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Summary: The author is as confused as the main charcter in the book
Review: A very poorly written book. This book is the next best thing to a sleeping pill. She is too wordy and all over the place. Lacks depth, as well as the art of story telling. She touches on different topics without any depth. Please dont waste your money and time on this book.
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Summary: B is not for me!
Review: This book is great. It brings up a lot of issues, particularly about the value of money, sex, and art. But 'B' just isn't for me. He is almost TOO perfect (which I suppose made him the perfect model for Christ!) He offers Monica everything she needs in order to produce great art: time, space, money, and sex. B is totally at her beck and call- and does he ever complain? No! Is he totally undemanding and selfless, without needs of his own? Yes! He is just too perfect. I think I'd prefer someone more human, someone who actually thought about themselves once in a while. While swimming naked, Monica thought, "Movement is utterly easy, you're working against nothing, what you're in wants you to move in it, with it, it offers no resistence, only help." That's B. And who wants that? Who wants to just 'float' through life? I'd rather have a good workout any day.
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Summary: Best book group discussion in eight years
Review: As most group members know, it's easy to get distracted. This book provoked the most heated, on-task discussion my book group ever experienced. And what was so contraversial?Some of our younger members (30 somethings) had a hard time with the idea of over age 50 romance. Our 50 somethings thought that it was about time the world acknowledged that post-menopausal women still enjoy sex. Some of the group found the sex scenes too racey and others thought they were really boring -- the sex itself, not the writing thereof. Our more politically correct members struggled with the idea of a woman being "kept" by a man in pursuit of her art. Others thought that it was about time that women artists had their own muses to provide support for them. Probably the most contraversy revolved around the artwork itself - a series of male nudes painted in settings of the great paintings of Jesus. Our group covers a wide span of religious beliefs and there were some really passionate opinions on whether or not this was blasphemy. I personally really enjoyed this book and enjoyed the discussion it provoked. I'd recommend it to individual readers and book groups who are tired of everyone agreeing on books.
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Summary: A dream come true
Review: As a writer, I loved how well-written this book is. As one who feels that romance and literary merit are NOT incompatible, I adored its premise: that a man appears to the heroine who is willing and eager to do for her what women have been doing for male artists throughout history. It's sexy, it's witty, it's charming. Not only that, it's deep. Now if only I could find a man like this myself...
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Summary: ANOTHER TRIUMPH FOR MARY GORDON
Review: Mary Gordon, who distinguished herself with a splendid debut novel, Final Payments, in which a devoted daughter relinquished her youth to care for her ill father, now presents Monica, a heroine so cantankerous, self-absorbed, and acerbic that you want to shake her. Nonetheless, the dilemma at the core of Ms. Gordon's latest offering, the sometimes elusive yet always intelligent Spending, poses estimable inquiries into the male-female relationship, global responsibilities, and the value of art. Consider this premise: Monica is fiftyish, divorced, a teacher, and the mother of two grown daughters, the pliant Sara, and the challenging Rachel, "with the dyed black buzz cut, the pierced eyebrow, the one at Brown doing postmodernist anthropological work on Latin America." A moderately acclaimed artist, Monica finds inspiration in Renaissance master works of the deposed Christ and wants to create a series of paintings following this theme. Yet, despite her lofty aspirations, she is plagued by self-doubt, thinking,: "Sometimes the smallness of what I do shames me. I say to myself: the world needs people teaching poor children to read, dealing with disease in Africa, caring for the old and the homeless......It does not need new daubs on canvas." Furthermore, time and money are problems. How could she pursue such a project? Enter a collector of her work, a wealthy commodities broker she calls only B. He offers to underwrite all her expenses. Not only does he proffer a blank check, but he draws her bath, brings her goody laden picnic baskets from Balducci's, sates her with caviar at Petrossian, whisks her off for a week in Milan so that she might study Mantegna's "Dead Christ" in the Brera Gallery, poses for her, and is an unparalleled lover. Now, some women might look heavenward in gratitude, considering B the deep pocketed knight in shining armor for whom they've prayed, but not Monica who ponders the idea of unexpected abundance: "I started trying to understand the idea of luxury. Something chosen beyond question of need. Something possessed for its own qualities, because you want it near you...." She also broods about whether or not she has prostituted herself since sex with B is involved. Fiercely independent feminist that she is Monica alternately embraces and spurns the substance now available to her just as she vacillates between drawing B close to her and pushing him away. Much time is devoted to introspection as she attempts to reevaluate her life. When B is stricken with a back ailment, prompting Monica to assume an unwanted role, as she puts it, Helen Hayes in "A Farewell To Arms," the story takes a sharp turn. Then B's fortune is lost. Positions flip-flop when her series receives raves from the critics and is castigated by the Christian Right. Monica is suddenly an unheard of success, and therein hangs much of the tale - will she offer B what he offered her? With Spending Mary Gordon has also taken a sharp turn, and executed it beautifully. Her heroine is no longer a repressed Catholic girl but a free-wheeling career woman. Ms. Gordon has also demonstrated that she can pen erotic passages with skill and bravado. Yet, as in her previous novels, what shines through is the author's insight and intellect. It seems that very much like Monica Ms. Gordon can accomplish whatever she sets out to do, and we are the beneficiaries.
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Summary: There are so many reasons to love this book
Review: Sex, art, religion, politics, music, parenting, economics, communication...this book deals with so many topics and weaves them ever so deftly into a very entertaining read. This was one of the best books I read last summer and decided to reread it this month. Not only did I enjoy the story of Monica and B and the other richly drawn characters, I appreciated how this book awakens the senses. Passages describe water condensation on a cobalt pitcher of ice water, the shading and depth of objects in a painting, the scent and texture of bath salts, the heft of an expensive knife as it slices into a juicy grapefruit, the hue of a new set of couches. And of course the many intricacies of sex, as experienced by Monica. If you are looking for a book to set the tone for a relaxed summer filled with appreciation of simple pleasures, this is definitely the one.
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Summary: Spending by Mary Gordon
Review: This book was amazing. It was in the top 5 in the list of books that I have read. The way that the author decribes every detail makes you feel like you are there and your not missing a thing. It was recommended to me by a lady on the airplane. I'm sorry that she didn't read it. I have to admit it was slow at first and I did put it down for about a week or two, but when I started again I couldn't put it down. I read it in between classes and stayed up late just to finish it. The way that B treats her is so incredible. The way that she paints and the details in everything they do just makes it more exciting and you will want it to come true for you. I wish I could be Monica! I highly recommend this book and I promise it won't be a waste of time.
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Summary: spend more, please!
Review: I just finished "Spending" and was sad to finish it, I was enjoying it so much. It took me a while to really get into it, but just got better and better. The characters are very believable, and while I agree with another reviewer that relationships are usually more complicated, I enjoyed the intelligent escapism. I found the descriptions of the love affair very moving and believable-- summing up the powerful feelings I have for my lover without sounding like a corny and cliched romance novel. Definitely the thinking person's beach book. I'm going to read all Gordon's other stuff now. She's my hero.
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Summary: Good, but not my favorite book
Review: I listened to the audio version of this book. The story had me wondering what would happen next, and I found myself interested in the characters. But I felt that the use of the F word was forced and did not add any value to the story. If the author was trying to create some sort of anticipation about why the character "B" was not called by his full name, it did not work for me. The narrator's voice reminded me of "Diane" on "Cheers" which may explain why I thought the main character was too snooty. She said the word "internet" like it was something extravagant that you probably would not be familiar with. It was a reasonably good book, but not one that I plan to listen to again.
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Summary: Something for Everyone
Review: The triumph of this book is not just that it makes one want to read everything Mary Gordon has written, but that it (hopefully) prompts the reader to discover more about art history, feminist art and women artists. As a feminist art historian, I read this book with avid interest and have since made it required reading for two of my college classes. Students respond to its frank discussion of female sexuality, copious references to art, fast pace and breezy, lyrical writing style. I admire Mary Gordon's firm grasp and detailed description of the artistic process, knowledge of feminist art history and criticism, willingness to discuss such challenging issues as censorship, protest and patronage and obvious and infectious love of art.
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