Madeline McKnight Signs Off

 

Madeline McKnight Signs Off by Evan Brooke
11/3/26; 352 pages
Atria Books 

Madeline McKnight Signs Off by Evan Brooke is a recommended literary novel, for the right reader.

Madeline McKnight's cancer treatment has ended and now she is waiting for the metastasized cancer to kill her. While in treatment, her doctor suggested journaling, which she considers a waste of time, so Madeline is calling it an annual report. In her report she rates how she is doing among other things. Madeline presents her former friend Cara's daughter, Bri Davis, who is a nursing student, a lucrative proposal if she will take time off from school to come care for her to the end. Bri, who has just broken up with her girlfriend and is drowning in debt, accepts. 

When Bri arrives at Madeline opulent "cabin" in the Poconos, she meets a woman who is still a force of nature and very much still resembles the former power player she once was on Wall Street. She also meets Lee, Madeline's boyfriend, Sue, her assistant and driver, and a Newfoundland name Hopie. This begins the fly fishing sessions and assisting Madeline in setting up a museum devoted to the life of Hetty Green, who was known as the Witch of Wall Street during the Gilded Age.

Chapters in the narrative alternate between the point-of-view of Madeline and Bri, with additional "reports" written by Madeline. This is technically an exceptionally well-written literary novel, but the actual content and plot would perhaps retain your attention more than it did mine if you are very interested in fly fishing, tying fishing flies, and Wall Street history involving Hetty Green, as the storylines are highly dependent upon this. I care zero about both so this narrative presented a struggle to hold my attention from the start and this continued right to the end. 

I liked Hopie. I didn't particularly like or care about any other character. Yes, Madeline reaches acceptance of things she did wrong in the past and Bri matures, experiences emotional growth, and becomes wealthy, but this novel is more dependent upon the plot (fly fishing and information/search for material about Hetty Green) rather than character development. Perhaps the better choice would have been to write a biography about Hetty Green, rather than adding her story to a fictional tale. I may be done with reading books about dying curmudgeonly old women. 

Madeline McKnight Signs Off would be recommended for those interested in a literary novel highly focused on Hetty Green and fly fishing. Thanks to Atria Books for providing me with an advance reader's copy via Edelweiss. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.