Rating:  Summary: I wasn't sure about this at first.... Review: When I first started reading this book, I had mixed feelings. I wasn't sure if I really wanted to read about this girl going through so much. I was afraid it would be too depressing. As it turns out, after I finished it, I couldn't stop thinking about it. The story is about Dolores Price and how she deals with her parents breakup, her mother's break down and living with Grandma. A turning point in her life at 13 causes her to overeat, her mother to stuff her full to cover her guilt, and then eventually her own mental breakdown. She recovers, determined to make a life of her own. Eventually she gets married to the man she dreamed of for many years. When that starts to unravel, she realizes she can make it on her own without a husband. I liked this, I have to say, and was glad it had a "happy" ending. I'd recommend this book.
Rating:  Summary: Waiting For "She's Come Together", Part II Review: I really enjoyed this book but..., I HATED the ending. It was a stupid "whale" ending. I want to know what happend to Jack Speight, the wicked sisters at the store, Ruth, Larry & Tia, Eric & Kippy, Dottie, Domingos the cab driver, more about Tony's missing years, Dante, Dr. Shaw, her half-way house roommates, Thayer, Jemal, etc. Too much time at the end was devoted to Roberta & Mr. Pucci. The end should have also included more of the events of the above character's lives. Their colorful life stories could have been woven into more shockers like the Burger King revelation. (I loved that part!) The end leaves the reader just hanging and craving more! Unsatisfied. Can there be a "She's Come Together", Book II portraying the rest of Dolore's life (age 40-80)? Could it depict the answers to my curiousity regarding what happened in the lives of these other characters? Possibly include more ups and downs for Dolores? Vengence on those who were so cruel to her? Rewards to those that were kind? Please Wally Please! Give us some more.
Rating:  Summary: Painful reality with a saving grace Review: I have mixed feeling about this novel. I was snared by the story early on and found it hard to put down. Dolores Price could have been the girl next door to me growing up. Her childhood wasn't much out of the ordinary. What was unfortunate was her subjection to her parent's rocky marriage (but many children deal with that and grow up "normal")and her mother's nervous breakdown-- but that was small potatoes compared to what happened when Dolores turned 13. There were episodes in this book that were so completely disheartening and unsavory that I wanted to stop reading. But then Lamb would give Dolores a gift (an unusual friendship or insight into another person's pain), and that gift would give Dolores and me (the reader) the strength to go on. I still have mixed feelings about this book. It has been 2 days since I finished and I am still refering to it my mind.. still mulling it over. That typcially means for me that this had the makings of a great read. So, although the story becomes vulgar and graphic at times, I have to rate the book high... because something important is being said about never giving up on yourself and finding peace and meaning in your life.
Rating:  Summary: Everything you never want to be Review: "She's Come Undone" is truly the story of the girl you never aspired to be. Don't begin this book looking for a feel-good story. Wally Lamb is a terrific writer; so much so that it is easy to forget that a man wrote the female main-character, Dolores. Yet Dolores's story is sad and depressing and not at all inspiring. I found myself at conflict with myself as I read: struggling to keep reading this book but also to put it down! "She's Come Undone" should be light-reading material; and although it is definitely a quick read, I would not recommend taking this book on vacation.
Rating:  Summary: Hmmmmm... Review: I have read only two of Oprah's books so far, and this one is far better than the first (Deep End of the Ocean). It was definitely interesting, in the sort of way that people want to view car wrecks. I had a hard time identifying with Delores, the main character, at points because a) she refused to help herself and b) she went through so many bizarre life experiences. So I can not say how I would react to many of the situations that she experienced, but I can say that I wanted to reach inside the book, give her a good slap, and scream, "Do something! Anything!" But the best characters aren't always likeable (look at Scarlett O'Hara). Lamb crafted a book that piqued and held my interest until the very end and helped to show many of the mistakes that women make in the name of supposed "love," "friendship," and family ties. Definitely worth a read, but be warned - it is depressing at points.
Rating:  Summary: extremely moving... Review: My sister, who I share very few of the same likings with, urged me to read this book, and I am very gracious to her for it. Although I am not the type of person who reads a new book every week, I finished this book within 4 or 5 days. It really embodied a lot of the problems that I believe many women, especially young girls, deal with on a daily basis. Maybe by reading this book it could show some of them that they are not alone in feeling the way they do. I am eager to read Lamb's other books, and other books that are on Oprah's list.
Rating:  Summary: I Laughed...I Cried... Review: Wow. What a story! She's Come Undone was full of surprises. I didn't predict any of the events which took place in this story, which I am usually able to do. I just kept reading and reading, and let the events unfold. I read this book on the train on my way to and from work. Many times did I almost miss my stop, I was so absorbed by the story! Now that I am finished, I miss Delores. Read She's Come Undone to discover how a troubled young girl manages to straighten out her life. Reader Beware: You will be extremely moved by this book.
Rating:  Summary: Oprah, you disappoint me... Review: It amazes me that Oprah can put her stamp of approval on "Beloved" and on this book in the same lifetime. Uninspired, unengaging, this book takes family dysfunction to an all-time new level of cliche. Sad, because Lamb's prose not bad on the whole. This book is perfect for those of us who don't think that independent thought is a prerequisite for reading -- or for writing, I suppose. People who enjoy self-help books and think that Good Will Hunting is an original and provocative movie will absolutely love this. Oprah, salutes to you for dumbing down your standards and convincing millions of American women to pay money for mediocrity.
Rating:  Summary: Yay! Review: Ok, I'm not going to summarize the book, because so many other people have already done that. I'll just say "read this book". You'll thank me for it.
Rating:  Summary: Incredibly Moving Review: The novel, She's Come Undone, tells the touching story of Dolores Price, who faces the kind of wrenching childhood that many of us could only have nightmares about. However, Wally Lamb is able to capture her entire experience and make the reader feel as though they suffered Dolores' every thought and emotion along with her. I was apprehensive because of all the hype about Mr. Lamb's writing, but I wasn't disappointed in the quality or content of this book. The book follows Dolores from one of her first memories of getting a television set to her admission to a mental institution. The events of her life are dramatic and she loses many people that are close to her. Dolores' father left her mother for another woman when she was eleven and Dolores and her mother moved in with her prudish grandmother. She doesn't talk to her father again for a long time. Before Dolores started high school, at age thirteen, a neighbor that she had adored and trusted raped her and this caused Dolores to become deeply depressed. She rapidly gained weight, lost hope for herself, and with the combined misfortune of her mother's death in a car accident, she eventually ended up in a mental institution. Being institutionalized helped Dolores to get her life back, but soon after she was released, she became involved with, married, and finally divorced an abusive man when she realized how badly he treated her. Right before the divorce, Dolores' grandmother dies, and a little later, her father dies. Despite all of the tragic incidents, this book has a happy ending when Dolores falls in love with a lonely writer in her community college English class and walks off into the sunset. Although I admit this book was written with a wry sense of humor, I had heard it described as hysterically funny, which I couldn't understand. It was moving, beautiful and poignant, but never hilarious. The book was incredible, but I found it broke my heart to keep reading because of the consistently depressing tone. The characters were portrayed with great detail, and I felt that after reading this book, Dolores could have been my best friend. The author did a wonderful job with her character, and I think this was the best part of the book. Even though Dolores' circumstances were extreme, every woman can relate to her struggles with her family, her love life, and her emotions. Throughout the book, I felt that the author was being hard on the characters, allowing every possible misfortune to occur. I had a hard time with this, and this could be one of the most depressing books I've ever read. Dolores lost almost everyone who ever came into her life that she cared about, and it affected her deeply; "When I called to ask the former owner if he meant to give me the tapes, too, all I got was that recorded operator- the one who tells you in her chilly voice that the person you wanted has disconnected and gotten away." (page 419). To me, this quote shows Dolores' attitude and the reality of all the people whom she'd lost. As a woman, I would hope that my life is the opposite of Dolores', even though she came out on top in the end. I kept wishing as I read that somehow her life would change, that nothing else sad would happen, but I had to wait until the last few pages. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I couldn't put it down once I started to read. Dolores' life fascinated and repelled me at the same time. I loved her character because even though I could see some of myself in her, I knew that she was much worse off than I'll ever be (I hope). The detail amazed me, as depicted in the following quote at the very end of the novel where Dolores has a rejuvenating experience as she sights a whale, "Nose first, her grooved body heads straight for the sky. Her muscular tail clears the water; her fins are black wings. The fall back is slower- grace instead of power. She cracks the ocean and, in a white explosion of foam, reenters." (page 465). Wally Lamb is a phenomenal writer, and he did incredibly well writing as a female. I would recommend his work in She's Come Undone to any woman because he did a fantastic job and it's a powerful, compelling book.
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