She's Come Undone

Rating:
Summary: Surprised
Review: I read a lot of the book reviews, and was surprised by the negative ones. I bought this book at 12:30 p.m., and had finished it by 11:00 p.m. It is very few books that hold me that well. I thought Dolores was a very realistic character, in that she didn't turn her life around properly: for a while, she was trapped in her loop. But she got out in the end. I've never had an abortion, been raped, or been married to a loser, but I could identify and feel for her still. I found the ending surprisingly uplifting. The whole book, I was cheering for her, hoping for her, and she won in the end. I loved this book

Rating:
Summary: Funny? Insightful? A good Book? NOT!!
Review: Thank goodness I borrowed this book on tape. Had I spent a penny for it the cost would have been too much. Kathy Najimy reading it was the only thing that kept me entertained. The cover stated that the book is hilarious. Yeah right. And I think Syliva Plath should be a comic. Or that "The Bell Jar" is "funny". I found the story line depressing. If you are looking for a book of insight - this isn't it! Delores, the main character, spent 7 years in a mental institution - that alone has serious side effects which the autor barely addressed. This author obviously has never dealt with true mental illnesses or anyone that has been instutionalized. If you tend to be depresseive - stay away from this book. The lack of appropriate development around the rape, abortion and failed marraige only supports this book as being adequate fodder for a made-for-TV movie. I liked the woman that ran the tatoo parlor better than the main character- Delores. The cover has interesting artwork. Admire that ... then put it down ... and make a different selection!

Rating:
Summary: You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll laugh some more
Review: A magnificently written book. The entire time I was wondering how a man could have written this story of a disenchanted girl growing up. Kudos to Wally Lamb for showing us that no matter how hard life is, we can prevail

Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put it down, but wished I could....
Review: On a table of books recommended by Oprah, I found "She's Come Undone." I read the back and was immediately interested... a man who writes like a woman....hmmm....a coming of age story....sounds good! I began reading this book and couldn't put it down... waiting, wondering if this book would ever live up to my expectations... It didn't. I could tell it was a man who wrote it, and was greatly disappointed. I enjoy reading women's stories, not men who think they know women's stories... he was way off... I'm just frustrated that I wasted my time and money..

Rating:
Summary: A character made up of pieces of all of us
Review: I was amazed at how many times throughout this book that I said "omygosh..I felt that way, too." Though I haven't experienced half the trauma Delores did, she represented pieces of me, and I recognized pieces of just about everyone I know in her. Reading her story has given me several key insights into my own personality. I saw how impatient I can be with people when I started yelling at Delores to leave Dante when he encouraged her to get the abortion ("You know better you idiot! You deserve better! Remember what Dr. Shaw told you!) I was glued to it for the weekend!

Rating:
Summary: A superficial coming-of-age and finding-yourself novel.
Review: While the end of this novel does get better, the first 2/3rds seems like it just talked. Maybe this is characteristic of mediocre novels...but I have been busy reading established "classics" and I felt that this book suffered in comparison. I would not read this author again, unless he writes about what he knows....and not the inner workings of a woman's mind. Dolores gains depth towards the end, but getting there was not easy to do

Rating:
Summary: Could hardly wait to finish
Review: Maybe I was expecting too much after all of the rave reviews and words like "hilarious" on the jacket. Instead, I found She's Come Undone to be predictable, sad and even a little annoying. None of these things seemed to be the aim of the author, I got the distinct impression that he was making an incredible effort to immerse himself in the female mind. I felt he failed miserably. No matter how many excuses he managed to concoct for Dolores's self-pity and destructiveness, I found myself just wishing it was over already. No, I didn't experience the traumas that Lamb concocted for Dolores. Perhaps I wasn't patient enough with her, but I found myself thinking that someone should just slap her on the back of the head and tell her to get over it. Just as every female thinks differently, I'm sure many would disagree, but to this female reader, the "writes like a woman" hype was a sloppy attempt by the author (or his publisher) to garner attention for his book. They could have found a better way

Rating:
Summary: Great is not even the word
Review: Lamb is so detail with Dolores's thought processes. I wouldn't have known the author was a man if his name was not printed on the cover. Good stuff! Easy reading!

Rating:
Summary: Pass the razor blade!
Review: A depressing journey of a girl to womanhood, that is neither insightful or inspiring. At first I thought that I wasn't relating to the era this storyline took place, but soon realized that no matter how you cut it, it is a story written by a man in a women's perspective. It just didn't work

Rating:
Summary: Fair
Review: It could make a great movie with a good editor and if it were directed by Penny Marshall. It needs insightful character development. As a novel, it is written on about a sixth grade level. That is...poor writing --needs depth. I would recommend it to a teenager or someone whose literary tastes are of the "comic book" genre. Not a great book ...but it has possibilities. The subject matter is what is important and relevant. It was written by a man and it shows. No depth