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Lisa Moore
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February Kindle Edition

by Lisa Moore (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.7 out of 5 stars 258 ratings
In the wake of an oil-rig disaster, a widow tries to rebuild her life in this novel by “an astonishing writer” (Richard Ford).
 
Inspired by the tragic sinking of the Ocean Ranger during a violent storm off the coast of Newfoundland in 1982, February follows the life of Helen O’Mara, widowed by the accident, as she spirals back and forth between the present day and that devastating and transformative winter.
 
As she raises four children on her own, Helen’s strength and calculated positivity fool everyone into believing that she’s pushed through the paralyzing grief of losing her spouse. But in private, Helen has obsessively maintained a powerful connection to her deceased husband. When Helen’s son unexpectedly returns home with life-changing news, her secret world is irrevocably shaken, and Helen is quickly forced to come to terms with her inability to lay the past to rest.
 
An unforgettable examination of complex love and cauterizing grief, February investigates how memory knits together the past and present, and pinpoints the very human need to always imagine a future, no matter how fragile.
 
“Lisa Moore’s work is passionate, gritty, lucid and beautiful. She has a great gift.” —Anne Enright
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  1. Print length
    321 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Black Cat
  4. Publication date
    February 9, 2010
  5. File size
    3.7 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The story of the man who never comes back from sea has been embedded in the lore of eastern Canada. Moore's third work of fiction (after Alligator) imagines the impact one such disaster—the 1982 sinking of the Ocean Ranger—has on Helen O'Mara, a mother of three small children whose husband, Cal, dies at sea. The narrative jumps in time from Helen's life with Cal, the accident itself and the years after in which Helen tries to keep her life intact. Whether it is Helen longing for companionship, designing wedding dresses or learning yoga, everything she does is done with a view to Cal. Most scenes are quietly reflective, and Moore's strength is her ability to inject evocative images and expressive tones to otherwise static and overly earnest passages (as in Is this what a life is? Someone, in the middle of cleaning the bathroom, remembers you tasting the ocean on your fingers long after you're gone.) There's no plot—the narrative consists of fragments from Helen's life—and while some readers may find the patchwork engaging, the absence of a through-line makes the work meandering. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

In February 1982, the Ocean Ranger, the world’s largest submersible oil drilling rig, capsized in a fierce storm off the coast of Newfoundland. Eighty-four men perished. In Moore’s accomplished novel about the risks of love, Helen O’Mara is left behind with three small children and another on the way when Cal, her husband of 10 years, dies. The narrative shifts back and forth through time, tossing up scenes from the present as well as from Helen and Cal’s marriage, the day of the disaster, and the years of Helen raising her family alone. In the present, much of the focus is on son John, an engineer whose job (ironically, analyzing risk on oil rigs) takes him all over the world. Now he is on his way home and trying to come to terms with the fact that a woman he barely knows is carrying his child. The novel’s episodic nature somewhat diminishes its emotional impact, especially toward the end. But Moore, whose previous novel, Alligator (2006), won a Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, renders sensations with the precision of a Vermeer. --Mary Ellen Quinn

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B008UX3BJ6
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Black Cat; 1st edition (February 9, 2010)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 9, 2010
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3.7 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 321 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.7 out of 5 stars 258 ratings

About the author

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Lisa Moore

Lisa Moore

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Lisa Moore was born and grew up in St. John’s Newfoundland, Canada. She has written three collections of short stories, Degrees of Nakedness and Open, and Something for Everyone, and three novels, Alligator, February and Caught, as well as a stage play, based on her novel February. Lisa’s has also written a young adult novel called Flannery.

Alligator and Caught, and her short story collection Open were nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. Her novel February was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize and won CBC Canada Reads in 2013. She is also the winner of the Writer’s Trust Engel Findley Award for Fiction and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for the Canada/Caribbean region. Something for Everyone was long-listed for the Giller Prize, and won the Alistair MacLeod Prize for Short Fiction and the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award.

Lisa has studied conceptual art at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and is an Associate Professor in the English Department of Memorial University where she teaches Creative Writing. She spends a lot of time in the woods, swimming in rivers and lakes, and writing by the wood stove in the winter.

Customer reviews

3.7 out of 5 stars
258 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book's story interestingly constructed, with vivid descriptions that create raw images without excessive verbiage. Moreover, the book receives positive feedback for its exploration of family life in Newfoundland, and one customer notes how it captures the Newfoundland setting perfectly. Additionally, customers appreciate the character development, with one review highlighting how it delves deeply into the soul of a woman, while another describes it as an excellent portrait of the grieving process.

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20 customers mention "Story quality"14 positive6 negative

Customers appreciate the story's construction, with one describing it as a beautiful telling of a grim tale, while another notes how it encompasses the reality of its consequences.

"...I found it quite fascinating readwhich went on a bit too long. However I have recommended it to many people as I think it is worthwhile." Read more

"...I found the style of the novel to be intriguing; the character's thoughts, sometimes disjointed and rambling and spanning different periods of time,..." Read more

"...The story had very few moments of joy and positvity, at times Moores writing was gripping, but often it seemed to go on and on without getting..." Read more

"...While this is a novel about grief, it is also a novel about life...." Read more

20 customers mention "Writing style"15 positive5 negative

Customers appreciate the writing style of the book, noting its vivid descriptions and emotional content, with one customer highlighting how the author creates raw images without excessive verbiage.

"Her characterization and also description are outstanding. I didn’t choose it, it is my book club, but am so glad to have read it...." Read more

"This was a very emotional right written in the eclectic way. I found it quite fascinating readwhich went on a bit too long...." Read more

"...story had very few moments of joy and positvity, at times Moores writing was gripping, but often it seemed to go on and on without getting anywhere." Read more

"This is a story about grief. Overwhelming, mind numbing grief. Bereavement counsellors would call this story a story about complicated grief...." Read more

9 customers mention "Readability"9 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and thoroughly enjoyable.

"...However I have recommended it to many people as I think it is worthwhile." Read more

""February," by the Canadian writer Lisa Moore, is a lovely book...." Read more

"...Still well worth the read and difficult to put down." Read more

"...the tragedy. A must read." Read more

8 customers mention "Empathy"8 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's empathetic approach, with one customer noting it provides an excellent portrait of the grieving process, while another describes it as a wonderful human connection.

"...dinner, sewing, gave a realism to the story, and as a result, stirred my empathy and connected me to the characters...." Read more

"...While this is a novel about grief, it is also a novel about life...." Read more

"...This is an excellent portrait of the grieving process. Life is smashed and you get to see the pieces...." Read more

"I liked the srory of a woman's grief and the courage she showed in the way she handled it.. The way she dealt with family members also took courage..." Read more

7 customers mention "Character development"7 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, with one review highlighting how it explores the interior lives of two characters, while another notes how it delves deeply into the soul of a woman.

"...to the story, and as a result, stirred my empathy and connected me to the characters...." Read more

"...The book explores the interior lives of two characters, Helen and John, a mother and son (other characters are rendered in wonderfully acute detail)..." Read more

"...I easily identified with the characters and travelled along with them, sensing what they felt, tasted, smelt and saw. Very well done...." Read more

"Real depth into the very soul of a woman who has lost her partner through a very public disaster...." Read more

7 customers mention "Family life"7 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's portrayal of family life, with one customer highlighting its brilliant descriptions and another noting it provides a wonderful slice of life in Newfoundland.

"...So honest and grounded, descriptions of family life are brilliant" Read more

"...I found it to be an immensely human and moving account of one family; one woman's journey back to life after losing her husband to the Ocean Ranger..." Read more

"Loved reading about this area of Canada and its people. That is why I chose the book. Its a dark story ,but very true to life I think" Read more

"Thank you, Lisa, for this wonderful slice of life in Newfoundland. I loved your style - so unique and appropriate to the storey...." Read more

6 customers mention "Beauty"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book beautiful in its descriptions, with one customer noting how perfectly it captures the Newfoundland setting, while another appreciates its wonderfully acute detail.

"Very well written and effective portrait of the impact of the sudden loss of a spouse on the wife and children...." Read more

"...'s emotions move through the body and she is precise and beautiful in her descriptions. I found this book very powerful...." Read more

"...I loved your style - so unique and appropriate to the storey...." Read more

"...The Newfoundland setting was captured so perfectly. I fell in love with Helen, she is so strong and real...." Read more

5 customers mention "Authenticity"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the authenticity of the book.

"...So honest and grounded, descriptions of family life are brilliant" Read more

"...I found it to be an immensely human and moving account of one family; one woman's journey back to life after losing her husband to the Ocean Ranger..." Read more

"...patchwork style of writing, but I found it endlessly fascinating and real, the way real thoughts and feelings move from place to place and back..." Read more

"Real depth into the very soul of a woman who has lost her partner through a very public disaster...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Lee
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent writing, moving story
    Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Her characterization and also description are outstanding. I didn’t choose it, it is my book club, but am so glad to have read it.
    So honest and grounded, descriptions of family life are brilliant
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  • Shelly
    3.0 out of 5 stars However I have recommended it to many people as I think it is ...
    Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    This was a very emotional right written in the eclectic way. I found it quite fascinating readwhich went on a bit too long. However I have recommended it to many people as I think it is worthwhile.
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  • AavidReader
    4.0 out of 5 stars I was inserted into this story, these lives, for a short time...
    Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    This book is one of the 5 selections for CBC Radio's "Canada Reads" 2013 program. I love the program because it introduces me to books I might not otherwise read. This book is an example; lately my reading of choice has been more non-fiction, or new releases in ongoing series of detective novels, but once a year "Canada Reads" broadens my horizons.

    I found it to be an immensely human and moving account of one family; one woman's journey back to life after losing her husband to the Ocean Ranger disaster (sinking of an oil rig off Newfoundland).

    I found the style of the novel to be intriguing; the character's thoughts, sometimes disjointed and rambling and spanning different periods of time, very effectively put me into the middle of their lives, their choices, and their pain, in a way that more traditional prose could not. I lived and breathed this story and found it hard to put down. The interspersing of bits of rote activities into the narrative, such as yoga, making dinner, sewing, gave a realism to the story, and as a result, stirred my empathy and connected me to the characters.

    So far this is my favourite of this year's Canada Reads choices; and I am thrilled to be introduced to a new author (new to me) that I will continue to follow.

    The side of me that loves non-fiction was looking for some more detail on the Ocean Ranger disaster, but I can continue that on the side. This book was about the human impact in miniature; how one family was impacted/torn apart, and how they painfully put themselves back together, so much as was possible.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • M. Feldman
    5.0 out of 5 stars A widow for many years
    Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    "February," by the Canadian writer Lisa Moore, is a lovely book. The title derives from the February, 1982, sinking of the oil-drilling rig Ocean Ranger in the North Atlantic. Helen O'Mara, the novel's protagonist, loses her husband Cal in a disaster (there were no survivors) later attributed to flaws in safety, design, and crew training. Some things never change.

    Set in Newfoundland, the story of Helen and Cal shifts in time. The novel flashes back to their courtship and marriage, shifts to the moment when Helen learns that she has lost her husband, moves forward to her current life as a widow in her mid-fifties. Woven into this is a minor thread: the relationship of Helen's adult son John and Jane, a woman he meets while traveling. The novel is constructed as a series of cameos: Helen and Cal on their honeymoon; Helen listening to her father-in-law describe his identification of Cal's body; Helen being stood up in a bar as she waits for someone she has met through an online dating service. Her life is mundane, but her thoughts are not. Ceaselessly, she retraces the mechanics (which were actually detailed in a government report) of the sinking of the Ocean Ranger: was Cal asleep when it happened? was he playing cards? was he thinking of Helen and his four children? when did he know he was going to die?

    While this is a novel about grief, it is also a novel about life. Helen's kids grow up; the bank threatens to take the house; the yoga teacher instructs Helen in mindfulness. The philosophical bent of the novel moves it far away from the genre of commercial women's fiction. It is a novel for anyone who has ever muddled through sorrow, and it well deserves its place on the 2010 Man Booker long list.
    M. Feldman
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Anita Desroches
    2.0 out of 5 stars February not what I expected
    Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    The story was very disjointed, slipping from present to past , to future and back again. The story had very few moments of joy and positvity, at times Moores writing was gripping, but often it seemed to go on and on without getting anywhere.
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  • Jim
    3.0 out of 5 stars A bit too contrived
    Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Very well written and effective portrait of the impact of the sudden loss of a spouse on the wife and children.
    Sort of skips over the years of raising the family and the decisions in between and as a result seems artificial.
    One person found this helpful
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  • A Reader
    4.0 out of 5 stars Stunning observance of our interior world
    Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    This is my first discovery of Lisa Moore; what an extraordinary writer. The book explores the interior lives of two characters, Helen and John, a mother and son (other characters are rendered in wonderfully acute detail). I can understand why some readers might feel impatience with the patchwork style of writing, but I found it endlessly fascinating and real, the way real thoughts and feelings move from place to place and back again (and not in a meandering way. There's purpose and motivation in the way thoughts move in this book). Moore seems to have an unerring sense of how people's emotions move through the body and she is precise and beautiful in her descriptions. I found this book very powerful. 4 stars rather than 5 because the son is described by the mother in ways I didn't find true in his behavior, and I can't tell if that's purposeful or a gap in the writing. There's something missing there. And the ending feels rushed and not entirely satisfying (Helen's sister Louise was left out of the end, for one thing, which seems a terrible oversight, unless I missed something about her earlier on. And John's story leaves us hanging terribly). But the son carries within his narrative a sense of hope that was lost when his father died (as experienced by his mother), and I find that idea exquisitely moving. Very glad to have found this author.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Joy Stothers
    5.0 out of 5 stars Love Lisa Moore's writing
    Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    It is the rare author who is capable of creating raw images without excessive verbiage. I easily identified with the characters and travelled along with them, sensing what they felt, tasted, smelt and saw. Very well done. I have a new author to obsess over when her next book will be released.
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Maggiejean
    5.0 out of 5 stars Pleasantly amazed
    Reviewed in Canada on April 15, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    I read February two years ago and found that for me it was just about the best story ever--a lot to do with raising children on your own--it taken place over many years and is not sentimental though the premise is catastrophic. It was the normal events of everyday life that struck me as so realistic. It made me feel I hadn't done so badly after all. I recently ordered a copy from Amazon as wanted to give it to my grown-up children and also to reread it myself. For me a wonderful read!
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  • Kappepaul
    4.0 out of 5 stars Einen geliebten Menschen verlieren ...
    Reviewed in Germany on January 23, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    Ein wirklich schönes Buch über eine Frau, die nach dem Unfalltod ihres Mannes auf Hoher See mit ihren Erinnerungen und Sehnsüchten zurecht kommt, ohne dabei aufgesetzt oder schwülstig zu wirken. Der Untergang der Ölplattform ist historisch und offenbar genauestens recherchiert. So gewinnt das Buch eine Bodenständigkeit, die die selischen Vorgänge der Protagonistin umso glaubwürdiger dargestellt erscheinen lassen. Sehr angenehme Unterhaltung, die viele Anstösse zum Nachdenken bietet.
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  • amcze
    5.0 out of 5 stars Sad but Thought-provoking - Highly Recommended
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 14, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    With Moore's careful eye for detail, it's easy to think anything she sets her pen to would be fabulous. 'February' however, is not only a beautifully told story of love. Its cyclical, sometimes even repetitive prose haunts the reader long after the page has been turned. Truly evoking the agonising regret and longing of mourning a lost spouse, Moore also explores the joys of bringing new life into this world. Her novel describes both ends of life's scale side by side, in such a way, that birth and death are partnered, married: everyone that dies was at one time born. Everyone who is born will at some time die. A sad but thought-provoking novel and one you can completely lose yourself in. I would highly recommend it.
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  • anniet
    4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, and real.
    Reviewed in Canada on July 4, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    A wonderful read, and anyone who has ever experienced the East coast of Canada and the people who call it their home will be able to appreciate why you keep wanting to return. The characters are so real and true, the story captivates you. I really savored it, and did not want to it to end. Very well written by a local Newfoundlander. I will be reading all of her other books.
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  • Amazon Customer
    3.0 out of 5 stars A different way of writing
    Reviewed in Canada on July 20, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    I wasn’t crazy about the way it was written!
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