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Summary: Engaging Inner Thoughts
Review: Like "One True Thing", Anna Quindlen takes you inside her main character (Fran), revealing in such a real and down-to-earth way her thoughts and reflections on the events that shape her life. This is very engaging and rewarding.
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Summary: Worth reading
Review: This book is worth reading. I couldn't put it down.
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Summary: You can run, but can you hide?
Review: [Warning: a review below by "Drea248" unwittingly divulges a crucial element in the story line. Though a positive review, if you plan on reading this book, avoid the review.]Anna Quindlan's latest work of fiction "Black and Blue" has the potential to do what few so called "women's books" are able to accomplish, have an intrinsic appeal which serves both genders. This is a story with the ability to be accessible on many levels and that is one of its strengths. This is a book about women, about children, about men, about the building up and breaking down of relationships, about strength and weakness, about truth, about secrets, about courage, and about trust. It is enlightening, entertaining, and exciting; once started it will be difficult to put down. This is not an easy book to read or forget. The issues raised, some resolved some not, remind us of the frailties and shortcomings we experience in our own lives. Hopefully the main topic is one with which many are personally unfamiliar. The description of the effort involved to achieve escape velocity from the gravitational pull of an old life is simultaneously interesting and frightening. But can you really escape? This is the focal point of the story. The day-to-day events of the principal characters as they establish their new lives is beautifully and touchingly developed in every way, you almost forget how the main characters arrived where they are. Present experiences are cleverly woven with past memories throughout the narrative. However, this is a story that also has all of the underlying tension and menace of a good suspense novel, neither of which are ever very far from the surface.
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Summary: it was ok
Review: black and blue was an okay book. i did put it down and the ending is very ironic. all in all it was good but i didn't expect it to be written in first person...and that beth would be reminiscing so much!
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Summary: Wonderful Book
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book. I brought to work on a rainy day and finished the whole thing, I couldn't put it down. There was a lot of excitement and the whole book kept me wondering what was going to happen next. There was one thing that I didn't really like though. In the end of the book, Fran doesn't seem like she really puts an effort into trying to find her son. She starts a new life totally. Even though it is obvious that she misses him and thinks about him, it doesn't seem like she tries as hard as she could have. This was the first book I read by Anna Quindlen, when I was done I read One True Thing and Object Lessons. Out of the three I liked Black and Blue the best. One True Thing had some boring flashbacks, and Object Lessons had a switching point of view that got confusing. Overall the three books were all good, they had some flaws, but nothing is perfect!
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Summary: read this book
Review: i couldn't put this book down, the writing was excellent, the characters were complex and the story was intriguing. the ending was perfect, leaving the reader to wonder and reflect.
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Summary: Really good!
Review: I really liked this book because it so vividly describes what a woman goes through when her husband is a maniac. I did have a bit of a problem keeping track of whats in the past and the present. i mean, quindlen, right in the middle of a present situation, would transform fran's thoughts in the past so that once that flashback was over and we came back to the present, i'd have to go back and read again what she'd been talking about before the flashback (for eg. when she was in the middle of the phone conversation with the agency woman). but other than that, i thought this was an excellent read designed to help women understand what other women feel in these circumstances. after reading a few reviews, i realized that a couple of people thought she was rude to the agency people who helped her, she considered herself a great mom for escaping for her son, etc. what quindlen, i think, is trying to say, and what i've seen in my experience is that although abused women may take the steps to escape they are so closely intertwined with their husbands that its difficult for them to leave completely: physically or mentally. not all women are strong in this world to escape the minute their men abuse them. alot of women's strength comes from their children so they convince themselves to leave for their children's sake and therefore, derive strength through their love for them. otherwise, my viewpoint is that they wouldnt leave their abusers if they hadnt already. anyways, i think quindlen did a good job. keep up the good work.
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Summary: A DOSE OF REALITY
Review: IN THIS BOOK, THE AUTHOR SHOWS US THE EMOTIONS A BATTERED WOMAN GOES THROUGH. SHE SHOWS US HOW HER HUSBAND MANIPULATED HER IN SO MANY WAYS. FRAN GOES THROUGH TREMENDOUS PAIN AND AGONY. IN HER ATTEMPT TO LEAVE, SHE GOES THROUGH CERTAIN SENSES OF FEAR. SHE FEARS HER HUSBAND WILL FIND HER AND MAYBE KILL HER. SHE FEARS FOR HER SON, BECAUSE HE SHOWS CERTAIN SIGNS , JUST LIKE HIS FATHER AND THAT'S WHAT SCARES HER THE MOST. SHE FEELS AS IF SHE HAS LOST A PART OF HER LIFE THAT SHE COULD NEVER TELL ANYONE ABOUT IT. SHE IS TRYING TO LIVE WITHOUT FEAR, BUT THERE IS A THOUGHT PROVOKING SENSE OF FEAR SHE STILL HOLDS IN HER MIND AND HEART. SHE KNOWS HE IS LOOKING FOR HER, SO SHE TRIES NOT MAKE ANY MISTAKES SO HE CAN FIND HER. SHE HAS THE HELP OF PATTY B.............
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Summary: awareness
Review: I have just finished reading Black & Blue and my heart goes out to those who are in an abusive relationship. I only hope that they read this book, or someone that is aware of their abuse, so that they may share with them that there is hope. I think that sometimes people forget that they have options. I liked the fact that she wrote about how conniving, controling and charming a person can be that is addicted to alcohol and rage. I was upset that she could not follow the rules that was set by the women that was trying to protect her. I am not sure that her new marriage can survive without love. Did you notice that she married the first guy she met after she left her abusive husband?
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Summary: Fran wasn't sympathetic enough
Review: I was sympathetic to Fran, of course, but she seemed hostile towards the very people who were trying to help her. And it was deeply disturbing to me when she implies that her new boyfriend might seem a little dull to her after the danger and excitement of being with her husband. I had to read that over again to make sure I read what I thought I had read. And she comes right out and says that if her son turns out to be an abuser, she won't even feel sorry for the women he abuses -- she loves her son too much to care about who he might hurt. She also admits that she knew, even before they got married, that it was inevitable that her husband was going to abuse her. I think Fran was pretty twisted, herself. Plus, the author writes as though this book is a huge expose of spouse abuse when the fact is, we read about it every day and are completely aware that it exists, and that there are numerous agencies available for women to turn to. Come on, Ms. Quindlen, you haven't uncovered something new! I would like to have seen more of the sister; she seemed more interesting than Fran. The book was okay, though; I finished it. (I recently read that 40% of cops are wife beaters! I'm not sure I believe it... Maybe I just don't WANT to believe it...)
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