The Collected Regrets of Clover (Review)

Death, she gets. It’s life she can’t figure out.

The vibe

Clover loves nights curled up on her couch watching romcoms with her pets — and occasionally peeping in on her neighbors.

book / blanket / candle / candle tools / pillow / notebook / pen / headphones / binoculars

The review

Clover doesn’t really have friends, unless you count her dog, two cats, geriatric neighbor, and the lady who runs the bookstore. Her circle is small, and she wants to keep it that way. As a death doula, she’s got a unique skill of helping people in the last days — or even hours — of their lives, something she wasn’t fortunate enough to have with her grandpa, who raised her, or her parents, who died when she was a kid. But her new neighbor and latest client are about to make Clover rethink how she’s living her life and are going to take her on a path outside of watching old romcoms on TV every night.

Whew, this is a bit heavy of a concept. No one likes talking about death, but Clover sure does. I loved how Mikki Brammer portrayed Clover’s obsession with the topic. It was such a good reminder of how valuable life is and, at the same time, how inevitable and humanizing death is.

Clover is such a great character. You don’t really know what it is about her that makes her extremely introverted and socially aware (note: Clover isn’t really that “awkward,” but she overthinks any interaction she has with strangers or even acquaintances. I just wanted to hug her (thought she’d not be a fan of that unless properly warned). And her love of romance was so sweet — I couldn’t help but root for her and an emerging love interest, wink wink.

Read this if you loved The Maid and Maame. I also have seen it compared to Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, but it’s been years since I read that one and I don’t remember loving it, eek! But I LOOOOVED Clover (both the book and the audio version).