completely absorbing and I enjoyed it thoroughly. However, it was written with no sugarcoating and with bare emotions--and ended up completely sucking me in. I preferred the old Patrick Delaney--his humor and insights were both entertaining and thought provoking. I may never see a person in this stage of their life the same again. I found his own quote to be fitting for his character: Oh yes, Julia, I do.

But there are some very funny moments. All I can say is that the book rings very true--like Hull had lived this life and put it down on paper, or found Delaney's journal and turned it into a novel. Not many books feel as authentic as Losing Julia did to me. Dec 25, Nancy rated it it was amazing Shelves: Patrick Delaney is an year-old living in a nursing home and he is also a veteran of World War I.

During that war he listened to his friend and comrade in arms, Daniel, talk about his fiance, Julia. Ten years after the war, when Patrick is married and Daniel dead, Patrick meets Julia in France and the two have a brief but intense love affair. Their relationship is more than just an affair, but Patrick returns home to his family and Julia eventually sends him a letter that she is married. The books is more than this because it is also Patrick's philosophical reflections on his life and what really matters. He comes to the conclusion the striving and awards given for work is a shadow of what matters.

The most important is how deeply and honestly we can love our families, our friends and our lives. As he thinks in one passage: Congenital narcissists who cling like drowning rats to the notion of a self that is fixed and strong and permanent, a delusion defended by material possessions and job titles and diplomas and bolstered by drugs and therapy and social convention.

Ironically, the more effective our false selves, the more we compromise our deeper selves. It is easy to sympathize with Patrick and his struggle to come to terms with aging. This is a story which, as the old cliche says, will stay with you long after you have read it and begs a revisit. Mar 16, JeriLyn rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: Wow - a thoroughly enjoyable read.

And while I liked the storyline, I truly savored the perspectives on life. Joanthan Hull makes such poignant statements, grants perspectives you may or may not have ever contemplated, and often follows them with witty or sarcastic comments that fully capture the irony of life. This book will make you think, but not without bringing a heartwarming sense of humor to human emotions. I love Patrick Delaney and loved reading about his deepest thou Wow - a thoroughly enjoyable read. I love Patrick Delaney and loved reading about his deepest thoughts and feelings. And I really appreciated his sense of humor about all of it.

This is a book that anyone can read avid readers and nonreaders, and without ever having to consult a dictionary. And this is a book that everyone can relate to. Losing Julia is one of the few books that I could read over and over. It's delightful, easy, AND insightful.

A rare combination in my experience. I read the Nook edition of this book. Note to Goodreads now owned by Amazon: I don't appreciate the fact that you list Kindle as the only possible e-book for this volume. Denying the existence of other options indicates narcissism. There is much wisdom in the book. Such an enthralling love story but more importantly the importance of living life to the fullest. How do we look back near death and review our life? Mass Market Paperback Verified Purchase. I found this book absolutely spellbinding for the most part.

Actually I was loving the history, the time changes, the philosphy Then came the the last few pages and the Epilogue. At the risk of ruining the whole book for future readers, I won't disclose what was written there but I wish I had stopped before reading those pages. The event described there taking place is unlikely if not completely unbelievable to say the least. I will try to just remember the first or so pages. Those pages and that story Just now getting around to reviewing this book.

I read on average 75 books a year--Losing Julia was the best one of What a wonderful book--"Like most bookworms I read so as not to be alone, which often annoys those who are trying to make conversation with me Books aren't just my defenses, the sandbags I use to fortify my position, they are also the building blocks of my soul, and I am the sum of all I read What more can be said In case you're wondering.. I just read this book and sent a copy to my brother. This book had a huge impact on me and I am an avid reader so I have a lot of books to compare it to.

The settings are alternately a nursing home and WWI. The author brought me great insight into both situations. It is compelling, beautiful, darkly funny and harrowing What a great read!

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Couldn't put it down. This is one of the best books about World War One that I have read. The writing is excellent, the storyline very poignant and a plot full of reality. I found the word pictures written by the author to be forefront in my mind for days.

I think he took the "glamour" out of war I will continue to read Mr Hull's fine work One of my favorite pieces of modern literature! I asked my then boyfriend to read it years ago, but he procrastinated, but then, during a difficult time in our relationship he did While it is a fictional novel, the depth and truth of emotions helped my NOW husband reconnect with the intensity of our love and it has become an important part of the turning point in our relationship! See all reviews. Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers.

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