Rating: 
Summary: Not a novel - Literature
Review: I can understand the frustration of some who feel that there are too many characters, too much depression, or too much deceit, but I enjoyed the book for what it was - well written literature. Marie thinks that she is the only one with secrets. The town looks down on her and her family because of circumstances beyond her control. She is lost in a hole of shame and pride and poverty. What we see, little by little, is the moral poverty of the rest of the town revealed piece by piece. While all of these events are going on around her, she can't see them; all she sees is the possibility of regaining the respect of the town and her children - at any cost. She draws her curtains because she is sure the whole town is waiting to see her fail, but what goes on behind the polished windows of the other houses? What goes on behind the fancy doors of the church?
Rating:
Summary: Yes its depressing, but its REALLY good!
Review: Songs in Ordinary Time is a great story played out in the choices a large cast of characters make. The reveiwers who didn't think much happened should go back and study how the choices of the characters change in the book. Huge mental and spiritual changes are made with very subtle actions. It is also a very real look at Vermont, at least for the majority who are not wealthy. The characters and landscape are right on. I grew up poor, Catholic, and in a single parent family and some of the scenes were eerily familiar.
Rating: 
Summary: unmemorable
Review: I read this book about a year ago...it was the next pick on the Oprah list and was raved about so heartily I figured it must be great! Then I got the book and struggled through it praying it would get better but it never did and by the end of the book I was sure I had ordered the totally wrong book, but no. It was the right book, just not the right book for me. I just didn't get it and never warmed up to any of the characters. I cannot imagine why it was rated so highly by Oprah.
Rating:
Summary: Boring
Review: I was not planning to review this book as I am still trying to make my way through it (I am approximately 3/4's of the way through it and am determined to finish) however, I was reading through the other reviews and saw several which said that the people who don't like this book only want "happy" books and don't enjoy good literature, etc. I feel compelled to say that while it is a dark and gloomy book, the real problem is that it is boring. It fails to hold your attention. I started this book in the middle of October and have had to force myself to read it. It is taking forever. This book is the story of a mean, dysfunctional mother who can't be nice to her own children (for their own good, of course) and yet seems to be blindingly trusting of the only con man in town. None of the characters are likeable, including most of the children. Do yourself a favor, don't read this book. While the story seems to have potential, it's just not worth the effort it takes to read.
Rating:
Summary: If you don't like the characters, you won't like the book
Review: Although very well written, and so compelling I couldn't give up on it, there's not one likeable person in this book! They're all whiners and users and the most sympathetic character is the chief of police who is having an affair with the sister-in-law of his dying wife ... and it goes downhill from there. DEPRESSING!!!
Rating:
Summary: The Absolute Worst
Review: This has to be one of the worst books I have ever read. The characters were all weak, mean, stupid, deceitful, or a combination of all of these. Not one of the characters was in any way appealing. It was a real waste of time .... I threw it away because I didn't want to contribute anyone else's being taken in by Oprah's recommendation. This book caused me to decide that Oprah must not read the books she recommends.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written but boring, with unlikeable characters
Review: I have trouble understanding why this was an Oprah book. It is twice as long as necessary. The characters are weak, stupid, and unlikeable. Alice was OK, but the rest were disgusting. There are some beautiful passages, but there's not much plot. The whole thing is just a bore. If the universities keep giving tenure to people who write stuff like this, we'll just get more and more of it.
Rating: 
Summary: A book that has entered my top 10!
Review: I was intrigued and touched by this sweeping novel. This town and its characters are laid bare in such a way that I could not put it down. That is not to say it is a book you will read over a weekend. The sentences do not fly by. It is so well written, the characters so affecting, the circumstances so familiar and yet so fascinating that I lingered over every paragraph. It is a voyeuristic trip into a David-Lynch-style small town and its inhabitants and their intertwined lives. It is hard for me to pinpoint exactly what this book meant to me but I recommend it to everyone.
Rating: 
Summary: What a chore this one was!
Review: Hmmm-an Oprah book. Could this book be depressing, sad, and non-redeemable like all the other books Oprah, False goddess of america, picks? The answer is yes. Depressing, but there was good writing in there. It seems like Morris was trying to create so many characters and so much plot, but in the end that ended up weakening all the elements of the novel. I hated Duvall, also hated the matriarch at times for being so blind and so self-righteous and pathetic. The town itself was realistic enough and the characters were indeed colorful, but there was too much. Case in point; the daunting and unnecessary length of the novel. And what gets accomplished at the end? There's no hope, and the Fermoyles are not any better off. I wish Morris would have paired the divorced Fermoyles together at the end. That would have been somewhat uplifting, but alas it was not meant to happen. Still much good prose and many juicy secrets. It sort of reminded me of Peyton Place. I suppose no one would agree though because this book is not controversial (although some of the scenes in it can be morally repulsive). Don't read this book-Fiona Range is reputed to be better (it's by the same author). And if you want to read an Oprah book, read The Bluest Eye-There is depth there.
Rating:
Summary: The most agitating book I have ever read!
Review: I had started reading this book several times and kept putting it down and starting another book. I finally "made myself" read and finish this book! It was...dysfunctional, agitating, chopped up little stories, that never quite came together! The entire book I kept thinking that this crazy, dysfunctional mother would get it together for the sake of her family. This never happens! It seemed to me the author was as tired of writing...as I was of reading. It ends abruptly leaving many questions! I would tell people to not waste their time!
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