Rating: 
Summary: "Fictional" biography in an amalgam of styles
Review: Carol Shields The Stone Diaries [Pulitzer Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award 1995] is the story of Daisy Stone Goodwill, a Canadian woman whose mother died in childbirth, was raised by her neighbor's relatives, was widowed twice (the first time on her honeymoon), raised children, worked in a job she loved until she was fired, moved to Florida, and died. Daisy is, in one sense, an absolutely "ordinary" woman, who lives much of her life in the shadow of men. I think that it was for this reason, and the fact that she ends her life separated from her children, that my wife (and other women I know who have read this book) found the novel very depressing. I was not so struck. What came across to me was Daisy's resilience in the face of very difficult circumstances, finding some satisfaction on the world's terms. Undeniably, Daisy was not a "success" as we now view women's lives. However, she formed some successful relationships, and always seemed to put the pieces together to move from one part of her life to the next. The best example of this for me was her Florida bridge group, "The Flowers" (Daisy, Lilly, Myrtle and Glad), who became her final community after she was long widowed, and her childhood friends dead. One can regret that life has brought her to this final community, a circle of old widows in a retirement home, or note how Daisy stays on her feet and moving, from one chapter of life to the end.One cannot read The Stone Diaries without being struck by the style -- or rather styles -- in which it is written. While clearly fiction, Shields gives the appearance of journalism by including photographs purporting to be of the various characters. The photographs give one pause -- am I reading a novel trying to be non-fiction, or a fictionalized "real life" biography? Shields also changes style, form, and voice as she goes from chapter to chapter. For example, the chapter captioned "work" takes the form of a series of letters by and about Daisy's work as a newspaper writer. There is no "narrator" or chronicler; the story is told by one letter following the next. The chapter "Sorrow" takes the form of first-person opinions, by various persons in Daisy's life, as to why she is depressed. Again, Shields has no omniscient narrator. Other chapters are told by the more conventional, omniscient third-person narrator. I found this a wonderful book, and recommend it highly. My wife, Carol, disagrees: "I wouldn't say that this is a "bad" book and not worth reading. It just seems to capture in a very stark way the extreme ordinariness of the lives of so many women. Admittedly, not all women are destined to great things, but somehow, even the most mundane of us--provided we have a jot of self awareness--hope (and pray) that our lives have some deeper meaning and that somehow our being alive has made a positive difference. Upon reflection, may be that's what this book is about. But I can't say that I finished it with the impression that the life of Daisy Stone was really that important in the grand scheme of things. For a reader whose life isn't really any more exciting than Daisy's--that was a frightening and frankly unpleasant conclusion."
Rating: 
Summary: Fabulous
Review: I am a voracious reader and a rather critical one. I absolutely adored this book, could not put it down, and read it about eight times so far. It is beautifully written, rich, articulate. It is certainly a modern classic.
Rating: 
Summary: THIS BOOKS SUCKED SO BAD I COULDN'T FINISH IT!!!!!!!
Review: This is one of the slowest reads ever!!! By the time I got to the second chapter I could not care less about who was who or what was what. I couldn't stay focussed - probably because it took so long for her to describe a single event (I get it, move on !!!) The only thing I learned from this book is that life is too short to read books like this one.
Rating:
Summary: Superb.
Review: I loved it. Carol Shields writes beautifully...filled with irony and humor. I originally picked it up because of the awards it had won including Pulitzer and National Book Critic Award. Can't wait to read another book by her.
Rating:
Summary: What becomes of a life?
Review: I think the lesson that I took with me from this novel was the idea that our choices in life shape and define who we are but that our social environment sometimes structures and limits our options. What is it like to be an ordinary woman in Canada in the 20th century? There is no single tale but in The Stone Diaries we see the shape of one woman's life as she is born, marries, is widowed, re-marries, has children, and then discovers a career!, and then loses the career, ages, and dies. For anyone who can't picture what the next 5 years of their life will look like, this book suggests take an even broader look. What would your autobiography say? What choices did you make and what didn't you even try?
Rating:
Summary: It's a biography for many ordinary woman around us
Review: Many people wasn't sure of what's going to happen to him/her and why he/she do cetain things along varies stages of his/her life. The story switches between different perspective (which is one of the theme) simply because though many people intended to be a good mother, daughter etc, she/he really means a different entity to that different people. And this is quite true a fact that this is why a single person have slightly different reaction/action to different people and circumstances. Side notes: The story become much more entertaining after you absorbed the characters after reading it for a while. This is the story of so many ordinary people in the world.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful realistic story
Review: I loved the honesty in Carol Shields book, it prompted me to read most of ther other books. I would say The Stone Diaries was her very best.
Rating:
Summary: A simple, inspiring tale about LIFE...
Review: As others mentioned, I also was waiting for something abrupt or dramatic to occur in Daisy's life, but it never did and I believe that was the point. Everyone has ups and downs in their life, but not everyone experiences something extremely dramatic. One of the themes in Daisy Goodwill's story is that we ALL have a story to tell about our lives, even if we didn't become a hero in the world's eyes. This book is definitely one that is not too intense or difficult to understand, so if you'd like to relax with a touching story about life, give The Stone Diaries some consideration!
Rating:
Summary: An incredible book!
Review: I loved this book!! Although a simple story of one woman and her encounters in life - I appreciated Shields perspective and thoughts on "feminism." I strongly recommend this book to all women! I would love to encounter another book so touching and insightful in such a simple manner!
Rating:
Summary: Biography or fiction. How distracting!
Review: I chose Stone Diaries as a book review for our readers club and although I knew it was very popular did not have a clue regarding the story line. When I read the physical description of Daisy's mother & father then compared it with the picture I was perplexed as neither the description or ages was close and in fact the woman in the picture looked like the mother of the young man. Of course by the time I learned this book is considered a fictious biography (what's that?) I had lost the flow of the story. The pictures of the grandchildren I understand are the author's children. A preface or introduction would have been most helpful. I am presently at Daisy's bridal shower. The reviews on the web are for the most part certainly complementary and for this reason I will continue reading Stone Diaries, with an open mind.
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