REVIEW: The Last Letters of Sally and Walter by Cammie McGovern
With the tenacious spirit of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand
and the long-lived verve of Thursday Murder Club comes a heartwarming story of a curmudgeon and a newcomer who strike up an unlikely friendship over cutthroat Scrabble at their retirement home, outrageously starting something new in their golden eras.
As a new resident of Golden Grove, an independent living community for active seniors, Sally wants to do everything in her power to start off on the right foot. But between navigating unspoken social rules of the community and leaving two struggling adult children back at home, fitting in becomes harder than she expected. So when she sees flyers advertising the Scrabble Club, she thinks she might as well give it a try. She quickly realizes her faux pas when she walks into the library to find just one man, Walter Kretzer, who has a reputation for being “a bit intense.”
Walter has taken his Scrabble club a pinch too seriously in the past, but when he meets Sally, with her golden-flecked eyes and sensible style, and discovers she is something of a prodigy at the game, he can’t help but feel his fate is about to change. As he draws Sally into the world of high-stakes Scrabble tournaments, his feelings for her grow and inspire him to take a hard look at his life. When the truth about Sally’s reasons for moving to Golden Grove are suddenly exposed, Walter finds himself with the gumption to make his last chapter in life the best yet.
MC/TW – both MCs have health issues (Parkinson’s, heart attack), infertility in secondary character, mental health issues in secondary character.
Dear Ms. McGovern,
I’ve read one of your middle grade books but this is the first adult one I’ve tried. Early on, I will admit to struggling a bit under the onslaught of Scrabble but when the focus shifted more to Sally and Walter instead of Walter’s ENTHUSIASM for Scrabble, the book found its rhythm (yes, I now know this is a great scrabble word) for me.
Sally is finding that even in a senior retirement community there are rules, some unspoken, that govern social interactions. She is still trying different groups to see where she best fits and on impulse, decides to check out the Scrabble club after seeing flyers taped everywhere. Surprised to only see one other person there, she hesitates but doesn’t want to seem rude by leaving. Walter is one of those taciturn, grumbly sorts of people until he starts talking about his favorite board game. Something keeps Sally there and soon Walter discerns that he might have an adult Scrabble prodigy on his hands.
Soon Sally is studying Walter’s (laminated) word lists, reading some of his (many) Scrabble books, and attending a local club where others note her abilities with Scrabble tiles. But Sally doesn’t want to spend all her time on Scrabble despite doing well at her first official tournament. Then Family Life intrudes for both Sally and Walter and we begin to see a bit more of the lives and failures they’ve avoided telling each other about. Too soon, Sally’s condition begins to become more noticeable, then Walter suffers a health issue. Where will they go from here and will it be together?
I can’t remember ever playing a lot of Scrabble and after finding an online site while reading this book and trying again, I can see why I never got into it. I’m terrible. Watching Sally discover how good she is – no, how great she is – I was cheering her on. She’s a bit older than I am but I’d love to unearth a talent like hers in my seventies. Walter is indeed “a bit intense” about Scrabble. Given how much of his life has been spent doing things he didn’t enjoy while realizing he’s not that good a father or husband – despite loving his wife and son – I can see why he’s latched onto this activity he loves and is good at.
Yes, the book does a deep dive into their past mistakes which are mostly with their families. While it takes a while for the MCs to admit to and discuss these issues with each other, they think a lot about how they failed their families while thinking all along that they were doing the right thing or being afraid of being honest. They have to learn to rethink the past, ask for help, and in some cases let go of past behaviors. It isn’t easy nor is it meant to be. In a young prodigy who has done some questionable actions, Walter finds someone he can coach while Sally tentatively introduces her son to a game she loves then steps back a bit and lets him succeed or fail on his own.
In the final section, which delves into Sally’s physical decline and Walter’s post cardiac issues, they slowly and haltingly explore their personal feelings showing that you can find love at any age, sexual attraction and activity doesn’t have an age limit, and if you find these things, it’s a damn shame to hold back. Go Sally and Walter! And remember that behavior can change after a heart attack so Walter’s about face personality changes actually do make sense. I ended up enjoying their stories along with their love story though the Scrabble intro was just a bit intense. B
~Jayne
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@Jayne, I’m with you! “…why I never got into it. I’m terrible”. A truth which has always puzzled me because I love words, and I played Scrabble with family and friends who weren’t expert or enthusiasts.
@LML: Yes, I love learning new words! I just tried another site and even at the beginner level, I could only manage 3-4 letter words. So, I still suck.
I used to play A LOT of Scrabble as a child; it and Monopoly were the only board games we owned for a large part of my childhood. A couple of word games that I now far prefer to Scrabble are Bananagrams (a tile game) and Quiddler (a card game). I also enjoy playing Wordle daily.