Spending : A Utopian Divertimento

Rating:
Summary: Sensually entertaining
Review: This book reminds me of why I read for pleasure! "Spending" has it all as far as I'm concerned. We discussed it in our "Six Women and a Book" group and there is nothing like a book containing so many contemplations and so much sex to get women talking and laughing. Her mastery of role reversal of artists and muses was a point of lengthy discussion for us. I loved this book and plan to read Mary Gordon's others.

Rating:
Summary: An author that finally understands me!
Review: If you're like me and cannot deal with those cheesy romance novels but like the idea of man meets woman, this book is for you. A charged foray into the psyche of a female artist and her zest for life, art and man. You just may be able to understand your artistic friends after this read. The pages of my copy are a bit frayed after being passed around but all who delve into this world come out of it revived.

Rating:
Summary: Extraordinary, awakening novel.
Review: I enjoyed this novel more than any other recently, not simply because it has a moving story (which it does) but because it made me think. I felt like I was transported into an artist's mind, able to see with an artist's eye and it was an incredible experience. The fact that the artist is a smart, funny, critical, feminist woman made all the difference. I learned so much simply from "listening in" on her self-analysis. And Gordon's descriptions of works of art were luxerious, more sensual than the sex scenes.

Rating:
Summary: keen description of an artist's life
Review: Mary Gordon writes as if she is a painter not a writer. She writes from the voices within all artists, but not exclusively. She invokes the deepest feeling in all of us. Her writing style is casual, poignant and direct. After reading this book, I felt I just had a great conversation with my best friend. A must read!!!

Rating:
Summary: This book is a page turner that turns on the eyes.
Review: I was completely enraptured and pulled intothis book.Spending deserves high praise. What I loved most were Gordon's pictorial descriptions. She made me alert to and savor: Sky, weather, food, flowers, sea, the male body, female bodies, paintings,Old Masters. It is a rare achievement to be so visual on the page.

Rating:
Summary: Compelling tale of sex, money, art and power
Review: I was stimulated, both intellectually and emotionally, by this evocative narrative about the life of an artist. I found Gordon's themes extremely interesting and was prompted to re-evaluate my views on the connections between art, sex, money and power. It is one of few novels that I would be willing to reread - I feel it may reveal even more on a second reading.

Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly engaging
Review: This book sat in a pile for at least a year before I was desperate enough to turn to the first page. I was skeptical and found myself waiting for the other shoe to drop. What I discovered in the ensuing pages was an enchanting tale of a woman's journey through the curtains of doubt and mistrust that are ever present in modern personal relationships. Subtle in it's development, yet rewarding in it's fulfillment. I emerged hopeful and optimistic, a rare condition in this soul-ravaging world. The pace is slow, perhaps deliberately so. One has time to ponder the mundane and ordinary process involved in making significant life choices. Prepare to be injected into the artist's frame of reference. Sit back, contemplate and enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: A bit predictable
Review: It is utopian, and sometimes it drags, but its has its erotic moments. The story is a bit one dimensional. And undbelievable even though the author calls it what it is. For a mcuh better read of a similar nature, more interesting and more erotic try MJ Rose's Lip Service.

Rating:
Summary: An absolutely beautifully written, perfectly paced book
Review: An absolutely beautifully written, perfectly paced, inspiring, somehow comforting book...not only was I emotionally moved, but intellectually stimulated as well....Without doubt I have become a huge fan.

Rating:
Summary: luscious prose for grown-ups
Review: A feminist fairy tale in its way, Mary Gordon's mesmerizing fantasy is a sumptuously written exercise in what would happen if you had enough money to do all the things you and your work required. And that money came from an attentive and passionate lover. Luscious prose for grown-ups (I love it when the lead characters are fifty-ish and wild).