Blessings

Rating:
Summary: Heart Warming Story
Review: A newborn baby is abandoned at an estate called Blessings and is discovered by the young caretaker. The story that follows is a heart warming tale with wonderfully rich characters. There are many tender and sweet moments that made my eyes fill. Descriptions of an old, closed-off woman gradually opening up to the marvels of a small infant. A young man discovering he is an important part of someone's life. And the simple discoveries a baby makes every day. Quindlen has an interesting writing style. She doesn't describe her characters in full at the beginning, but reveals them layer by layer as the story evolves, like making a new friend in real life. The two main characters, Charles "Skip" Cuddy and Mrs. Lydia Blessing are absolute jewels and well worth getting to know. If you need a lift, this is the perfect book to read. And if you know a friend who needs to feel good about something, give them this book to read. It is a story for sharing.

Rating:
Summary: A touching little story
Review: Anna Quindlen's Blessings is a touching story about love, family secrets, coming to terms with them and how life can change through the smallest discoveries.
Skip Cuddy lives above the garage at the estate Blessings, owned by Lydia Blessings, an 80 year old society "recluse". Mrs. Blessings knows how things ought to be done, and Skip, being on parole for a crime he did not commit, does what he is being told. He is not sure that life holds anything for him, as well as Mrs. Blessings in her old age tries to come to terms with her own, somewhat "wasted" life. There is not much joy in this book's first pages, where a teenage couple leaves a newborn baby girl to on the steps to the garage. Skip finds the baby girl next morning, and decides to keep her. He also decides to keep it a secret from Mrs. Blessings and the nosy housekeeper Nadine. Mrs. Blessings figures something out by accident, and for some reason she decides to help Skip with the baby. During the book we go back and forth between the present day, Mrs. Blessings past, and we also get a look into Skip's past. The language of this book is masterly done, and the going back and forth in time never becomes confusing. Both Skip's and Mrs. Blessing's lives are described with feelings, and you will feel that you know those people. It is hard not to be touched by this story, although it sometimes seems a tiny bit far-fetched. But then again, this book is fiction, and far-fetched things are supposed to happen in fiction

Rating:
Summary: Worth your time!
Review: If you haven't read "Blessings" by Anna Quindlen, do so now. I just finished it, saw a fellow colleague at church today, described it, and she will check it out tomorrow.

The story begins with an abandoned baby dropped off at an estate, not at the main house, but at the caretaker's garage. He is the new man,young,drifting, just out of jail.

The owner of the estate is a woman, elderly, sickly, alone, and bitter.

The caretaker decides to keep the baby. The owner discovers his secret. And as the plot evolves, the owner's secrets are also revealed.

The interrelationship between the owner of the estate and the caretaker is the crux of the novel.

Who can keep the existence of a baby a secret? To whom does the baby belong? Is a single man capable of raising a child? Who decides who is best to raise a child?

And then the twist at the end. You will know from reading the novel that it will come eventually, but how will it all conclude?

I have my own disappointments at how it ends, but don't let them deter you from reading this book. Positively riveting!

Rating:
Summary: Birth, re-birth, love and redemption
Review: When a tiny baby is found outside of a caretaker's garage at a down at its heels estate, many lives are changed. Anne Quinlan touches the reader's heart on many different levels. A bitter, eccentric old dowager who has no heirs, an ex-con with a heart of gold, and a brilliant Eurasian girl are the main characters. Oh, and yes, there is the baby, named "FAITH". Faith is the cornerstone of this novel. Times change, mores change, and people can grow to become bitter, or more open to others. The only thing which annoyed me was the mother of the child, the teenaged mother, who doesn't deserve the baby. Obviously,the author leaves you believing that her parents will take over the childcare of the baby and all will be well. Secrets of long ago color the present, adn when the dowager dies, the future as well. A great book to be read in a couple of days. A heartwarmer. Even if loose ends tie up a little too easily, and characters redeem themselves too nobly in the end it is a great read. If everything seems a little too perfect, enjoy it for what it is;a book of second chances.